Wrexham slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Doncaster Rovers and Phil Parkinson must now change one player’s position against Colchester United.
Wrexham’s hopes of achieving automatic promotion is still in their own hands despite losing 1-0 against Doncaster Rovers tonight.
The Reds remain two points clear of fourth place MK Dons with a game in hand while the title is still in their reach. Phil Parkinson‘s men are four points behind Stockport County, who they play at home on the final game.
It’s an intense battle at the top of League Two and while Parkinson will be disappointed with tonight’s result, he learned that one player must start against Colchester United.
George Evans has to start vs Colchester
George Evans was arguably in contention to win Wrexham’s player of the season award before he sustained an injury in February.
The 29-year-old, who arrived from Millwall in the summer, became the lynchpin of Parkinson’s midfield, offering protection in front of the defence and using his physical attributes to regain possession.
Evans missed nine games through injury and returned to the squad in Friday’s 2-0 win over Mansfield, coming off the bench for a two-minute cameo to see out the game.
Parkinson introduced him for 29 minutes tonight and he made an instant impact from the bench, allowing the visitors better control of the ball.
Wrexham’s midfield has lacked a ball-winner recently and in this match, they struggled to get a stranglehold of proceedings until Evans entered the pitch.
Journalist Nathan Salt summarized his impact by claiming he’s “too good” to watch from the sidelines while implying he made a “big difference”.
All things point towards Evans starting in defensive midfield against Colchester, which means one player will have to make way.
Tom O’Connor can slot back in at centre-back
O’Connor starred as a left centre-back before an injury robbed him of 11 matches.
The 24-year-old returned last month and due to the form of Max Cleworth, Will Boyle and Eoghan O’Connell as a defensive trio, O’Connor slotted alongside Andy Cannon and Elliot Lee in midfield.
However, with the return of arguably his best ball-winner, the Irishman may have to slot back into defence, perhaps replacing Boyle.
O’Connor offers more on the ball than his compatriot having averaged a better pass completion than Boyle (75%/71%), big chances (7/3) and key passes per game (0.7/0.3).
Although it seems harsh to drop the former Cheltenham centre-back, as Nathan said, Parkinson has to play his best team and that means slotting O’Connor into defence and Evans into midfield.
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