Wrexham 1-2 Hull City: FLW report as Tigers earn crucial victory over Red Dragons in play-off race | OneFootball

FLW report from the Stok Cae Ras for this Championship fixture

Hull City recorded a critical victory against play-off rivals, Wrexham, at the Stok Cae Ras, running out 2-1 victors.

They were sent on their way to success when Joe Gelhardt curled a brilliant free-kick home after 40 minutes, before the forward was unable to give Sergej Jakirovic's men a two-goal lead at the break after he saw a penalty well-saved by Arthur Okonkwo.

Lewis Koumas netted his third goal on loan from Liverpool with a neat header with 27 minutes to play, before an onslaught from Phil Parkinson's side began when Nathan Broadhead flicked home his sixth goal of the campaign late on.

However, the Tigers were able to withstand the heavy pressure to take three points back to East Yorkshire after previous back-to-back losses.

Wrexham 1-2 Hull City

The first effort of the encounter saw Oli McBurnie fire well wide of Okonkwo's net after six minutes, after a cagey opening between the two promotion hopefuls.

The hosts were limited to no chances within the first 15 minutes. The aforementioned Okonkwo had severe trouble claiming a Paddy McNair corner that could have gone anywhere before it eventually went out for a throw-in. Cody Drameh then continued the Tigers' early pressure after driving forward and seeing his effort looped just over the crossbar.

Wrexham struggled to gain any momentum as the first period drew on, with McBurnie looking to replicate his part in Matt Crooks' winner at Portsmouth, but Okonkwo was able to clear in the nick of time after a loose backpass.

The Red Dragons then forced Ivor Pandur into his first save of the night as Josh Windass looked to strike across goal, but the Croatian was up to the task.

10 minutes before half-time, neat play from Broadhead allowed Zak Vyner the time and space to fire a fierce effort towards goal, which was smartly deflected behind by John Egan.

However, Jakirovic's side would take a deserved lead five minutes before the break when Gelhardt bent in a delightful free-kick from the right-hand side after Charlie Hughes was brought down.

The Leeds United loanee remained at the forefront of the action in the first-half's latter stages as Stephen Martin adjudged that he was fouled by Callum Doyle and awarded a penalty. However, Wrexham were handed a lifeline as Okonkwo guessed the right way to keep the scoreline at 1-0.

Parkinson's men looked to make amends for a below-par first-half, and 11 minutes into the second period, a low cross from George Thomason was smartly blocked by Hughes before Sam Smith could pounce.

Okonkwo was alert shortly after the hour-mark to stop Liam Millar from netting a third goal of the season, but City would double their advantage seconds later as the Canadian's cross was glanced home by Koumas into the bottom-left-hand corner.

Parkinson and his players were left visibly distraught by Martin's decision to wave away handball appeals from a fizzing Thomason shot with 14 minutes to go, before they were given a route back into the contest as Broadhead turned home a fine cross from substitute, Issa Kabore.

The hosts continued to ramp up the pressure in the final 10 minutes, with the advancing Doyle firing a shot which deflected behind whilst Broadhead missed a golden chance to equalise after Pandur was unable to claim the subsequent corner.

Bailey Cadamarteri and Jay Rodriguez combined shortly after being introduced, with the latter somehow directing a gilt-edged header wide of the target with the goal at his mercy.

However, an equaliser would never come, allowing the visitors to establish a six-point buffer between the two sides, with Wrexham on 57 points, whilst Hull now sit on 63.

Player Ratings

Wrexham

Arthur Okonkwo - 6

Max Cleworth - 6.5 (Cadamarteri 84" - 6)

Dom Hyam - 7

Callum Doyle - 6

Ryan Longman - 6.5 (Kabore 70" - 7.5)

Zak Vyner - 6.5 (Rathbone 46" - 6)

Lewis O'Brien - 6.5

George Thomason - 7

Josh Windass - 6 (Keillor-Dunn 70" - 6)

Nathan Broadhead - 7.5

Sam Smith - 6 (Rodriguez 85" - 6)

Unused Subs: D.Ward, R.Barnett, D.Scarr, L.Brunt

Hull City

Ivor Pandur - 6.5

Charlie Hughes - 7

John Egan - 7.5

Paddy McNair - 7.5 (Ajayi 69" - 6)

Cody Drameh - 7.5

Regan Slater - 7

Amir Hadziahmetovic - 6.5 (Lundstram 60" - 6.5)

Liam Millar - 7 (Collyer 82" - 6)

Joe Gelhardt - 8 (Belloumi 82" - 6)

Lewis Koumas - 7.5

Oli McBurnie - 6.5 (Joseph 68" - 6)

Unused Subs: D.Phillips, L.Coyle, C.McCarthy, K.Dowell

Phil Parkinson reacts as Wrexham defeated by Hull City

Reacting to the defeat against his former club, Parkinson's post-match thoughts were: "First half, we made too many mistakes in our back-third with the ball, and we gave a good team possession in dangerous areas and gave free-kicks away with a bit of frustration.

"There were some periods of decent play, and when we got Longy (Ryan Longman) on the ball on the right-hand-side we looked dangerous.

"It wasn't the consistent flow in our play, and we made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes with the ball," he explained.

"Second half, we were loads better. I know we conceded, but we had good control. They're always going to be dangerous on the break.

"We got the goal back, and on another day we go and get the second. A possible penalty appeal, I haven't seen it back yet.

"It wasn't our night. We weren't at our best in the first half, we know that. We've now got to respond on Friday (vs Swansea)," said the Red Dragons boss.

Sergej Jakirovic reacts to Hull City's crucial win vs Wrexham

Reacting to a huge victory for his side, Jakirovic said: "A very important three points and a very good victory.

"Wrexham are a very good team. They showed that already this season they are playing good football, especially at home. They are very dangerous.

"You never know here, even if it's 2 or 3-0. We had one experience of this in the EFL Cup.

"Maybe we could have scored a third with the penalty. But this is football, sometimes you miss, sometimes you score," he added.

"Credit to the lads, today they played a very good game.

When asked if he had any fears of a similar capitulation to the EFL Cup defeat in August, the Bosnian explained: "In football, 'the most dangerous result is 2-0'. But, I would always take 2-0 if we are leading.

"They created some difficulties for us, especially their crosses from our left side.

"Kabore is a very good player, and we don't have a natural left-back there, and this is why we changed Drameh to left-back and Regan (Slater) to right-back as we don't have these solutions.

"2-1 with 10 minutes to go plus added-time, it's very important we defend. But, we can control the game better, not to be afraid to play and pass the ball to each other and drive with the ball. You can't just kick the ball away.

"This is not the way, but in the end, we took three important points."

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