Wrexham

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Manager Phil Parkinson was delighted forward Jack Marriott was back among the goals as Wrexham maintained their bid for automatic promotion to the Championship.

Marriott, 30, suffered a broken leg in training in October 2024 which required surgery.

Marriott, who scored five goals for Wrexham in League One before his injury, netted the third in the 3-0 win over Burton Albion last Saturday.

"That goal was brilliant for him and for us," Parkinson said.

"It was tough for Jack - I remember going back to that day he got injured.

"Then in January when he was on his way back and we were looking at recruitment and brining players in I said to everybody – 'let's just remember we had Jack, who had a great start to the season'.

"He wasn't quite there yet, but there was an expectation and the potential for him to get back to the heights he reached early in the season."

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It looks like Wrexham fans will be biting their nails right through until the end of the season with the League One promotion race heading down to the wire.

Wycombe Wanderers' 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night, their game in hand, keeps them on Wrexham's tail in the battle to finish second - and the dream of a third successive promotion at the Stok Racecourse on hold for a little longer.

Crucially, automatic promotion to the Championship remains firmly in Wrexham's hands - they are three points ahead of Wycombe with each having five games left.

But Wanderers' win over Huddersfield means Easter Monday is the earliest the Red Dragons could go up.

Even then, that supposes Wrexham can claim at least seven points from their next three games - Wigan Athletic away on 12 April followed by Bristol Rovers on Good Friday and Blackpool on Easter Monday - while Wycombe lose two of their next three.

It is therefore likely to come down to either the penultimate weekend of the season, when Wrexham host play-off chasing Charlton Athletic, or the final day, when Phil Parkinson's side travel to Lincoln City.

Clearly, Wrexham fans would love to celebrate elevation to the second tier of English football for the first time in 43 years on their own turf.

But if the promotion party is delayed by seven days, another bumper travelling crowd will be at Lincoln's Sincil Bank on 3 May to kick-start the celebrations, with Wrexham's allocation of 1,800 tickets going on sale on Thursday.

Of course, it is possible there could be no celebrations until much later in May if Wycombe capitalise on any Wrexham slips and beat them to second place.

In which case, Wrexham would have to do it the hard way - needing just one more point from their remaining five games to guarantee a place in the play-offs - and hope champagne corks are popping at Wembley instead at the end of the League One play-off final on 25 May.

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Wrexham players do not need reminding of what's at stake during the final month of the League One season, says manager Phil Parkinson.

The Dragons are second in the table – an automatic promotion spot – and host Burton Albion at home after winning 2-0 at Exeter City last Saturday and drawing 2-2 at Cambridge United in midweek.

"I don't think we need to address what's at stake," Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.

"I think everybody knows but it's all about the focus on what's required.

"Overall the four points from the two away games is a good return and it readdresses the balance we've had between away games and home games.

"Now we've six to go – three at home and three away left."

Burton's squad features three players who joined the club from Wrexham during the season – midfielder James Jones, wing-back Anthony Forde and forward Jón Dadi Bödvarsson.

Fleur Robinson returned to Burton as chief executive in the summer after working in the same role at the Stok Racecourse after being appointed by owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

"We welcome those lads – a couple of them have been injured – back to Wrexham and obviously Fleur as well," Parkinson added.

"I worked closely with Fleur for three years so it will be nice to see Fleur.

"But of course our focus is on our performance level and what we need to do."

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Former Wrexham striker and manager Andy Morrell feels Wrexham have a more favourable run-in than Wycombe Wanderers as the League One finish line comes into sight.

Both sides were held to draws on Tuesday night, with Wrexham's contest with Cambridge United finishing 2-2 while Wycombe's match with bottom side Shrewsbury Town ended goalless.

It leaves Phil Parkinson's side in second place in the third tier with six matches remaining this season. The Chairboys are third and three points behind Wrexham, although they do have a game in hand.

Wycombe play six top 10 sides across their final seven games, with their opponents having an average current league position of eighth compared to 14th for Wrexham's remaining opponents.

"It's as you were," Morrell told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Charlton and Stockport are still six and seven points behind, Shrewsbury did us a favour. Wycombe had potentially more than 35 shots in the game but couldn't score.

"We take an away point, four points from the last two long away trips and we're back at home on Saturday.

"It's another one chalked off, and you can see the finish line. Can we get over it?

"Our run is slightly easier than Wycombe's, but we've still got a couple of tricky ties in there.

"Blackpool and Burton, both of those are going really well at the moment. We've got Charlton who are chasing us down as well so I think it's going to go right down to the wire.

"It's just so tight and tense. It's the team that can keep their heads the most, bring the intensity when you need to and try to get over the line in each of those games like we have done all season."

