The goalkeeper made two important mistakes as Phil Parkinson’s side were beaten 3-1 to drop out of the automatic promotion places in the second division.
Wrexham fell behind inside the first 10 minutes when Arthur Okonkwo made the mistake of rushing down a corner and was left without a shot. Theo Vassell then won a free kick with a header which he was happy to tuck into the net.
Salford added a second goal in exceptional circumstances as Elliott Watt scored directly after a corner when he took a fierce shot and Okonkwo, despite being on the line, just wasn’t close.
Wrexham scored before half-time when Sam Dalby completed his first goal of the season after Ben Tozer shot from close range. However, Salford hit back just before the hour mark as Matt Smith finished from ten yards with a curving shot.
Phil Parkinson brought on Luke Bolton, making his debut on deadline day, at the end of the game but it was to no avail as Wrexham were well beaten. In fact, they could have lost 4-1 but Junior Luamba hit the crossbar with a fierce shot. This put them in the play-off places and dealt a severe blow to their bid for automatic promotion to League One.
Watt scored directly from a corner and it looked like it was intentional. With Okonkwo just offside, he sent the ball into the top far corner to embarrass the Wrexham goalkeeper. Such a remarkable goal with Salford 1-0 up gave them the momentum they needed to win comfortably.
THE BIG LOSER
Okonkwo is probably not the goalkeeper Wrexham need at the moment. Three high-profile mistakes in two games is not enough – he also made a defeating error against Blackburn in the FA Cup – and you can’t expect to win regularly if your goalkeeper doesn’t catch corners. I think Wrexham would be happier if Ben Foster was still in goal.
Wrexham next play on 10 February against Bradford City. They have lost three games in a row in all competitions and have dropped to fourth in the standings.