Wrexham Can Do Better After Burnley Draw

Phil Parkinson did not try to dress it up. A point, yes. Progress, maybe. But not enough.

Wrexham’s 1-1 draw with Burnley at the Racecourse kept their unbeaten run ticking along at three matches, yet it also underlined why that first home win of the season still refuses to arrive.

They had to come from behind to get anything at all. Bottom of the Championship or not, Burnley asked more questions than Swansea and Millwall had managed in Wrexham’s previous two outings. Jacques Ekomie’s second-half header rescued the Red Dragons, who had trailed to a side fighting to climb off the foot of the table.

Parkinson, fresh from a 3-0 win at Millwall and a goalless draw at Swansea, expected more control without the ball. He did not see it.

“There are things we can do better,” the Wrexham manager said, reflecting on a night that never quite settled. His team, so disciplined in those last two away performances, allowed Burnley too much room to play.

The visitors tweaked their approach. Wrexham did not react quickly enough.

“Without the ball, tactically we didn't get it quite right. They changed a couple of things and we were also a bit passive in terms of the way we pressed as well,” Parkinson admitted.

That was the frustration. At Swansea and Millwall, Wrexham had restricted both opponents to “hardly a shot on goal”, as Parkinson pointed out. The structure held, the distances were right, the press was sharp. Against Burnley, the gaps appeared, and Burnley happily played in them.

“Against Burnley there was just a bit too much space in areas and we need to look at that,” he said. “We got caught 10 to 15 yards too deep at times.”

The pattern was obvious. Wrexham dropped off, Burnley stepped in. The visitors’ confidence grew, and the Racecourse felt edgy.

The response came at the break. Parkinson and his staff pushed the line higher, demanded more aggression, more intent. The players delivered.

“At half-time we rectified that and the pressing was loads better,” Parkinson said, satisfied at least with the reaction if not the full 90 minutes.

Ekomie’s header ensured Wrexham did not pay the full price for their early passivity. The unbeaten run stays alive. The search for a statement home win does too.