Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said, “I always told my players, ‘Don’t look at the clock; play until the referee blows the whistle.’ That mindset became part of who we were.” And you know what? Surprisingly it looks like Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham side is channeling a bit of that legendary “Fergie Time” spirit these days. If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll know how clutch moments like these are what make the game so exciting.

Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham has been on fire lately, pulling off two thrilling late winners back-to-back, first against Blackpool and then Wigan Athletic. On Sunday night against Athletic, Ryan Barnett got the ball rolling with an early goal. But Wigan equalized in the 79th minute, making it anyone’s game. Just when it seemed like another draw was on the cards, Steven Fletcher stepped up in extra time with an absolute beauty to seal the win. Can you imagine the scenes in the stands? Pure madness.

Did you catch the drama-filled clash between Ryan Reynold’s Wrexham and Wigan Athletic? If not, let me fill you in on something cool. After Wrexham’s thrilling late winner, manager Phil Parkinson made an intriguing comparison to Sir Alex Ferguson’s legendary Manchester United mentality.

Yep, that “never-say-die” attitude! If you saw the game, you’d agree—Wrexham wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders. Even Parkinson admitted it. “Were we at our best? Probably not, we weren’t. They pressed us and hurried us out of possession at times and our structure without the ball, the detail of it wasn’t quite where it needed it be at times. But in terms of sticking to the job and showing character and strength and personality, I thought all that was high. It’s difficult to keep producing performances.”

But then came the punchline – “But the mentality of the group is so strong and it showed again. I was watching the Sir Alex documentary yesterday and Manchester United go right to the wire and we’ve got that mentality here. We go to the end and we always believe we can get a goal and Fletch has produced a real quality strike for us to win the game.” How good is that? A Sir Alex reference and a clutch goal to seal three points! You love to see it.

And let’s not ignore the bigger picture, Wrexham has quietly put together a fantastic first half of the season. With 48 points from 23 games, they’re just one point behind the top spot, although they’ve played two more games than Birmingham. Still, second place in League One? That’s huge for a team that only recently climbed out of the National League.

Speaking of dreams, Steven Fletcher has been living every striker’s fantasy lately. Two back-to-back match-winning goals and when asked about it, he couldn’t help but smile. But why?

Late goal-scoring hero Fletcher reflects on the winner against Wigan Athletic

Scoring a late winner is always a rush, isn’t it? But doing it twice in a row? That’s next-level stuff! Steven Fletcher, the man of the moment for Wrexham, knows all about it. Reflecting on his latest heroics against Wigan, he couldn’t help but laugh about his celebration. “I might take a minute. My celebration was too much. I knew straight away as soon as I thought I’d run I need to stop. No, it’s a great win. A great win, especially after the game the other day as well.”

It’s been a hectic December for Wrexham, with five wins and two draws. Fletcher touched on the team’s recent form, saying, “We’ve been scoring and conceding, and obviously, we had our back-to-back draws we had and then we’ve managed to get the win on the other day. And we’ve done it again. We’d like to have a bit more comfortable games but it wouldn’t be a wreck somehow without a bit of fun with it.”

That’s the spirit, right? This team thrives on the drama, and honestly, it’s what makes them so exciting to watch. A third straight promotion to the Championship? It’s not just a dream anymore; it’s within the reach. Don’t you agree?