Kieffer Moore made his debut for Wrexham on Saturday as the Dragons lost 2-1 at Southampton.
Kieffer Moore led the line for Wrexham in their Championship opener against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, and the Welsh international impressed early on but was forced off before the hour mark with an ankle injury.
It was Josh Windass who scored the opener for Wrexham and the Dragons held their own right up until the 90th minute.
Southampton’s Ryan Manning scored a curling free kick before Saints skipper Jack Stephens found a late winner in the 96th minute.
Despite Wrexham’s 2-1 loss against Southampton, there were plenty of positives for Phil Parkinson to take from the game, one such positive being the performance of Moore.
Phil Parkinson hails ‘colossus’ Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore
Parkinson spoke to the Sky Sports cameras after the game. He had a lot to talk about, and one positive he drew upon was Moore. The 33-year-old showed his physicality and his attacking prowess right from the off, and it was he who won the penalty, which Windass then converted.
Moore looked a handful in general and it’s looking like money well spent by Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, with other new boys impressing on the day; in particular Windass, Liberato Cacace, Lewis O’Brien and Conor Coady who really impressed the Wrexham fans.
Speaking on Moore though, Parkinson reserved special praise. He said: “It’s really disappointing that Kieffer had to come off, we’re going to assess that injury quickly. I thought he was colossus for us today. He really was.”
Wrexham’s injury list is quickly piling up
Even though we’re now only one game into the new season, the injuries are already piling up for Wrexham. Whether or not Moore’s injury is a serious one remains to be seen, but should he now have an injury which keeps him out for a period of time, he’ll join fellow new signing George Thomason on the sidelines.
Before the Southampton game, it was revealed that Thomason has a thigh injury which will sideline him for a while yet. Meanwhile, midfielder Ollie Rathbone picked up an ankle injury in Australia and he too faces a significant time on the sidelines.
Elsewhere, Jay Rodriguez remains injured but Sam Smith recovered in time to come off the bench against Southampton.
For Wrexham, a growing injury list is certainly an issue, but where Moore is concerned, Parkinson has Ryan Hardie to bring in along with Smith and both could be capable of filling in that lone striker role in front of Windass.
Wrexham next play Hull City in the EFL Cup first round on Tuesday before hosting West Brom in the Championship next weekend.