Wrexham’s upcoming QPR clash will see them facing a familiar name in Ronnie Edwards, who stood central to the biggest talking point in his last appearance against the Reds.
The monthly Championship cycle resets as Wrexham slips back into their old habits of dropping points. Having last done so against Swansea on 19th December, Wrexham repeated the deed against Leicester now.
Conceding a stoppage-time equaliser, the Dragons let go of another opportunity to close down the gap towards a playoff spot. While this matchday took their tally to 20 points lost from winning positions, it hardly surprises fans of what has been their season-long woe.
Tracking back to its origin, Wrexham’s sequence of gifting away points began in the Championship opener. Despite having gone 1-0 up within an hour, Parky’s men fumbled it all in the crunch moments to end up losing for 2 stoppage time goals.
Though it’s been months since the defeat, that stinging result still aches fans in Southampton or promotion discussions.
To Wrexham’s relief, they aren’t up against the Saints any time soon. Still, that doesn’t excuse them from the next matchday’s reality that ought to bring all those fears back.
In the upcoming contest against Queens Park Rangers, Wrexham meet the protagonist of the Saints’ comeback on the league opener. He’s Ronnie Edwards, whose involvement in a controversial decision changed the fate of the result despite his not actually making goal contributions.
What happened that frustrated Phil Parkinson?
In the buildup that led to Wrexham’s only goal of the evening, Ronnie Edwards rashly brought Kieffer Moore down in the box. While the Reds were compensated with a spot-kick, boss Phil Parkinson remains unconvinced of the referee’s lenient assessment.
Post-game, Parky didn’t hesitate to bring his disappointment to the media as he deemed Edwards’ foul as a sent-off worthy play.
As quoted by the BBC, Parkinson mentioned: “I’ve just spoken to the ref [James Bell] and said my interpretation of that rule is that if it’s an intentional push it’s a straight red. We saw that from the touchline, we saw it again on the footage at half-time and I can’t see how he’s not got that right, it’s a game-changing moment if they go down to 10 men.”
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Likely, a red for Edwards as early as the 22nd minute of the game would’ve had the result pre-decided in Wrexham’s favour. Neither would opposition gaffer bring in an attacking option like Ryan Manning in the final 20 minutes, nor would the comeback go through.
Still, those things are in the past now. What’s next is Ronnie Edwards facing off against Wrexham in QPR’s colours this time.
What to expect from Ronnie Edwards Vs Kieffer Moore?
Ronnie and Big Kieff were the focal characters in their last clash-off. The same is expected this time when the duo go against each other in an even more balanced tie between the 9th and 12th-ranked sides.
While the anticipation builds up for a cracker contest, the possibility of a flop show isn’t ruled out. Given Edwards’ recent game involvement, there’s little chance that he gets the starting go-ahead against Wrexham.
That’s because, though Wrexham didn’t get the 10-man advantage against Southampton, Edwards learnt his lesson. Having been dropped for the next couple of games, he has been struggling for game time ever since.
The ongoing QPR spell gave him an exit route from his outcast Southampton situation in a £4.5m deal, but he’s yet to make his spell debut here. Interestingly, the upcoming Wrexham game can be his biggest test in a potential debut as he faces Big Kieff in a decisive Championship clash.
Overall, it’s touted to be an interesting battle as an injury returnee, Moore, faces an out-of-rhythm Ronnie Edwards. Even a cameo faceoff would suffice for the fans who’d hope for Big Kieff to emerge the winner again.
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