Wrexham 2-0 Swansea: Red Dragons move step closer to Championship playoff dream | OneFootball

Wrexham’s push for a Championship playoff spot took another turn for the better, moving six points clear of seventh-placed Southampton with a clinical 2-0 win over Welsh rivals Swansea City at the Racecourse Ground.

Nathan Broadhead’s opener came after a bright start from the Swans, who forced Arthur Okonkwo into two good saves by the half-hour mark, and his teammate Sam Smith went within inches of a second shortly before the break.

Centre-back Callum Doyle, who assisted his teammate’s first-half strike, headed a pinpoint cross from George Thomason towards goal and saw it diverted into the net by Liam Cullen, as the Red Dragons eye a fourth promotion in as many seasons.

As it happened

Arthur Okonkwo denied the visitors a lightening-fast start, saving a tame effort from Portuguese playmaker Gonçalo Franco inside the first minute, who left himself wondering how he didn’t properly test the 24-year-old.

Welsh international Nathan Broadhead was involved for the first time on the end of an accurate cross from Manchester City loanee Issa Kaboré on the right, sending a looping header towards goal which Lawrence Vigouroux had to tip wide.

There were calls for a penalty as Zan Vipotnik, who leads the Championship for goals with an impressive 17 so far this campaign, fell to ground inside the box claiming he had his shirt pulled by Dominic Hyam, but referee Tom Nield was not interested.

The Swans had started well, with Franco setting up Vipotnik for a shot on goal with a delightful through ball in between Hyam and Clemworth, but Okonkwo rose to the occasion a second time and extended his left arm to make a great save.

Wrexham wouldn’t sit back despite Swansea’s early momentum, and took the lead against the run of play as centre-back Callum Doyle showed great vision to pick out Broadhead in a pocked of space inside the penalty area.

He battled his way past the last defender, before shifting the ball onto his stronger right foot and slotting the opener past Vigouroux, the contact he made with his left glove simply not enough to keep it out.

Kaboré was soon running in behind down the right after Zak Vyner found him with a fine first-time pass over the defense, and fired a dangerous low ball right across goal and Sam Smith couldn’t get the telling touch on the slide.

Broadhead wasted little time trying his luck for a brace, picked out by Lewis O’Brien after a charge through the middle of the park and curling not far wide from the left of goal.

Swansea might’ve had another case for a penalty, with Franco suggesting Hyam nudged him from behind as he skipped into the box and chested down the bouncing ball. Again, it was to no avail.

But Vitor Matos’ team pushed on in search of an equalizer, and came closest to the all important goal five minutes after the hour mark when a defensive header fell kindly to New Zealander Marco Stemanic just shy of the box.

Okonkwo reacted quickly to parry his snapshot on the volley round the left post, in what was quickly becoming a standout performance by the young shot stopper, shortly before Malick Yalcouyé saw his name in lights and lashed wide after the resulting corner.

The home side and support were both in uproar as Swans right-back Tymon saw just a yellow card for handling the ball on halfway in order to prevent substitute Josh Windass running in behind, one on one with the goalkeeper, instead appealing for his dismissal.

Swansea missed the opportunity to reduce the gap to the Red Dragons in sixth, and sit eight points from the top six in 11th place in the Championship table, despite a strong start to proceedings.

Wrexham’s strong end to a second half of few clear-cut chances continued their strong run of just one defeat in 10 league matches, as they took another decisive step closer to realizing their playoff dream.

Wrexham analysis: smart signings leading promotion surge

It has certainly been footballing Hollywood from Wrexham this campaign, as their surge up the pyramid continued with their crucial victory tonight. But the funds that arrived on Welsh soil with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney becoming the club’s major shareholders six years ago was by no means a guarantee of success.

The £39m spent over the course of this season was the third highest among Championship clubs this season, but has put them in a strong sixth place to suggest that hardly a penny has gone to waste. The same cannot be said for Ipswich Town and Southampton, spending £62m and £59m respectively and arguably underwhelming given their ambitions of a return to the top flight.

The Tractor boys find themselves four points behind Middlesborough in second and without assurances of automatic promotion for a second time under Keiran McKenna, and Southampton are six points behind Wrexham before their challenging trip to league leaders Coventry City tomorrow afternoon.

The opener involved a great piece of vision by centre-back Callum Doyle, a smart addition to the ranks after impressing during his season-long loan spell with Norwich City last season, and proven goal scorer Nathan Broadhead wouldn’t miss from six yards out.

You could say it was a strike £14.5m in the making, and then some with Doyle’s winner in the final 10 minutes of regular time. The fee is proving to be well spent.

Doyle’s previous employers, the Canaries had a torrid start to the season despite spending over £25m in the summer window, with their January additions – including promising winger Ali Ahmed and Socceroos international Mohamed Touré – raising their expenditure to just over £33m. This made them the fourth-highest spending club, yet are sat in 15th despite a resurgence under Philippe Clement.

Phil Parkinson is playing Football Manager in real life at the Racecourse, and it’s safe to say he’s having a blast.

Wrexham – Swansea City Live Score