Wrexham player ratings from 2-1 Derby County win during the 26th Championship matchday. 2 Reds starters bag 9/10 player ratings from the night.
Since May 2025, Wrexham fans have started to dream about the 4th consecutive promotion in a row. Until fifteen days ago, the task looked out of depth for the current Red Dragons squad.
However, there is a statement that goes like this. It doesn’t matter how you start, it only matters how you finish. At this specific moment, Wrexham are playing like a well drilled unit that can finish any quality Championship side standing in their way.
After months of being a yo-yo club that took some wins and enough draws on their table, Wrexham have finally cracked the Championship code.
From weeping over a last-minute Swansea City disaster, Phil Parkinson’s men have won 4 matches on the bounce. A huge credit goes to Matty James for producing a sumptuous volley to keep the winning streak up and running, but he wasn’t the only Reds starter who had a strong away day at Derby.
With that said, let’s take a look at how every Wrexham starter performed to cap off a closely contested 2-1 Derby County win.
Wrexham player ratings from 2-1 Derby County win
On a scale of 10, below are the player ratings of every Wrexham starter who played a valuable hand against Derby on the first weekend of the New Year 2026.
GK: Arthur Okonkwo – 6
Okonkwo was superb in dealing with near post shots. Didn’t have much of a chance when Diaz nearly came 1v1 however, Okonkwo couldn’t even guess the shot’s direction properly.
CB: Callum Doyle – 7
Doyle made a few mistakes giving away possession cheaply but luckily that didn’t came to haunt Wrexham. Regularly, he came forward to give Nathan Broadhead more crossing options up front, and this strategy paid off with Sam Smith’s 1-0 opener.
CB: Max Cleworth – 8
Stopped Derby County’s counter attack swiftly in their own half, by winning possession higher up the pitch. Also, complimented Hyam well to handle Patrick Agyemang’s scoring threat.
CB: Dom Hyam – 7
Dom Hyam imposed his physicality well on Diaz and Agyemang, and barely gave the duo much opportunities to test Okonkwo. Still, Diaz sent Hyam the wrong way before leveling things up.
LWB: George Thomason – 7
Thomason wasn’t the usual chance creator for Wrexham here, but his defending helped the visitors get out of trouble on a number of occasions. With these crucial cameos, Thomason’s place will stay secure in Parky’s eyes even with Liberato Cacace waiting in the wings.
CM: Matty James – 9
Commendable decision making from Matty James to go with precision instead of power on the 2-1 strike. Else, James may have skied his effort and who knows, the full-time scoreline will then go onto read 2-1 in Derby’s favour.
CM: Ben Sheaf – 8
Carried the ball into the final third for Nathan Broadhead and Ryan Longman to deliver chances. In the first half, Sheaf whipped in a sublime cross for Sam Smith but the striker headed wide of the target.
RWB: Ryan Longman – 7
Operated in tandem with Josh Windass on the right. Didn’t find clear-cut chances for Wrexham to score, but his pressing contribution was decent nonetheless.
LW: Nathan Broadhead – 7
Broadhead’s assist was genius playmaking in every sense, no doubt. His confidence has also increased by playing more in recent weeks, however his shooting needs a good amount of improvement.
Missed a sitter on the rebound in the first half, and later fired far away from target with the Derby goal wide open.
ST: Sam Smith – 9
Played like a true No.9 with his back facing the goal throughout the game. Often, Sam Smith won aerial duels to create chances for his teammates and grabbed another goal while starting with a well taken finish.
RW: Josh Windass – 7
Nowadays, Josh Windass form has paled down which could be down to his fitness. Still, Windass had a moment of magic when he took on Derby’s midfield core by himself and dribbled his way to the box, but his final shot was saved.
