Phil Parkinson and Wrexham twice spurned a lead as they drew with fellow Championship top six hopefuls Bristol City at Ashton Gate

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson following his side’s draw with Bristol City at Ashton Gate(Image: Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Wrexham were surprised by the way Bristol City opted not to press early in their draw with the Robins, Phil Parkinson has explained, with the Red Dragons’ boss insistent his side should be “very proud” of their display.

The Reds twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Wrexham at Ashton Gate on Tuesday evening. Second-half goals from substitutes Sinclair Armstrong and Max Bird ensured the points were shared and that both teams remained outside the play-off places.

Parkinson’s side took a deserved lead with a little over half an hour on the clock, when Ollie Rathbone fired home from a deflected cross. Within two minutes of the second half, their advantage had vanished as Armstrong picked out the top left corner following a Tomi Horvat through ball.

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An own-goal from Joe Williams late on looked to have wrapped up the points for Wrexham, until Bird slammed in from the edge of the box, via the underside of the bar in the 89th minute.

For Parkinson, the 25-year-old’s strike was a once-in-a-career sort of effort. While the Red Dragons’ head coach always knew the second half was unlikely to be as comfortable as the first, he felt his players had the opportunities needed to come away with all three points.

Asked for his reflections on the game, the Wrexham boss said, “Outstanding first half performance from us. It’s as good as we’ve played in a game and [we had] complete control.

“They sat right off of us and looked to play on the counter, which surprised us a little bit for the home team, and we probed, we passed it, we were patient, and we got a goal with a brilliant finish from Ollie. Listen, there was always going to be a change of dynamic at the break because no home team’s going to be dictated to like they were, and they put the subs on.

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“We just miscontrolled a ball, and it’s ended up in the back of the net, which – a moment’s cost us. Then, we’ve got back in the game brilliantly. We’re never going to dominate the second half like we did in the first; it never works like that in football, as much as we intended to. They’re a good side, and they got good subs on.

“We got the goal back, and then we’ve had a chance to go and kill the game off; really, it should have been all over, and the stadium should have been empty. When you don’t take it, you’re always susceptible, but in all honesty, the lads’ probably never going to score a goal like that again.

“He’s hit a strike to go in, in the middle of the goal, under the crossbar is a worldie goal. Even after that, we still looked like we had moments.

“The lads have performed so well tonight. This is a tough place to come, and we should be very, very proud of that performance.”

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With the point gained at Ashton Gate, Wrexham move up a place in the table to seventh and now find themselves behind sixth-placed Derby County and outside of the play-off places on goal difference alone.

Although City remain ninth, they now find themselves just a point short of the Rams, and they will have the opportunity to climb into the top six when they travel to South Wales to face Swansea City on Saturday lunchtime.

While things couldn’t be much tighter at the top of England’s second tier, Parkinson is focused on the improvements his side is making week to week.

Asked about Wrexham’s position in the table, he said, “I haven’t looked yet, but everyone who’s not playing loves draws because they don’t impact too much. But listen, draws are better than defeats.

“Listen, the quality of our football is improving all the time. The supporters who see us week in and week out saw [that] some of the football we played tonight was of a very, very high standard and on another night, the game’s dead and buried.”

READ MORE: Gerhard Struber lifts lid on half-time message that sparked Bristol City shift in Wrexham draw

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