'Right up there' - Wrexham coach makes Sheffield United admission after Bramall Lane triumph
Wrexham assistant manager Steve Parkin described their 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon as one of their best victories of the season.
After falling behind to Andre Brooks’ opener just four minutes after half-time, Wrexham composed themselves to draw themselves level just five minutes later when former Sheffield Wednesday man Josh Windass converted Sam Smith’s low cross.
Just over 20 minutes later, Smith netted the winner, heading home Issa Kaboré’s cross to seal a vital three points for the Red Dragons in their quest to secure a top six berth. They are currently seventh in the standings, just behind Southampton on goal difference.
For the Blades, Saturday’s defeat all but ended their own play-off aspirations. They are now 17th in the table, 13 points behind sixth-placed Southampton with just seven games left to play.
Although United have hit a rough patch at the worst possible time, winning just one of their last six, Wrexham assistant Parkin always felt the Red Dragons would face a stern test at Bramall Lane.
“We knew coming here today, it's always a difficult place to come,” Parkin told Wrexham’s club website. “I think we knew that if we let Sheffield United get a foothold in the game, it could be a difficult day, and I think that we applied ourselves well.
“They had a spell in the first half where they did get on top, but the reaction after the goal conceded, and the way the lads applied themselves after a real difficult run of games, I thought was absolutely outstanding.”
On the importance of beating the Blades to sign off for the international break in a strong position, Parkin added: “The Manager's just said in the dressing room that it’s right up there in our top ten of games that we probably needed to win, and needed to keep our run going.
“I think that it's been fairly obvious that a few people wrote us off after the Watford game.
"We have got a few injuries, and we've got a few players that would ordinarily be in and around the team, that are not available at the moment, and I think it was a big effort from the lads psychologically as well, to turn the tables on a really good side after the disappointment of Tuesday night.
“So, that is right up there, really right up there, as one of our best wins.”