‘Unacceptable’—Phil Parkinson Slams ‘Softest’ Wrexham Goals in Five Years

Phil Parkinson slammed Wrexham’s defending and claimed his side conceded the “two softest goals” of his tenure during their 2–1 home defeat to Birmingham City.

The Red Dragons remain winless in the Championship this season after following up draws against Cardiff City and Watford with their worst performance of the campaign. Birmingham were the better side throughout the encounter, but Parkinson was furious with the nature of the goals his team conceded from two set pieces.

Having already seen an effort from their striker August Priske cleared off the line on a corner routine, Birmingham soon took the lead when defender Phil Neumann headed in the ball from the back post in the 13th minute. Neither Zak Vyner nor Dominic Hyam made a considerable effort to meet the floating ball first, allowing themselves to be easily pushed over the goal line by the leaping body of Neumann.

Wrexham responded well after halftime to draw level through Callum Doyle, but shot themselves in the foot when Neumann headed in a second goal from the second phase of a long-throw routine.

Wrexham Need to Take Care of the Box

Since taking charge in 2021, Parkinson’s teams have traditionally been built on their quality in both boxes, which has formed the foundation of their remarkable rise from the National League. The Wrexham manager was therefore left in disbelief by what he saw from his side in their latest performance.

“In all my time here, I think those two are the softest goals we have conceded, and we have got to give ourselves a chance and defend the box better than we have done tonight,” he said post-match. “The first one, two of their players could have scored. That is unacceptable.”

“The second half, we got the momentum we were looking for, played with more conviction, personality, got back in the game and then conceded from a second phase,” he added. “First of all, the poor clearance and then the second phase is unacceptable. Their center-half has gone away with the Man of the Match trophy tonight and scored two goals. The game is won or lost at both ends of the pitch.”

He continued: “We looked like a team of players who were waiting for somebody else to do something, rather than taking responsibility. We addressed that at halftime, and I thought we came out really well after the break and looked like the team I want us to be. But we just can't concede goals like that and expect to win. It is as simple as that.”

Wrexham will look to turn the tide on Wednesday when they head to The Den to face Millwall.