Wrexham recovered from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion and move into the Championship play-off places.
Albion took the lead after 26 minutes when Isaac Price’s free-kick deflected off George Dobson and looped beyond Arthur Okonkwo. Their advantage was doubled before half-time when Josh Maja converted a penalty after Issa Kabore was judged to have held Jayson Molumby at a corner — Albion’s first spot-kick of the season.
Wrexham, sloppy in the first half, responded quickly after the break. Two minutes after the restart Josh Windass curled a superb 20-yard effort into the net to make it 2-1. Momentum swung firmly in Wrexham’s favour and, after sustained pressure, parity was restored on 62 minutes when Callum Doyle’s cross was turned goalwards by Lewis O’Brien with Dobson possibly getting the slightest of touches as the ball crossed the line.
Both sides had chances late on. Wrexham owed their point to a remarkable late stop from Okonkwo, who denied Albion substitute Daryl Dike from close range, while Albion keeper Josh Griffiths pushed away an effort from the returning Kieffer Moore.
The draw lifts Wrexham into sixth place, a point above Southampton, who have a game in hand; the two meet in North Wales on Tuesday. West Brom remain 20th, four points clear of the relegation zone, extending a five-game unbeaten run under interim boss James Morrison.
Albion had started the brighter, energized by wins over Hull and Bristol City. Early chances fell to Aune Heggebo and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, but it was set-piece situations that yielded the opener and then the penalty. Wrexham’s first-half threat was limited, though Ousmane Diakite nearly turned a stoppage-time header into a reprieve when the ball struck Nat Phillips and flashed wide with Griffiths beaten.
Phil Parkinson’s half-time team talk clearly worked. George Thomason and Lewis O’Brien helped create Windass’s equaliser, and Sam Smith and Dominic Hyam came close as Wrexham pressed for a winner before the late defensive heroics kept the spoils shared.
The managers
James Morrison (West Brom): He backed the referee’s decision to award the penalty for holding at corners, saying officials had warned they would clamp down on the practice and called the point “good.”
Phil Parkinson (Wrexham): He described the penalty award as “very, very harsh,” arguing similar contact is rarely punished and raising broader concerns about protection for forwards and consistency from referees, saying he would take examples to the head of Championship referees for answers.