Wrexham has reinvigorated their chances of securing a Sky Bet Championship play-off spot with a convincing 2-0 win over Stoke at home. Following Hull's draw with Birmingham, Wrexham has narrowed the gap to sixth place to just two points with three matches remaining. The atmosphere at the SToK Cae Ras was tense after consecutive losses to Southampton and Birmingham, but the mood was lifted by first-half goals from George Thomason and Josh Windass, scored just 69 seconds apart. For Stoke, this marks their sixth consecutive away defeat, and they now sit at 17th place.
Wrexham's manager, Phil Parkinson, made four changes to the lineup after back-to-back defeats, including a notable switch in goal, with Danny Ward replacing Arthur Okonkwo. Wrexham started strong, with an early call for a penalty after Sam Smith was pushed by Bosun Lawal, but the referee was uninterested. The breakthrough came when Thomason scored directly from a corner in the 31st minute, and Windass added another just over a minute later, capitalizing on Aaron Cresswell's mistake.
Stoke showed some ambition in the second half but were unable to close the gap. Wrexham's Phil Parkinson expressed his aim to keep the play-off hopes alive, taking it to the wire and not giving up the play-off place to other teams.