Wrexham suffered a disappointing defeat on Sunday afternoon, losing 1-0 at Harrogate Town in the first round of the FA Cup.
Phil Parkinson took his side Yorkshire on Sunday with Wrexham drawn against Harrogate Town in the FA Cup.
Wrexham suffered late heartbreak against Charlton Athletic in League One last weekend and Parkinson wanted a response against Harrogate.
Instead, Wrexham turned in a disappointing display and fell to a 1-0 defeat thanks to Jack Muldoon’s first-half goal.
Wrexham had plenty of shots and put crosses into the box, but with little joy as Harrogate saw out the game.
Former Welsh international Kevin Ratcliffe has criticised Wrexham’s approach and the lack of cutting edge will have left fans concerned.
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Harrogate Town star makes Wrexham prediction
Harrogate proved a tough nut to crack last season too.
Wrexham drew both League Two meetings with Simon Weaver’s side, going 2-0 up in the first game before being pegged back in a 2-2 draw.
The second meeting ended in a 0-0 stalemate, so Wrexham will have expected a tricky encounter on Sunday.
Wrexham did have 21 shots but only managed to get five of them on target, meaning goalkeeper James Belshaw maybe wasn’t tested as much as he could or should have been.
Belshaw spoke to ITV Sport after the final whistle and offered some praise to Wrexham in the form of a prediction.
The goalkeeper suggested that Wrexham are ‘going on to bigger and better things’ having started the League one season so well.
Belshaw added that Wrexham are maybe the second or third best team in League One, so this felt like a big test for Harrogate – and one they passed.
“I think we set out to frustrate them,” said Belshaw.
“We obviously showed them respect; they’re flying high in League One and I think they’re going on to bigger and better things, but it’s a one-off cup tie and for us, we wanted to remain solid defensively, we’ve done that in the last few weeks, done really well with it and then got a really well-worked goal from a set piece and saw the game out.
“First and foremost, it’s a financial boost for the club, which is great, but then for us as players, we want to test ourselves against the best and we tested ourselves here against probably the second or third best team in League One and we’ve stood up to the task,” he added.
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Parkinson will want a big response from Wrexham
Wrexham have enjoyed decent FA Cup runs in recent years.
Third-round wins at Coventry City and Shrewsbury Town were memorable away days for Wrexham fans but there will be no repeat this season.
Wrexham must now focus on the league and a big game arrives this weekend as Parkinson and co welcome Mansfield Town to the STōK Cae Ras.
Mansfield have started the season brilliantly and sit just one point and one place behind Wrexham in the League One table.
This will be another big test for Wrexham and having suffered major disappointment at Harrogate, a real response is needed.
Parkinson believes the defeat is a ‘wake up call’ to Wrexham players, with the boss clearly believing that there is a lot of improvement still to come.
Maybe Wrexham will go on to ‘bigger and better things’ down the line, but Parkinson’s first priority is getting back on track after this defeat, starting with Mansfield.