Wrexham edged out Lincoln City with a slender 1-0 home win but failed to close gap at the top as late heroics from Wycombe saw them beat Mansfield.
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Wrexham beat Lincoln 1-0Narrowed the gap at the top to two pointsMcClean played a captain's role and stole the showFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE
It was not one of the brightest and cleanest performances from Wrexham, but they just did enough to pick up the three points and get their title ambitions soaring again. They were hoping to close down the gap at the summit to two points with Wycombe, but a late Luke Leahy goal at Adams Park fired the leaders to a 1-0 win of their own against Mansfield that dampened Wrexham's plans.
Phil Parkinson's men were the dominant force right from the first whistle with Elliot Lee slotting in as a second striker to Ollie Palmer – just as they did against Exeter City in League One. However, the pair were struggling to link up and goal-scoring opportunities came at a premium for both teams. Palmer came close to giving his side the lead after latching onto a cross from McClean but his effort went across goal. Minutes later, just before the end of first-half, Lewis Brunt headed against the woodwork after jumping the highest to get his head to a McClean free-kick.
Parkinson's pep talk might have worked as Wrexham showed more teeth in attack in the second half. The almost 12,000-strong crowd did their best to inspire their heroes and McClean finally broke the deadlock in the 67th minute. It was a fortuitous strike as the Wrexham skipper's attempted cross took a deflection off Tendayi Darikwa and ended up inside the net. The goal provided the Red Dragons with a spring in their step and they went for the insurance goal with Paul Mullin being introduced in the 73rd minute. However, Mullin's dry run in front of goal continued as Wrexham settled for a 1-0 win.
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McClean was the star of the show as his attempt ended up being the difference-maker between the two sides. Although it was awarded as an own goal to Darikwa, credit must be given to the Irish for his intent and power on the delivery that completely bamboozled the defender.
THE BIG LOSER
It was a tight defensive performance from Lincoln but Darikwa's momentary lapse of concentration and a fumbled clearance brought their downfall. The velocity completely took him by surprise and the defender had no one to blame but himself for the mistake.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
The Red Dragons will be back in action against Barnsley on Tuesday in their next League One fixture.
