Paul Mullin was kept at bay when Wrexham crashed out of the FA Cup against Harrogate Town on Sunday.
Wrexham have a pretty poor record against Harrogate Town, which continued over the weekend.
The Welsh outfit were looking to better their 2023/24 season and make it past the fourth round of the FA Cup this term.
However, Phil Parkinson was once again bested by his old foe, Harrogate, whom he has now failed to beat in four meetings.
Wrexham dominated the opening 20 minutes and had some good chances to take the lead via Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin.
However, Palmer’s headed effort following a long ball from Max Cleworth was easily saved while Mullin wasted plenty of his chances.
The latter was far from his best on the day, with Wrexham fans hitting out at Mullin vs Harrogate after he squandered his opportunities across the 90 minutes.
Simon Weaver hints at why Paul Mullin struggled vs Harrogate
Wrexham had so many chances to score on Sunday, especially in the first and final 20 minutes of the tie.
Despite his struggles, Mullin remained on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes but could not find a goal.
Now, Harrogate manager Simon Weaver’s recent comments, as per The Athletic, have provided a possible explanation for why the 29-year-old was poor against the Yorkshire outfit.
Weaver confirmed he knew how Parkinson was going to play on the day and was keen to ensure his side limited the number of second balls Wrexham were able to win via their strikers by being ‘tenacious’ and ‘aggressive’.
He said: “Wrexham’s squad may have changed a lot over recent years but Phil does go for the same formula, just as I have done here over the years.
“Wrexham carry the ball and are going to hit long diagonals to (Ollie) Palmer and try to win the second ball with (Andy) Cannon and (Paul) Mullin in and around.
“You are inviting pressure if you retreat and allow them to play. We didn’t want them to be comfortable in any position across the pitch. Therefore, we had to be tenacious, aggressive and try to get on the front foot. We had to do something on the ball, we couldn’t allow ourselves to get sucked into the fear factor of Wrexham.”
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Wrexham need Paul Mullin back to his best
It is not just the Harrogate clash in which Mullin has looked off his game this season, though.
The Liverpool-born star missed the beginning of the campaign due to injury and has struggled to recapture his top form since returning.
But with Jack Marriott sidelined for four months, Wrexham are lacking a clear replacement for Mullin right now.
The Red Dragons face a high-flying Mansfield Town on Saturday and will need Mullin at his best if they are to secure what could prove to be a major three points come the end of the campaign.