Wrexham opened the game on the back foot, with Huddersfield Town dominating the first 45 minutes. The hosts had more scoring chances and could have broken the game only minutes before halftime. Callum Marshall set up Dion Charles in the heart of the box with a superb pass in the 40th minute, but the forward’s effort went over the crossbar. The Red Dragons appeared more poised in attack after the interval, with Jay Rodriguez coming close to scoring twice. In the 57th minute, Rodriguez attempted a shot from the edge of the box, but Lee Nicholls saved it. In the 67th minute, the English custodian denied Rodriguez’s close-range header, preventing Wrexham from taking the lead.

In the 72nd minute, Phil Parkinson replaced Jay Rodriguez with Steven Fletcher, and the 37-year-old hit the ground running, breaking the tie within a minute. Smith attempted a header from Oliver Rathbone’s cross, which Nicholls saved, but Fletcher was in the perfect position to convert the loose ball. Fletcher confirmed an important three points for the Welsh club as their nearest challengers, Wycombe, won. With Birmingham City losing to Bolton, Wrexham have closed the gap on the league leaders to 11 points.

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  THE MVP

  Fletcher proved to be the Red Dragons’ super-sub, scoring the winning goal just a minute after replacing Rodriguez. After Smith’s initial header was blocked, the former Stoke City player positioned himself precisely inside the box to score the goal.

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    THE BIG LOSER

    The Huddersfield strikers let their team down by squandering chances in the first half, which cost them precious points. The Terriers were the more dominant side for the entirety of the game and produced numerous scoring opportunities, but they failed to convert them.

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      WHAT COMES NEXT?

      Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s team will return to League One action on Saturday when they face Rotherham.

       

     

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