Paul Mullin and James McClean to Wrexham’s rescue! Red Dragons overcome Port Vale in the EFL Trophy after Phil Parkinson makes excellent substitutions.
TELL ME MORE: This sounds like a two-part game! Port Vale, buoyed by an impressive away support, were cruising in the first 45, with Jesse Debrah and Ethan Chislett coming close from long range.
The away side’s pressure finally paid off shortly after half an hour. Josh Thomas finished off a fine team move from close range, after Gavin Massey capitalised on Dan Davies’ poor positioning out on the left.
A much-changed Wrexham looked lost offensively, lacking coherence and direction, their best chance coming from a long throw-in routine which saw Jake Bickerstaff fire over from close range.
But offensive reinforcements were never far away.
Phil Parkinson’s decision to make a triple change on the hour mark was a turning point for the match, namely the introduction of James McClean and Paul Mullin.
The Ireland international was lively from the outset, and took less than ten minutes to set up the Liverpudlian forward with a fine cross from the left. But McClean wasn’t finished there.
Seven minutes remained, and the 34-year-old finished off another incredible comeback for the Red Dragons with a thunderous header from Luke Young’s corner.
It was his first goal for the team.
THE MVP: He may have only featured for the last 30 minutes, but McClean‘s introduction changed the course of this match significantly.
When Wrexham lacked direction up top during the first hour, both he and Mullin came on and immediately boosted their offensive threat.
The duo’s combination play was simply too much for Port Vale to handle. McClean’s individual brilliance in particular was evidenced by his exquisite assist and pinpoint header; talk about a super sub!
THE BIG LOSER: It seems harsh to pinpoint one underperformer in particular, but Davies was caught napping for Port Vale’s opener.
The left-back gave Massey a yard of space more than he should have, and the right winger capitalised brilliantly.
However, with Tuesday’s match being only Davies’ first professional appearance, there will certainly be many stronger performances to come from the Welsh youngster.
