By David Williams
Phil Parkinson has insisted it is early days, but there is no denying his Wrexham team have quickly regained the Hollywood-fuelled momentum that carried them to back-to-back promotions.
The Wrexham manager smiled broadly, but made calming gestures with his hands after his team moved three points clear at the top of League One, with an emphatic 3-0 derby victory over Shrewsbury at The Racecourse Ground.
Parkinson’s side were told by many pundits to temper their expectations in the third tier, given that bigger clubs with larger budgets would be muscling their way to the top.
Instead, it is Wrexham who are at the summit, having taken 13 points from a possible 15 in their opening five matches.
Ollie Palmer’s early strike – set-up by the still ferocious James McClean – put Wrexham on their way, before Elliot Lee made it 2-0 before the break.
By the time Jack Marriott coolly scored on the hour mark after a mix-up between Toto Nsiala and keeper Toby Savin, Shrewsbury already knew they were not going to make the end credits in this movie.
“It’s a great start for us, it really is,” said Parkinson.
“We’re pleased, but five games in, we know it doesn’t count for a great deal.
Wrexham have accumulated more points since the start of the 2022/23 than any other club in England’s top five leagues ⚪️
Three more to add to the tally of 212 #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/yFSuyfpyLf
— Sky Bet (@SkyBet) September 7, 2024
“But we have to be pleased with our work so far this season and, now, we take a deep breath.
“Being top creates expectancy, but we have a group who are used to that and hopefully they can continue to thrive under that bit of added pressure.”
Wrexham supporters are denied the pleasure of a derby against Chester, these days, as their nearest rivals 12 miles up the road are currently playing in the sixth tier.
That requires them to switch their derby day focus to Shrewsbury, 30 miles away, but still a distant planet when it comes to the focus of media attention.
Still, it remained a match that the Shrews and their fans believed they might be able to make a real contest of.
Parkinson added: “It means a lot to our supporters. You could sense that in the build-up to the game and I said to the players beforehand, there were a lot of people talking about the game everywhere you went, they were mentioning the rivalry.
“So it’s a special feeling to win a derby game.”
Don’t want to brag but @Wrexham_AFC are amazing ⚽️
— Mickey T (@therealMickeyT) September 7, 2024
Wexham played at a tempo Shrewsbury could not match and the power balance – both collectively and individually – was always with the home side.
The defeat has dropped Shrewsbury into the relegation zone, with just one win from five, but they are unlikely to encounter many teams with the strength Wrexham now possess.
Late on, Parksinson was able to send on veteran Scotland striker Steve Fletcher as well as goal machine Paul Mullin, who is still feeling his way back after injury.
Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst insisted: “For quite a bit of the game at 2-0, we were well in the game, but they are very good at what they do and punished a couple of mistakes.
“Ultimately, we gave them a helping hand in terms of the goals, and it makes an already difficult task so much harder.
“They certainly punished a mistake with the third goal; in reality it killed the game off.
Not bad reading for Wrexham fans…
Do you think #WxmAFC can get promoted again this season? ⬆️#BBCFootball #EFL pic.twitter.com/rS2I5p1gSy
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) September 7, 2024
“We spoke at half-time about the importance of the third goal because I felt if we could get it naturally the scoreline can make the crowd and team edgy.
“We started the second half well, but like I said, you have to give them credit; they are very good at what they do.”
