Wrexham moved three points behind Wycombe Wanderers after beating Mansfield Town 2-1 away from home on Sunday afternoon.
Wrexham were beaten 2-1 by Leyton Orient in midweek in a dent to the automatic promotion hopes.
Phil Parkinson was slammed by Wrexham fans for that defeat and a major response was needed at Mansfield Town.
Stags defender Calum Macdonald dominated the first half, scoring at both ends to go into half-time at 1-1.
Max Cleworth as Wrexham’s hero though as the defender pinged a superb strike into the bottom corner to secure a 2-1 victory.
Wycombe Wanderers dropped points over the weekend and Wrexham have now cut the gap to just three points as the League One promotion race heats up.
Phil Parkinson on Wrexham’s Max Cleworth
Wrexham have so much attacking firepower at the club right now.
January signing Sam Smith has looked a threat whilst Paul Mullin was back in the Wrexham squad to face the Stags.
It was a defender who ended up wining the game though as Cleworth found the net yet again.
Wrexham’s homegrown talent is getting better and better from a defensive perspective and his goal tally just adds another layer of brilliance to his game.
Cleworth has now bagged eight goals in all competitions this season, including seven in League One.
Wrexham boss Parkinson has now moved to praise Cleworth whilst speaking to BBC Sport.
Parkinson hailed Cleworth’s ‘phenomenal’ goalscoring record for Wrexham, even claiming that he is a ‘great finisher’ in front of goal.
The numbers certainly support that but Parkinson was just as impressed with how Cleworth and Tom O’Connor helped start attacks by bringing the ball out from the back.
“It’s a phenomenal return, he’s a great finisher,” said Parkinson.
“Max, Eoghan [O’Connell] and Tom [O’Connor] were great today, not just the defending but the way they stepped in with the ball and started our attacks. They were progressive with their play and it made a huge difference for us,” he added.
Max Cleworth’s attacking excellence
Cleworth’s goal on Sunday takes him level with Elliot Lee at the top of the scoring charts for Wrexham in League One this season.
Lee is a quality attacker and yet Cleworth has managed to score just as many league goals this season.
That is an incredible return for Cleworth and Sunday’s goal means that he is now the highest-scoring defender in English football’s top four divisions.
Cleworth scored just once last season but has really developed that side of the game and could have even had more on Sunday.
One shot was blocked in the first half before Cleworth hit the crossbar, with the defender constantly offering a goalscoring threat.
The goal finally did arrive and if this season is anything to go by, Cleworth will have a few more goals in him yet this season.