Wrexham player ratings from a dominating 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday win where Phil Parkinson’s men should have scored more goals.
Yesterday’s 1-0 scoreline paints the picture of a closely contested Wrexham vs Sheffield Wednesday game. In reality, the Reds were the ones piling up all kinds of scoring chances on the evening. Every time, Wrexham felt like scoring the final action left a lot to be desired.
Upon the restart, many fans feared Phil Parkinson’s men might have to settle for a single point from Hillsborough. But then, Sam Smith got one tap-in right to send the winning relief among the away fans. The defence had a quite dull evening at the back, with Sheffield Wednesday rarely marching forward with decent chances.
The 3 points came, sure. But Wrexham need to be more clinical than this if they are to dismantle Millwall, Ipswich Town and Bristol City defences up next. Those sides are almost on par with the Red Dragons quality, and every point earned from those showdowns will tilt the playoffs scenario more in Wrexham’s favour.
That said, let’s dive into the Wrexham player ratings on a scale of 10 from a dominating yet clumsy 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday win.
Wrexham player ratings from 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday win
GK: Arthur Okonkwo – 8
Sheffield Wednesday tried catching Arthur Okonkwo off guard in the first half but the keeper was at hand to save a weak near post volley. Wrexham transfer target Bailey Cadamarteri posed the only real scoring problem, but Okonkwo parried his top-corner effort wide. Would be glad to add another clean sheet for Wrexham.
CB: Callum Doyle – 7
Doyle had another praiseworthy performance but was unlucky not to get a goal contribution. Beat his marker and swung a dangerous cross for Nathan Broadhead but couldn’t get the assist.
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Lofted an inch-perfect pass to Sheaf but the volley went up and over. Doyle even got a brilliant chance at goal but his low-drilled effort got blocked easily.
CB: Max Cleworth – 7
Cleworth and Doyle’s chemistry is growing day by day. When Doyle burst forward, Cleworth stayed back.
In the second half, Cleworth operated high up the pitch and set the tone for Issa Kabore’s assist that Sam Smith poked home from close range.
CB: Dominic Hyam – 8
Hyam nullified Owls striker Jerry Yates physicality all game. Didn’t leave a room for defensive doubt on the evening, which was relaxing to see after a disastrous first half at QPR.
LWB: Liberato Cacace – 7
Cacace helped Broadhead try a couple of things down the left which eventually didn’t work. Just before the 1-0 goal, Cacace released a long ranger from outside the box which could’ve ended up as an assist had Broadhead reacted quicker to tap it in.
CM: Matty James – 7
Matty James operated deep in the first half while Sheaf supported the Wrexham attackers. When the goal didn’t came for a longer period, James played a number of grounded passes behind the Owls defence.
One pass fell straight onto Sam Smith’s boots amidst a crowd of Wednesday players but Smith’s shot was denied.
CM: Ben Sheaf – 7
Wasn’t a bad outing from Sheaf who kept producing a cross here and there. His best moment of the game arrived just before half-time when he latched well onto Doyle’s chip but couldn’t keep his volley down.
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RWB: Issa Kabore – 8
Kabore had an unexpected shooting opportunity fell to him, but the right wing back hit it straight to the Owls No.1 . Linked well with Cleworth on the right to flock good crosses in the box, which gave him his first Wrexham assist post his injury recovery.
CAM: Nathan Broadhead – 7
The Broadhead-Cacace-Doyle combo always remains a treat to watch. The Wales international created plenty of scoring opportunities but missed a good chunk of them himself.
Mistimed a header from Doyle’s delivery, and then got caught up in two minds about whether to shoot a 1v2 chance himself or lay it off to Windass. Certainly, Broadhead needs to improve his final third decision-making.
CAM: Josh Windass – 6
Josh Windass first Hillsborough return was meant to be more busy than this. The other day, Windass took 5 shots on target against QPR as a late substitute but here, he was nowhere to be seen trying a shot by himself.
Despite that, Windass showed good presence of mind to leave Kabore’s cross for Sam Smith to direct into the open net.
ST: Sam Smith – 8
Wrexham fans have spoken it out loud about wanting Sam Smith as a guaranteed starter. Truly, Smith was the hero on the night and let’s see if he can make it 5 goals from 5 consecutive starts next Saturday against Millwall.
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