Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson praised the performance of striker Jay Rodriguez as he helped the Red Dragons to a 2-0 win at Exeter which further boosted their promotion hopes in League One.
Rodriguez won and then scored a second-half penalty to add to Ollie Rathbone’s deflected strike in the opening half as the Welsh side won with ease at St James Park.
“Jay is a very experienced player and in and out of possession, he has real quality,” Parkinson said. “He won and scored the penalty for us and that was important as we haven’t had many pens this season.
“I felt we had two really big games against Wycombe and Stockport and coming here today was not going to be easy against a side that can be difficult to play against, but it was a comfortable victory in the end.
“I am really pleased with how we performed all round. We knew that they were going to be a big threat from set plays coming into the game, they have a lot of height in their team and we worked on it all week and I thought we defended really well.
“We then got into some good positions when we had the ball and the moment came with Ollie’s strike, which took a big deflection off the lad, but it was going in, so I hope he gets the goal.
“And then it is always good to get that second goal. We didn’t do that against Stockport when we had good chances to, but we got it today and that gave us that cushion.”
Defeat ended a six-match unbeaten run for Exeter, and manager Gary Caldwell was frustrated to come out on the wrong end of what he felt was an even game.
“Wrexham do simple things really well, they have a group of men on the pitch that know what it takes to win at this level – and the levels above – with the likes of Rodriguez and (Steven) Fletcher, who I played with when he was at Hibs,” Caldwell said.
“The stats are very even – possession was 50-50, we had eight shots, they had eight shots – but the big difference is the fine margins.
“I can’t fault the effort of the players, but I thought we had moments where we got into good areas, but we didn’t commit, we didn’t go past our men and I need more commitment from my players in those moments.
“I am always disappointed to lose, but I think the way we set the team up was giving them some problems in the first half with the wing-backs high and aggressive.
“But we conceded a really poor deflected goal from our point of view – there was nothing in the game first half – and then a penalty that was never a penalty in the second.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Real Madrid vs Al Hilal With the score at 10-0 against Auckland City, Manuel Neuer started doing warm-up exercises in the middle of the field... lol International Trophies It's been a year since Kylian Mbappé broke his nose at the Euros. We never got to see the mask everyone wanted to see "A competition without Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal & Bar...
Chelsea have kicked off their Club World Cup campaign, but behind the scenes there is still serious transfer work going on.While Enzo Maresca trains his players in the USA, the transfer team are getting to work on helping build his squad.Gittens still wants Chelsea – Chelsea still want GittensThe attempts to sign Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens before the tournament failed, but it's c...
Arsenal are in the mix to complete a surprise deal for former Manchester City player Aymeric Laporte, with a report detailing how much he will cost to sign from Al-Nassr this summer.Laporte first arrived in England in January 2018 when Man City broke their transfer record by paying Athletic Club £57million to sign him on a five-and-a-half-year contract. The centre-back went on to make 180 app...
Rafael Leao, Nico Williams, Bradley Barcola and Eberechi Eze are among Bayern Munich's potential targets after missing out on the signing of Bayer Leverkusen starlet Florian Wirtz, sources told ESPN.Wirtz, who is currently on holiday following the UEFA Nations League finals, is set to soon complete his transfer to Liverpool, after ESPN reported last week that the Premier League champions had agree...
Man Utd and Napoli show interest in Hudson-OdoiCallum Hudson-Odoi, who joined Nottingham Forest from Chelsea in 2023, has only a year left in his existing deal. The winger had an impressive outing in the 2024-25 campaign and played a key role in the club securing a European place after 30 years away from continental competition. The 24-year-old scored five goals and provided three assists in 36 ga...
Pablo Marin of Spain and Issa Doumbia of Italy battle for the ballSpain and Italy played out a 1-1 draw in their final group game of the UEFA European U21 Championship, ensuring both nations completed it without defeat (W2, D1).With passage to the quarter-finals already sealed for both nations, this matchup was purely a fight for top spot, and it was the Spaniards who edged proceedings in the earl...
Thomas Frank was chosen among 30 candidates for the Tottenham jobTottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has revealed that Thomas Frank was chosen among more than 30 other candidates to succeed Ange Postecoglou as manager.Tottenham chose Thomas Frank as their new head coach last week, and were made to pay London rivals Brentford 310million in the process as Franks appointment was published only days after...
Saudi clubs prepare huge bids for Tottenham captain KaneTottenham captain Son Heung-min has attracted interest from three Saudi Pro League clubs ahead of a potential summer move.The South Korea international has just 12 months remaining on his current Spurs deal and has been linked with a move away, with the North London club reportedly open to selling him this summer to cash in on the experienced...
And just like that, the transfer window is closed.Now depending on where you've been for the past few weeks, you might be asking yourself two questions:1. Is that a "Sex and the City" reference? 2. Wait, what?To the first question: Of course it is. Bring back Samantha.And to the second: With the Club World Cup kicking off this past weekend and set to stretch all the way through mid-July, FIFA gave...
LaLiga president Tebas: Barcelona cannot register Garcia - for nowLaLiga president Javier Tebas has warned Barcelona must sell to register Joan Garcia.Barca have agreed to pay goalkeeper Garcia's €25m buyout clause in his Espanyol contract.However, Tebas insists the Blaugrana do not have room in their registered budget to sign Garcia at this stage.He said, "We haven't even set dates yet, but...
- 1 DONE DEAL: Marseille confirm CJ Egan-Riley signing from Burnley
- 2 Chloe Kelly enjoys sun-kissed holiday as Arsenal star rests before Euro 2025
- 3 Jack Grealish set to leave Man City this summer
- 4 Man Utd make decision on replacing Andre Onana with Emi Martinez this summer
- 5 PSG vs Atletico Madrid Prediction 16 June 2025
- 6 Laura Woods gives update on post-pregnancy body
- 7 Real Madrid eye a trio of targets
- 8 Maddison and Wag announce they're expecting twins AGAIN
- 9 'If you want to understand, it's really obvious' – USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino responds to Christian Pulisic, eager to move past off-field drama
- 10 Tottenham make 'mega £70m bid for Bryan Mbeumo' as Man Utd fear hijack