Football Dec 07, 2025

Wrexham 1-1 Blackburn: Max Cleworth earns late point for Red Dragons

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Wrexham 1-1 Blackburn: Max Cleworth earns late point for Red Dragons

Wrexham scored a last-gasp equaliser to earn a point in a 1-1 draw with Blackburn at the SToK Cae Ras.

The visitors thought they had won it through Andri Gudjohnsen's early goal, but Max Cleworth struck in the fifth minute of second-half added time to remain unbeaten in the Championship since October 18.

The game sprang to life on 13 minutes when Ryan Alebiosu raced down the right flank and sent the ball in for Gudjohnsen to head it beyond Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and into the far corner.

Five minutes later, Alebiosu put another into the area, but Yuki Ohashi missed the target from an acrobatic volley.

Wrexham's first chance came on 25 minutes when Ryan Longman's pass found captain James McClean at the back post, only for the winger to head it into the side netting.

The visitors again looked dangerous on the counter attack and, on 28 minutes, it took a last-ditch tackle from Cleworth to prevent Ryoya Morishita from launching a shot in the box after he had been slipped in by fellow Japanese international Ohashi.

Oshahi forced a good save out of Okonkwo two minutes later, before he set up Adam Forshaw, only for the veteran midfielder to blast the ball over the crossbar.

Wrexham were getting balls into the box, but not doing anything constructive with it, with passes going amiss and giving away possession.

At the start of the second-half, it was Rovers who were wasteful in the opposition box, with a number of corners going astray.

But they had a prime opportunity to double their lead on 56 minutes.

Ohashi showed clever feet to beat the Wrexham defenders and launch a fierce shot on goal, but Okonkwo kept it out, and then Gudjohnsen fired the rebound over.

Rovers had another chance to make it two, this time on 70 minutes, after substitute Makhtar Gueye sent a dangerous ball in, which home defender Cleworth cleared on to his own post and out for a corner.

Then, on 79 minutes, Callum Doyle sent in a cross to George Dobson, only for his fellow substitute to glance his header wide.

Searching for an equaliser, Wrexham saw Kieffer Moore's close-range effort superbly saved by Aynsley Pears, before Cleworth fizzed the rebound over the woodwork.

And on 85 minutes, Moore played in Nathan Broadhead, but he fired inches wide.

However, Wrexham levelled matters late on, perhaps deservedly, when a short free-kick was met by Broadhead, whose pass was met by Cleworth and he fired into the back of the net to send the home crowd into raptures.

Wrexham's Phil Parkinson:

"It is a decent point "We had chances and didn't take them, but we kept plugging away and the moment eventually came.

"If it had happened five minutes earlier, we probably would have won the game.

"We were careless at times, but we upped the ante in terms of quality in the second period."

Blackburn's Valerien Ismael:

"It was a disgrace that the referee gave the free-kick in the first place.

"One of Wrexham's players came up to me after the game and said it was not a free-kick.

"I don't know how the linesman could have given it and it is a tough one to take, but I am always proud of my players, and we put in a consistent and strong performance.

"Wrexham pushed, but we mostly defended well."

Tags:

football report id:534534

Share this article

Related Posts

Norwich City 2-1 Derby County: Liam Gibbs strikes blow to Rams play-off dream

Norwich City 2-1 Derby County: Liam Gibbs strikes blow to Rams play-off dream

Norwich recorded a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Derby at Carrow Road to deal a huge blow to the Rams' dreams of reaching the Championship play-offs -...

Stoke City 1-3 Millwall: Lions climb to second in Championship after victory

Stoke City 1-3 Millwall: Lions climb to second in Championship after victory

Former Stoke boss Alex Neil saw Millwall move back into the Championship top two and guarantee a play-off place with a 3-1 win at the bet365 Stadium.C...

Elliot Anderson transfer news: Man City in pole position to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder amid interest from Man Utd and Arsenal

Elliot Anderson transfer news: Man City in pole position to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder amid interest from Man Utd and Arsenal

Manchester City are in pole position to sign Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson this summer, Your Site News understands.City are among a number of bi...

Chelsea: No shortlist and no No 1 candidate to replace sacked Liam Rosenior - what's next at Stamford Bridge?

Chelsea: No shortlist and no No 1 candidate to replace sacked Liam Rosenior - what's next at Stamford Bridge?

Your Site News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol takes a look back at Chelsea's soap opera of a season so far, what led to Liam Rosenior's sacking an...

Lamine Yamal: Barcelona star to miss rest of season with hamstring injury but 'expected to be available' for World Cup with Spain

Lamine Yamal: Barcelona star to miss rest of season with hamstring injury but 'expected to be available' for World Cup with Spain

Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of the domestic season due to a hamstring injury but is expected to be available for this summer's World Cup, accordin...

Callum McGregor: Celtic captain insists they have Scottish Premiership title edge as he dismisses exit talk

Callum McGregor: Celtic captain insists they have Scottish Premiership title edge as he dismisses exit talk

Captain Callum McGregor says Celtic have the edge in the Scottish Premiership title race as he dismissed talk of him leaving the club. The Hoops are c...