Wrexham lost 2-1 in their first outing of 2025 against Barnsley on January 1st.
Wrexham had already beaten Barnsley in the reverse fixture earlier this season and likely fancied their chances of picking up another three points on Wednesday.
However, the Red Dragons were far from their best during the first 45 minutes, which ultimately led to them losing 2-1.
Wrexham fans hit out at their defending on the day, with a number of mistakes early on providing costly.
Eoghan O’Connell has been excellent for the majority of 2024/25 so far but made a couple of big errors during the match.
At the other end of the pitch, Ollie Palmer struggled vs Barnsley before being hooked at half-time for Steven Fletcher.
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James McClean verdict on Wrexham loss to Barnsley
Former player Davis Keillor-Dunn fired the hosts into the lead after 11 minutes before Adam Phillips made it 2-0 shortly before the half-hour mark.
Centre-back Max Cleworth did pull a goal back in the 80th minute but it wasn’t enough to secure Wrexham a point.
Parkinson’s side were much better in the first 45 but their poor defending early on and inability to take their chances meant they suffered defeat for the first time since November.
Now, James McClean has taken to Instagram to share his verdict on the match, bemoaning his side’s inability to be clinical in both boxes.
He wrote: “Dominant performance but not being clinical in both boxes cost us, let’s aim to put it right Sat.”
Every Wrexham striker’s League One goal return
Wrexham making mistakes at the back has been very uncommon this season and though they shipped two in midweek, they still have the second-best defensive record in the third tier behind Birmingham City.
A lack of clinical finishing from their forwards is nothing new this season, however, with no number nine bagging more than five in 2024/25.
| Player | League One goals (appearances) |
| Ollie Palmer | 3 (24) |
| Paul Mullin | 2 (22) |
| Steven Fletcher | 4 (18) |
| Modou Faal | 0 (5) |
| Jack Marriott | 5 (10) |
Wrexham do want to sign a striker in January and Jack Marriott is on his way back from injury, which should help this problem going forward.
But getting the likes of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer to start taking their chances on a regular basis is proving a tough task for Parkinson right now.