Wrexham player ratings vs Sheffield United. Issa Kabore 9/10, Josh Windass brilliant from the Reds 2-1 comeback win in the Championship.
A tale of two halves is a quite common phrase used across English football to describe epic comebacks. Wrexham fans have seen many of them this season, such as the 5-3 wins over Sheffield United and Ipswich Town as well as the late 3-2 winner at QPR.
Yesterday’s 2-1 Sheffield United win on the road didn’t saw as many goals as those games listed above. However, as assistant boss Steve Parkin said this Blades victory will go down in Wrexham’s history books as an underrated win in a game that felt well out of reach.
Chris Wilder’s men really showed up at home like they did in the Premier League promotion final at Wembley last May. They found plenty of gaps within the Reds backline, had a goal disallowed and came close to netting 3-4 goals inside the opening 45 minutes.
Somehow, Wrexham escaped that phase at 0-0. Phil Parkinson’s men were eventually punished just minutes after the restart. But to everyone’s surprise, Wrexham created two massive scoring opportunities and converted them well unlike the wasteful Sheffield United side.
With that in mind, let’s head over to the Wrexham player ratings of every Reds starter on a scale of 10 from a much-needed 2-1 result.
Wrexham player ratings vs Sheffield United
GK: Arthur Okonkwo – 6
Called into action early on when Patrick Bamford was left free on a 1v1 chance. That attempt went wide like many Sheffield United shots. Okonkwo did parry away the conceded 1-0 goal but Andre Brooks turned it in.
CB: Callum Doyle – 5
Beaten by Callum O’Hare’s movement on the left. Andre Brooks dribbled past Doyle in the build up to the Blades goal. Flew a few crosses in hope but overall, it was a poor day for Doyle.
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CB: Dom Hyam – 5
Dom Hyam struggled with Patrick Bamford’s movement yet again. The Scot was left appealing for offside on Bamford’s missed chance and was sent the wrong way later but Burrows fired wide.
CB: Max Cleworth – 6
Cleworth was the most advanced of the 3 centre-backs. Made a vital clearance when Okonkwo got down and otherwise had an error-free shift, unlike his peers.
LWB: George Thomason – 7
Stayed closer to the defenders to help Wrexham survive frequent Sheffield United attacks. Thomason displayed immense playmaking ability to find Sam Smith with a through ball that was placed inside the back of the net by Josh Windass.
CM: Zak Vyner – 7
Zak Vyner spent the afternoon mainly chasing down the hosts. Upon finding space in the middle of the park, Vyner dialled a pass to Issa Kabore who found Sam Smith for the 2-1 winner.
CM: George Dobson – 7
Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare ran circles around Wrexham but George Dobson tracked back to do the dirty work. Sometimes he succeeded in winning the ball, mostly he didn’t but Dobson kept his intensity levels high across the 90 minutes.
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RWB: Issa Kabore – 9
Set the offside trap on Gustavo Hamer’s disallowed header. Issa Kabore very nearly got a first half assist but O’Brien couldn’t keep it on target. During the second half, Kabore was more lively on the right flank and his curling ball for Sam Smith’s goal was chef’s kiss.
CAM: Josh Windass – 8
Tested Blades keeper Adam Davies with a weak effort in the first half. Made an intelligent run to anticipate Sam Smith’s pass and tap the 1-1 equaliser in.
CAM: Lewis O’Brien – 7
Had Wrexham’s only decent chance before the break and missed badly. Improved in midfield as the game wore on, and would feel thankful his missed header didn’t cost Phil Parkinson’s men.
ST: Sam Smith – 8
Covering large parts of the ground tirelessly is one of the underrated aspects of Sam Smith’s play style. At Sheffield United, Smith acted on Thomason’s long ball and served the assist to Josh Windass.
Fifteen minutes later, Sam Smith spotted Issa Kabore’s delivery and crashed into the box to seal the win for the visitors.
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