George Dobson gave Wrexham an early lead at Cambridge, although Liam Bennett equalised for the hosts before Josh Stokes made it 2-1 from the penalty spot.

But Sam Smith netted his fourth goal since joining Wrexham from Reading in January to ensure the visitors claimed a point.

"It started really well, we scored after a few minutes and it look really comfortable for the first half an hour, but then Cambridge got back into the game and they had a really good go," added Morrell.

"We equalised and it was pretty much a slugfest until the end. It was actually a good game to watch and probably a draw was a fair result.

"I thought it was a penalty, but Phil Parkinson was not happy afterwards saying it was one of the worst decisions he's ever seen."

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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham remain well placed to challenge for a third successive promotion despite a minor setback at Cambridge United on Tuesday night.

The Red Dragons could only manage a 2-2 draw against the side that sit second from bottom in League One.

But after Wycombe Wanderers were held to a goalless draw by bottom side Shrewsbury Town on the same night, Wrexham stay second in the table - three points ahead of the Chairboys who have a game in hand.

And despite his frustration towards referee Thomas Parsons for his decision to award Cambridge a penalty early in the second half, Parkinson took comfort from Wrexham's league position.

"We're 40 games in and we're in second place so we're not doing too badly, are we?" he said.

"Performance level, the process for each game, like we speak about with the lads, keep concentrating on that and we won't be far away."

Midfielder George Dobson fired the visitors in front after just four minutes at the Abbey Stadium.

Liam Bennett equalised just before half time, with Josh Stokes' penalty shortly after the restart putting Neil Harris' side ahead.

But striker Sam Smith's header on 57 minutes ensured the points were shared.

On Dobson's strike, Parkinson said: "Brilliant finish, absolutely fantastic strike. A midfielder's finish, low and hard from the edge of the box."

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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham will have to "fight tooth and nail" to maintain their impressive away form at Cambridge United as they look to take another step towards automatic promotion.

Wrexham travel to Cledara Abbey Stadium on Tuesday (19.45 BST) with Cambridge second-bottom of League One and 11 points from safety.

But Parkinson says the Red Dragons will have to work hard for a win as they bid to extend their advantage over Wycombe, who are currently three points below them in third with a game in hand.

"Cambridge will still believe they can put a run together, and we've got to be ready to fight tooth and nail like we did at Exeter," said the Wrexham boss.

"Headers, tackles, defending our box well. All of those things give you a platform to win games. We did it brilliantly, and we've got to do it again on Tuesday night."

Saturday's victory at St James Park was Wrexham's seventh from their last eight games on the road.

It kept them second in League One ahead of the match with a Cambridge side managed by former Cardiff City boss Neil Harris.

The U's are winless in the last six games, though Parkinson will no doubt remind his team they did take points off Wrexham in a 2-2 draw at the Stok Racecourse in December.

"Neil Harris has gone back there [as head coach] and they've had a change of director of football so there will probably be a different feel to their team, but we'll make sure we have a good look at them," said Parkinson.

"Each game you take in its own entity. Exeter was a completely different game to Stockport - a different system to come up against, different style of play, different strengths and weaknesses.

"Our focus has to be on that. When we come away from the game, did we tick the boxes we speak about in training?

"The answer was yes at Exeter...so can we do it again on Tuesday?

"There's no let up. If you feel you can win a game at 75 per cent, you can come unstuck. Everyone's got to be focussed, prepared to run the hard yards and put bodies on the line around both boxes."

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Wrexham goalscorer Ollie Rathbone says they will not take their winning run – or their opponents – for granted as they look to close in on league One promotion.

Rathbone opened the scoring for Phil Parkinson's side as they sealed a 2-0 success at Exeter, Jay Rodriguez adding a second from the spot in the north Wales side's third win in a row and fifth in six games.

Wrexham have also on an impressive away run, with the victory at St James Park their seventh from their last eight games on the road.

Having stayed in second spot, they now face a midweek trip to relegation-threatened Cambridge United on Tuesday.

After drawing with Northampton, the U's are 11 points from safety with seven fixtures remaining, but Rathbone said: "We can't take any team for granted. In this division, if you're not at 100% and you're not closing down, anyone can look a good player.

"We will prepare for it as if we were playing a team second in the table or if it was a cup final , we'll prepare the same to try and win.

"It's the club's first season back in League One and a lot of people would have taken top half, so to be where we are it's all down to the hard work we've put in. We want to keep it going, keep focusing on every game and see where it takes us."

Rathbone, 28, scored his sixth goal of the campaign in the win, with manager Parkinson hoping the former Rotherham man will be credited with the strike despite a deflection off a Grecians defender.

It is his career-best return in a single season, and he said: "It's been a good run and something I've tried to improve on. I'm getting chances; today was a bit fortunate but I am still getting chances and I'm confident I'll get goals."