Wrexham ended 2024 with yet another home victory, beating Wigan Athletic 2-1 thanks to Steven Fletcher’s late goal.
Wrexham will start life in 2025 as a team in the automatic promotion places in League One; imagine being told that five years ago.
Phil Parkinson oversaw a 2-1 win over Blackpool on Boxing Day with Paul Mullin’s incredible goal leaving fans stunned.
Wrexham had to go again on Sunday afternoon though with Wigan Athletic the visitors to the STōK Cae Ras.
Just as the win came late on against Blackpool, Wrexham saw Steven Fletcher pop up with a winning goal as time ticked on.
Parkinson has hailed Fletcher’s quality after the win over Wigan, leaving Wrexham second in the League One table after Wycombe Wanderers lost to Charlton Athletic.
- READ MORE: Ben Tozer blown away by one Wrexham substitute against Wigan Athletic, ‘his touch is unbelievable’
Sheffield Wednesday star on Steven Fletcher
Fletcher was the hero against Blackpool, converting a penalty with just minutes to play as he came off the bench to make the difference.
The Scot repeated the trick against Wigan, this time taking in a James McClean cross before swivelling and scoring.
Ben Tozer has raved about Fletcher and a number of other players are now showing some praise on Instagram.
Fletcher stated ‘A great end to the year, thanks for the support, happy new year everyone’ alongside a host of photos from Sunday’s win.
Wrexham stars James McClean and Paul Mullin both celebrated Fletcher’s winner whilst Mark Howard simply stated ‘the fine wine’ as the 37-year-old continues to make an impact.
Former Stoke City teammate Tommy Smith stated ‘bagger’ whilst Sheffield Wednesday’s Josh Windass said ‘still life left in the old dog’.
Windass – who scored on Sunday too as Wednesday lost at Preston North End – played with Fletcher at Hillsborough and still loves what he is seeing from Fletcher.
Don’t expect Fletcher to start against Barnsley
Fletcher has been Wrexham’s match-winning saviour for the last two games but that doesn’t mean he will start against Barnsley on New Year’s Day.
Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin have a great partnership in the Wrexham attack and are likely to get the nod again on Wednesday.
Parkinson loves using Fletcher as an impact player off the bench and that theory has certainly paid off in recent days.
We would anticipate seeing Fletcher in a similar role at Oakwell, coming off the bench in the second half to offer a goal threat and a veteran presence up top.
Wrexham will be keen to manage Fletcher carefully, not just because he is now 37 but also because he is only just back from injury.
Fletcher has enjoyed a stunning end to 2024 but don’t be surprised to see his 2025 start from the bench once again.