Wrexham AFC came back on track with a commanding win over Exeter City on Saturday. Having endured a narrow away defeat in the previous League One fixture against Stockport, goals from Max Cleworth, Ollie Palmer, and Ollie Rathbone helped the Red Dragons secure an easy 3-0 over the Grecians. While it’s only fitting to give the Man of the Match award to either of the goalscorers or the Welsh club stars, Phil Parkinson thinks otherwise.

The English tactician gave a shoutout to someone special, who had played a crucial role in letting the match happen with ease for both teams. The protagonist is Paul Chaloner, the head groundsman of the SToK Cae Ras. Why? Well, sadly, the lead-up to the game was disrupted by snowfall in the area, coupled with heavy rain on match day, creating less-than-ideal conditions.

Thankfully, Chal and his team managed to get the pitch into spotless condition, a feat for which Parkinson is deeply grateful. “It has been a disrupted week, but you have got to make the most of the facilities which are at your disposal, and I feel as a staff we did that well,” said the Reds’ boss, as compiled by the Leader. “Credit to everybody. Man of the match today was Chal the groundsman for me.”

Of course, playing in such harsh conditions would have disrupted Wrexham’s plans to bounce back from their last defeat, but luckily, they didn’t go down that road. “The pitch, the rain we’ve had, the snow which was on the pitch, and to get it in that good condition, enormous credit for Chal and his team because they did put it in, and that doesn’t just happen.”

Again shedding light on Chaloner and his team’s efforts to do everything in their power to make the conditions viable, Parkinson added, “He’s been working tirelessly to get that right, and we’ve got a lot of thanks for Chal and his staff today.” It’s good to see the Dragons’ manager give a much-deserved credit where it was needed. But that doesn’t mean he forgot to acknowledge his team’s efforts.

Phil Parkinson is ‘pleased’ over getting back to winning ways

“I am very pleased. It was a really strong performance from us,” continued Parkinson after his surprising shoutout to The Racecourse Ground’s staff. “Exeter are a difficult team to break down, only conceding 10 goals this season, and I thought we played some great football,” he added, stating that the boys were able to get a grasp on the game.

Aside from praising Matty James and Ollie Rathbone for holding on to the center half of the pitch, Phil also pated the back of Elliott Lee for tweaking his position, eventually giving a ‘different dynamic’ to his side. “All in all, it’s great to get back to winning ways,” concluded Parkinson.

Notably, by winning three points, Wrexham was able to climb to second place, with their tally increasing to 31 after Shrewsbury had stunned archrivals Birmingham City with a 3-2 win, pushing Tom Brady’s side to fourth.