Steve Parkin hails Wrexham’s cutting edge against Northampton

Wrexham assistant boss Steve Parkin felt the Dragons’ quality at the top end of the pitch was there for all to see in the impressive 4-1 victory over Northampton.

James McClean’s early finish and Jack Marriott’s strike sandwiched Cameron McGeehan’s equaliser before half-time, with Elliot Lee’s header and McClean’s volley putting the result beyond doubt after the break for the promotion-chasing hosts.

Dragons assistant Parkin hailed his side’s final-third prowess and reserved special praise for Ryan Barnett who notched a hat-trick of assists in the emphatic win.

He said: “Any win is pleasing but I think the manner in which it was achieved was very rewarding for all of us in terms of the way that we like to play.

“I think we limited a good side when they’re on form. We’ve watched the videos and they’ve got some dangerous players so to come out 4-1 on top is really pleasing.

“Some of the crossing was of a very standard, some of the goals was amazing. The key thing for us is to try and produce that quality in the final third and they did very well.

“I think we managed to open the game up really well by switching the ball from left to right very quickly on several occasions, which then gives him (Barnett) the opportunity to run at his full-back one v one and we know how dangerous he can be. He’s quick and he’s direct and his crossing was bang at it so we’re really pleased for him.”

Cobblers boss Jon Brady cut a frustrated figure as he lamented his side’s vulnerability from crosses and believes they were too soft to play against versus an aggressive Wrexham side.

He said: “I would say that we conceded too many crosses. We knew what they were all about in terms of how they split your backline pretty hard and our idea was to get out of those crosses and really nullify them.

“To concede four goals from crosses when we worked on it, defending down our left-hand side in the first half was nowhere near good enough.

“It was almost passive to stop crosses and that’s not what we wanted.

“They were aggressive. It was just disappointing to see and in my whole time here, I don’t feel that we’ve been that easy to roll over.

“Make no bones about it, they’re a really good side, they’ve got top strikers, top players all over the pitch, but we’re in the game at 2-1.

“We’re creating chances but we’re too soft at the moment to play against. It’s too easy to score against us. I take full responsibility and I’ve got to get that right.”