Wrexham continued their quest for a first home victory, but were held to a 1-1 draw by a Burnley side that has yet to taste success this season and sits just above the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship. The match, played at the Racecourse Ground, provided a brief flash of optimism for the hosts before ultimately ending in a dead‑heat that left both clubs with a point each. The decisive moment came when Jacques Ekomie, the French striker who arrived from Angers for a reported £7 million in the summer, headed in his second goal for the club.
His powerful finish in the second half cancelled out an earlier strike by Zeki Amdouni, who had put Burnley ahead in the first half. Ekomie's goal not only leveled the score but also marked his growing importance to the Wrexham attack, having already made an impact since his high‑profile transfer.
Amdouni's opener came in the 26th minute after a swift counter‑attack. Leeds United loanee Largie Ramazani, who has been one of Burnley's brighter prospects, slipped a perfectly timed pass into the path of the Dutch forward.
Amdouni took the ball first time and slotted it past the Wrexham goalkeeper, giving the Clarets a brief lead and ending a run of seven consecutive away defeats that had stretched back to the previous campaign. The draw, however, does little to advance either side's ambitions. For Wrexham, the result signals a loss of momentum after a strong finish to last season, while Burnley continue to grapple with the fallout of their recent relegation from the Premier League.
Since October, the Lancashire club has managed only a single league win, highlighting the depth of their struggles in the second tier. The match also featured a notable absentee: former England international Jamie Vardy, who signed for Burnley on a free transfer earlier in the week after the club sold top‑scorer Zian Flemming to Ipswich Town on deadline day. Vardy was unable to feature because he was serving a suspension carried over from his spell with Italian side Cremonese, where he accumulated enough yellow cards to miss the game.
He watched from the bench as the action unfolded. Early in the encounter, Wrexham appeared close to taking the lead.
Four minutes in, Callum Doyle headed a cross from Max Cleworth straight at the Burnley goalkeeper Max Weiss, squandering a golden chance. Later, in the 18th minute, host midfielder Moore found space inside the box and headed towards goal, only to be denied by a well‑timed save from Weiss after Doyle squared the ball from a Matty James delivery. Burnley's attacking opportunities were limited, but they did create a moment of danger when Largie Ramazani, the Leeds loanee, sparked the opening goal. His incisive pass to Amdouni set up the first‑half strike, and a few minutes later the Swiss forward nearly added a second.
A long‑range effort struck Max Cleworth and deflected, forcing Burnley's keeper Anthony Patterson to stretch and push the ball wide. As the half progressed, Wrexham's frustration grew.
A free‑kick six minutes before the break gave them a chance to equalise. James delivered a low ball that Weiss saved comfortably, and Issa Kabore's subsequent shot hit the side‑netting. The home supporters expressed their displeasure with a chorus of boos at the interval, prompting manager Phil Parkinson to make a tactical substitution. Parkinson introduced recent deadline‑day signing Callum O'Hare, who made his home debut alongside fellow newcomer Oli Rathbone.
Rathbone played a part in the eventual equaliser. In the 49th minute, Kabore sent in a superb cross from the right flank, which Ekomie met with a powerful header, restoring parity and sending the crowd into a brief celebration. Wrexham continued to press, with O'Hare heading wide from a James cross shortly after. Kabore then retrieved a short pass from Weiss but failed to find a teammate, and O'Hare's subsequent shot also went wide after a defensive mix‑up.
Burnley threatened to snatch a winner in the 73rd minute when Ekomie blocked Oliver Sonne's effort on the line, but the ball rolled out, leaving the score unchanged. Both managers reflected on the performance in post‑match interviews. Phil Parkinson urged patience, acknowledging Burnley's recent Premier League pedigree and the quality of their squad.
"Let's not get too despondent," he said. "Burnley were in the Premier League last year, and they've had a bad start to the season but they've got some very good players. As much as we want to win it, I think the second‑half performance was a lot better and I don't want to be too down about drawing against Burnley… Respect the point.
We'd have loved it to be three… I thought the game was there for us to go and win it, I really did, and we just kind of got a bit scruffy in terms of our possession, gave the ball away a bit cheaply at times. But it's not a lack of effort.
The lads gave us a lot over these last three games." Burnley's caretaker boss Nicky Hayen was more optimistic about his side's display. "Especially the first half, I think we played a really good first half, with a really great goal. We found our solutions, a lot of movement, a lot of courage. So I'm really satisfied with the first half, but of course the match lasts 95 minutes.
The second half was decent but not as good as the first half. We conceded a goal and it became more open. They could score a second one, we could score a second one so you could win this game, you could lose this game and a point is a fair result," he explained.
The draw leaves Burnley still searching for that elusive first win of the campaign, while Wrexham remain eager to secure a home victory that has thus far eluded them this season. Both clubs will look to build on the positives from this encounter as they continue their respective battles in the Championship.