Wrexham on top in the National League, but the title race is far from a foregone conclusion

If you only paid attention to the frequency of TV coverage or the number of headlines generated, you could be forgiven for thinking that Wrexham have already wrapped up the National League title this season.

The backing that Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has been given by owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has enabled him to build a squad capable of running away with things — and probably competing comfortably at the upper end of League Two if given the chance.

But if you are not a regular National League watcher, don’t be fooled. The title race is as tight as ever with just over half the season played and promises plenty of drama still to come, which is good news for the makers of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary as well as fans.

With Parkinson’s side taking a break from league action with a tie against the Championship’s promotion-chasing Sheffield United in the FA Cup fourth round, it was up to Notts County at Meadow Lane to keep the pressure on the Welsh side as they hosted FC Halifax Town. in the league. Level on games played, Notts were just three points behind Wrexham at kick-off while fellow promotion-hopefuls Chesterfield, away at Barnet, were 10 points behind Notts but with three games in hand.

All three of the sides chasing automatic promotion have been bruised by their experiences in the play-offs in recent seasons, with semi-final heartbreak for Wrexham against Grimsby last season, three successive play-off defeats for County. and back-to-back play-off disappointment for Chesterfield. They are a trio of former EFL sides that, given their size and star quality, much of the league would be glad to see the back of. But escaping the clutches of the fifth tier is no easy feat.

As fans stream through the turnstiles at Meadow Lane — 7,548 of them in total, a bigger attendance than at five of League Two’s nine fixtures on Saturday — they are hungry for this to be the last time they see FC Halifax Town for a long while. The Shaymen enjoyed their own surge to finish above County and reach the play-offs themselves last season under former manager Pete Wild, now at Barrow in League Two, but have struggled this season and sit 17th in the 24-team league.

The gap in quality is evident as County set up camp in the Halifax half and rarely left it for the opening 45 minutes, making good use of Adam Chicksen and Aaron Nemane. A disallowed Macauley Langstaff goal, flagged for offside within eight minutes, is proof of how dangerous the former Gateshead striker has been since signing from the fellow National League side in the summer. Now the league’s top scorer ahead of Wrexham’s Paul Mullin, Langstaff made it 24 goals this season when he rounded Halifax keeper Sam Johnson to score the deciding goal in a 1-0 win.

Composure 😎 @maccalangstaff pic.twitter.com/IFXyDw2pGl

— Notts County FC (@Official_NCFC) January 28, 2023

Two weeks of match postponements due to poor weather put the brakes on an impressive unbeaten league run for County, which now stands at 19 games following Saturday’s win. County are also unbeaten at home for an entire calendar year. It is the sort of form that is needed in a league with only one automatic promotion spot, and even then, two recent draws against Boreham Wood and Oldham Athletic are still on fans’ minds as they exit the ground discussing whether those dropped points will prove decisive.

While their neighbors on the opposite banks of the river Trent have been basking in the glow of Premier League football this season, sunnier times have returned to Meadow Lane under the ownership of Danish brothers Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz, who bought the club in July 2019 from previous owner Alan Hardy. Manager Luke Williams, who joined in the summer after leaving his role as assistant manager to Russell Martin at Swansea City, has brought an intense, possession-dominant style that suits his squad.

“I’m so happy to be able to see us score on the press because so often we’ve not been able to press teams because we’ve dominated the ball a lot,” he said.

“But we really enjoy being able to chase teams down, and when you have the attitude of Macca (Langstaff) leading the charge, it’s great and everyone jumps off that. From the technical area, that sort of goal feels like it takes three hours to go in, but we always knew he had the quality to take a chance like that.”

The 1-0 win over Halifax puts County back on level points with Wrexham, even if goal difference keeps them in second place. Williams’ side could — and should — have scored more on the day, but the win is enough to keep the title race interesting. The cheer around the ground at full-time following the news that Barnet had beaten Chesterfield 3-0 is another reason for fans to smile but is unlikely to be the last swing in momentum between the three sides this season.

“We’ve said many times that the level this season is incredibly high and we respect Wrexham and all the other teams,” Williams said. “What they are doing is amazing because we’re trying to pick up so many points and keep winning and they keep doing the same. We’ve been in front for a while and it’s a pressure, so now they have that pressure to fulfill there.”

(Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)