Wrexham remain just two points behind Wycombe Wanderers having beaten Huddersfield Town 1-0 on Tuesday night.
The League One promotion race is entering its final stretch with Wrexham hoping to secure a place in the Championship.
Wrexham only drew at home to Bolton Wanderers over the weekend but Phil Parkinson managed to seal a huge win on the road.
Tuesday night saw Wrexham travel to take on Huddersfield Town, another League One side seeking promotion this season.
In a game low on quality for large spells, Wrexham managed to win the game in suitably scruffy fashion.
Steven Fletcher scored after a goalmouth scramble, handing Wrexham a 1-0 win over Huddersfield as the travelling fans went absolutely wild celebrating another away victory.
Steven Fletcher ahead of Jay Stansfield in one area
This game won’t last long in the minds of football purists and Fletcher’s winning goal won’t be winning any awards.
None of that matters in the promotion race though; it’s all about points on the board.
Fletcher has made a real habit of scoring big goals to win games this season with Parkinson regularly deploying him from the bench.
Parkinson feels that Fletcher is ‘unplayable’ as a substitute and that theory has been proven right on many occasions this season.
Fletcher’s goal on Tuesday night takes him onto seven goals for the season despite starting just two League One games.
The 37-year-old’s impact off the bench is just incredible and that means that he now stands on top of the League One scoring charts in terms of goals per 90 minutes.
As noted by The Wrexham Lowdown and as seen on Fotmob, Fletcher’s goals from the bench mean that he now boasts a record 0.82 goals per 90 minutes.
That puts Fletcher at the top of tree in League One, just ahead of Birmingham City’s big-money star Jay Stansfield and Wycombe Wanderers ace Richard Kone.
There are some qualifiers here; Fotmob’s FAQ’s show that a player must have played at least 90 minutes to qualify for any per 90 minutes statistic.
That means Wycombe’s Sam Vokes, Stockport County’s Benony Andresson, Burton Albion’s Fabio Tavares and Lincoln City’s Joe Gardner are all ruled out of contention as they haven’t amassed 90 minutes of League One action yet, despite scoring goals.
Fletcher can therefore boast stop spot – and that goalscoring record from the bench could fire Wrexham into the Championship.
Phil Parkinson on Steven Fletcher
Fletcher turns 38 this month and the man himself would probably admit that his playing career is heading towards its end.
The Scot is just so good in front of goal though and whilst he can continue making a big impact, Wrexham will continue to call his number from the bench.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has now praised Fletcher whilst speaking to the clubs official YouTube channel.
“Listen, Fletch has been outstanding for us,” said Parkinson.
“It was ricocheting around the box and you’re thinking ‘is it going to end up in the back of the net?’ but Fletch stuck it away and I think it was a key moment for us tonight.
“Fletch, not just his goals but his character around the training ground is brilliant for us, he helps the young lads and he plays such a key part for us,” he added.
Fletcher may not be starting many games for Wrexham but it’s clear that Parkinson has great admiration for him – and will continue to rely on him for goals even if only from the bench.