The match burst into life inside 13 minutes when Ryan Alebiosu tore down the right flank with conviction and arched a dangerous cross into the area. Andri Gudjohnsen met it with a well-timed header, steering the ball past the outstretched Arthur Okonkwo and into the far corner to silence the home crowd. The second half opened with Blackburn threatening to put the result beyond doubt. A succession of corners came to nothing, but the visitors’ intent was clear. In the 56th minute, Yuki Ohashi slalomed cleverly past a pair of Wrexham defenders and unleashed a thunderous effort that Okonkwo managed to parry. Gudjohnsen pounced on the rebound but failed to keep his shot below the bar. With five minutes added at the end of regular time, Wrexham pushed bodies forward in a desperate final surge.
Their persistence was rewarded in the 95th minute when Tom Reeves awarded a free-kick near the touchline, a decision that left Blackburn incensed. From the resulting set piece, George Dobson curled in a tantalising cross. Striker Kiefer Moore rose to knock it back across the area, and the loose ball spilled to Nathan Broadhead, who struck a ferocious volley towards goal. The effort clipped Cleworth and spun into the net, sparking a frenzy inside the Racecourse Ground that felt more like a victory than a point gained.
The late drama was not lost on Hollywood co-owner Mac. Moments after Cleworth’s decisive touch diverted the ball into the net, the actor fired off a succinct but emphatic one-word tribute on social media: “Legend @maxcleworth8.”
Manager Parkinson acknowledged that his side had been off-colour for portions of the first period but applauded the response after the interval.
He said: “It is a decent point. We had chances and didn’t take them, but we kept plugging away and the moment eventually came. If it had happened five minutes earlier, we probably would have won the game. We were careless at times, but we upped the ante in terms of quality in the second period.”
Blackburn head coach Valerien Ismael, however, was seething. He did not hide his frustration when discussing the free-kick that preceded the late equaliser.
He said: “It was a disgrace that the referee gave the free-kick in the first place. One of Wrexham’s players came up to me after the game and said it was not a free-kick. I don’t know how the linesman could have given it, and it is a tough one to take, but I am always proud of my players, and we put in a consistent and strong performance. Wrexham pushed, but we mostly defended well.”
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Beyond the immediate drama, the club’s hierarchy is already turning its gaze toward strengthening the squad further. Chief executive Michael Williamson confirmed Parkinson will be backed in the January transfer window, even after adding 13 players during the summer.
Speaking to The Leader he said: “When you bring in a player in January, you’re bringing them in hoping that they have an impact on your current season, but you’re also thinking about if they will be ready for the next season. We brought in [Ryan] Longman and [Sam] Smith during the last January transfer window. We did that knowing that Longman had experience in the Championship already, and we felt Smith was a player who was going to be ready for the Championship and to have an impact there.
“You see him coming off the bench having an impact and Longman having some starts and also coming off the bench. That’s the type of approach that you would take in January [looking at] who can help us in the Championship but also help us for when we arrive to the Premier League.”
Wrexham’s improvement saw them climb into ninth place with 26 points from 18 matches, maintaining their steady climb up the Championship ladder. After their dramatic draw, the Red Dragons will return to action on December 6 against Preston North End, carrying with them the momentum of a team that refuses to buckle under pressure.
