Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson hailed the influence of veteran centre-forward Steven Fletcher after his goal, moments after coming off the bench, earned a 1-0 win at promotion rivals Huddersfield.
The 37-year-old Scot finished off a penalty box scramble to ensure Wrexham remain just two points behind second-placed Wycombe in Sky Bet League One.
Parkinson said: “When the games are coming thick and fast, as they are, the bench is really important and Fletch can put the fear into them.
“It was a scramble off a great cross and you wonder if it’s going to go into the back of the net but it does.
“Fletch is such a great team player – not just on the pitch but in the dressing room and around the place with the younger players – and on top of that he scores goals.
“We’re in the time of year where it’s tough to get wins and we had to go right to the wire with our concentration levels and our organisation without the ball.
“I felt we took 15-20 minutes to get up to the speed of the game. When you come to a place like this where the crowd’s up for it, you need to be ready.
“There were patches of the first half where we had our moments, but it wasn’t really where we want it to be – but maybe that’s nitpicking. I thought the focus was really there second half.”
Meanwhile, Huddersfield boss Michael Duff was left to wonder what might have been after his side failed to score for a sixth successive home game.
Duff’s team dominated much of the contest and he said: “I thought we were the better team.
“I thought there was a foul in the build-up to the goal and then it’s offside, Fletcher’s standing on the line.
“But we had chances throughout the game and we had to score the first goal. Dion Charles has got in one-on-one and you can almost see his brain ticking as he goes through, and he’s busted it high and wide over the bar. But he’s our player and we’re going to support him.
“We started the game really well, we were moving the ball really well, we were opening them up. The performance was enough to win the game but there’s frustration with the injuries at the moment.
“We had to keep making substitutions that were enforced and again we end up with a makeshift back four. We’re having to make changes at the minute and it’s frustrating.
“The players are giving everything for us and as a group we’ve just got to keep working, keep believing and go from there.”
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
Ewan Otoo poured cold water on Livingston’s title ambitions in the Scottish Championship by netting the winner in struggling Dunfermline’s 1-0 win.Three points for the visitors would have been enough to lift them above Ayr United and within five of pace-setters Falkirk, but they were unable to take the chance.After back-to-back wins they were brought back to earth at East End Park, whe...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender