Wrexham Vs Portsmouth: Parkinson praises grit after 2-1 win
In a hard-fought wrexham vs portsmouth encounter at Stok Cae Ras, Wrexham held on for a 2-1 victory that kept them inside the Championship playoff places and underlined their recent run of form. The result combined first-half headers from Sam Smith and Max Cleworth with a resilient second-half display after a Portsmouth reply.
Wrexham Vs Portsmouth: first-half headers and an early second-half reply
Sam Smith opened the scoring with a header in the 23rd minute, sending the packed crowd at the STōK Cae Ras to its feet. Max Cleworth added a second with a header 16 minutes later to give the hosts a two-goal cushion at half-time. Early in the second half Zak Swanson pulled one back for John Mousinho's men with a deflected strike, but the Red Dragons held on for the 2-1 win.
Phil Parkinson on illness in the camp and the team response
Phil Parkinson said Wrexham had overcome an illness in the camp to earn the victory. He confirmed that goal scorer Sam Smith and top scorer Kieffer Moore had been struggling with illness coming into the game and noted that "the energy levels weren't quite where they needed to be, we've had a bit of illness in the camp over the last few days. "
Parkinson added that "a few of the lads had it and Sam at half time was feeling ill. Kieffer had already been ill over the last couple of days. Sometimes you get that and someone might bring it into the club from home and we'll just clear the building in the next day or two and come back ready to go again. " He also said the team had dug deep, restricted Portsmouth to very few chances and that "sometimes football is about finding a way to win and we've done that really well tonight. "
Match state and defensive recovery in North Wales
After the deflected Swanson goal early in the second half, alarm bells sounded in North Wales, but Parkinson's side hunkered down and closed out the match without conceding a late equaliser. Parkinson had said earlier that "I thought we were excellent first half. We really bossed the game. " The squad survived the visitors' second-half fightback to clinch three valuable points.
Standings after 34 games: sixth place and playoff position
Three more points keep Wrexham in sixth place, with 54 points through 34 games, and the victory keeps them in the EFL Championship playoff spots. Wrexham have now won five of their nine league matches since the calendar flipped to 2026. The team holds a three-point cushion to Preston North End in seventh and, if the campaign ended this instant, the Red Dragons would make the Championship playoffs.
Millwall sit in fifth with a game in hand; should Alex Neil's men defeat Birmingham City on Wednesday, they would be five points ahead of Wrexham.
Next up: Charlton trip and the immediate schedule
Wrexham will look to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Charlton at the weekend. The hosts have won just one of their last five matches and, on form, should pose little threat to the Red Dragons. Parkinson's men will want to comfortably collect three points before unclear in the provided context.
