Wrexham nabbed their first win of 2025 against Peterborough at the weekend, and in the process, did something they hadn’t managed to do in the last five games.
After the disappointment of losing to Barnsley on New Year’s Day, Phil Parkinson made plenty of changes to the Wrexham lineup for the home clash with Peterborough on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Barnett, George Dobson, and Wrexham captain, James McClean, were all out of the starting XI, but perhaps the most important alteration was the swap in goal, with Mark Howard making way for Arthur Okonkwo.
Despite the upheaval, Wrexham managed to grab a 1-0 win, and Okonkwo could end up making all the difference in the Red Dragons’ pursuit of promotion.
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Arthur Okonkwo is back, and so are Wrexham’s clean sheets
It was always obvious Okonkwo would replace Howard at some point after returning from his wrist injury, and the Wrexham number one did not disappoint.
Okonkwo had the best save percentage in the Football League in 2024, and he kickstarted his 2025 in style with another clean sheet against Peterborough.
That was Wrexham’s first clean sheet in five games — the last one coming in the EFL Trophy win over Crewe on December 10 — and now that Okonkwo is back, one would imagine those blanks will keep on coming more regularly, too.
| Statistics | Arthur Okonkwo vs Peterborough |
|---|---|
| Saves | 1 |
| High claims | 1 |
| Pass accuracy % | 61 |
| Touches | 22 |
| Match rating | 7.1 |
Granted, Okonkwo was not exactly put to the test against the Posh, but he still managed one save, came to claim the ball up high in his area, and picked up one of the better player ratings for Wrexham on the day from SofaScore.
Wrexham will be solid at the back, now they just need to find goalscoring boots again
Of late, the Wrexham squad has been struggling at both ends of the pitch, at least in relative to their usual tight defensive displays and prolificacy in front of goal.
Now that Okonkwo is back, the Red Dragons should be absolutely fine at the back, which is a huge problem solved; after all, you can’t lose football matches if you don’t concede a goal.
From there, Parkinson will have to find a way to get his team back among the goals. Steven Fletcher is in ‘incredible’ form right now, but he alone cannot deliver all the goals Wrexham will need to secure promotion this term.
With a solid foundation at the back, and perhaps a new striker on the way for Wrexham, we could yet see the Red Dragons in the Championship next year.