Phil Parkinson celebrates key win in Wrexham’s latest tussle with Notts County

Posted Sunday, October 29, 2023 by PA

Phil Parkinson believes Wrexham’s 2-0 win over Notts County is one of the best from his time with the Welsh club.

Goals in the second half from Elliot Lee and Ollie Palmer saw the Red Dragons move level on points with their opponents, who they fought with for automatic promotion in the National League last season.

Parkinson praised his side for overcoming several setbacks in the lead up to the game, including an injury in the warm-up.

“Yeah (it’s one of the best wins), not only this season but in my time as a manager at Wrexham,” Parkinson said.

“There was a lot of disruption this week with losing several players, and we lost Ryan Tunnicliffe in the warm-up, so with all that disruption and to put on a performance like we did is enormous credit to the lads.

“Notts are a good side, we know that, but the way the lads implemented the gameplan we set out to was outstanding and it’s a very important three points for us.”

Wrexham have gone unbeaten during October, with Parkinson insisting his side will not get carried away despite the result.

“We’ve come to one of our rivals who are right up there and taken three points which is crucial,” he added.

“When you look at the month of October and the games we’ve had, we had Bradford away in front of 20,000, Mansfield and Crawley away.

“To come out the way we have is great credit to everybody – we’re not going to get carried away obviously because it’s so early in the season.

“But it goes without saying, when you beat a team that are your rivals, not just this season but last year, in the manner we have done it’s a great confidence booster – not that we needed much of our confidence boosting.”

Despite defeat, County boss Luke Williams was relatively happy with his players, saying: “I’m not disappointed with any of the players.

“The level of the opposition is so high, and you must play extremely well to even be in a game with Wrexham. I thought we played overall well but it was difficult to create clear openings because they defended so well.

“The open chances were at a premium, and I think both their goals are not completely open chances. I think in the end, one goal between the two teams is probably fair.”

A level of respect between the two sides has been apparent since their record-breaking title clash in the National League last term.

Williams added: “Both sides would be naive not to respect each other because both the teams have played at a very high level for over a year now.

“We have to show that respect and I think we’ve earned that from them, and they earned that from us.”