Wrexham are through to the next round of the EFL Trophy after drawing at Port Vale on Tuesday night.
Wrexham’s attention moved away from League One and over to the EFL Trophy with a trip to Port Vale.
Wins over Salford City and Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21’s had already guaranteed Wrexham’s passage into the knockout stages.
That allowed Phil Parkinson to make 11 changes to the Wrexham lineup but Will Boyle’s injury in the warm-up prompted a late change.
In came Max Cleworth and he opened the scoring in the first half before a late Port Vale leveller.
The game went to penalties and Port Vale came out on top, but that was pretty inconsequential as Wrexham went through top of the group.
Phil Parkinson impressed with Wrexham duo
Wrexham can now look forward to a home tie in the next round with Tranmere Rovers a potential opponent.
This game was ideal for Wrexham in terms of handing chances to players who really needed minutes.
Parkinson has hailed Sebastian Revan whilst recent signing Matty James also caught Parkinson’s eye.
James was one of three players making a first start as Josh Adam and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson also featured.
Bodvarsson partnered Modou Faal in the Wrexham attack as he builds up his minutes having joined Wrexham as a free agent in October.
The Icelandic forward hadn’t started a game since the end of last season but was given the nod alongside Faal.
Parkinson liked what he saw, telling Wrexham’s official YouTube channel that he saw a ‘good combination’ between Faal and Bodvarsson.
Parkinson suggested that both Faal and Bodvarsson were ‘brilliant’ in the Wrexham attack and really worked hard for the cause.
“The front two were brilliant, really really good,” said Parkinson.
“A good combination, they played close together and I thought they worked tirelessly for the team,” he added.
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Parkinson will need Modou Faal and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson
Wrexham have recently lost two strikers to injury with Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher facing lay-offs.
Parkinson can rely on Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin in the Wrexham attack but the busy festive period is on the horizon.
Wrexham will need to take Palmer and Mullin out of the side from time to time, whether from the start or from the bench.
Having a combination to rely on in attack will be paramount for Wrexham and Parkinson needed to sell just how Faal and Bodvarsson – two tall and physical strikers – fared together.
Neither were on the scoresheet but Parkinson was clearly encouraged by what he saw from the two strikers.