Matty James stunner earns play-off hopefuls Wrexham victory at Derby

A superb strike from Matty James gave Wrexham a 2-1 victory at Derby in manager Phil Parkinson’s 250th game in charge.

James fired in from outside the area early in the second half to give Wrexham a fourth win in a row and strengthen their play off challenge.

Sam Smith had put the Welsh side ahead but the Rams hit back through Ben Brereton-Diaz, only for James to settle an entertaining game with a quality finish.

Wrexham headed into the game in impressive form and went close to taking the lead in the third minute.

Nathan Broadhead curled a shot from the edge of the area against the inside of a post before sending the rebound wastefully over.

The visitors had another chance in the eighth minute, Smith heading wide from Ryan Longman’s cross.

Derby allowed them too much space in midfield and Josh Windass ran into the box and hit a low shot which brought a good save from Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

It took Derby 15 minutes before they threatened the Wrexham goal, Patrick Agyemang causing problems down the right before Bobby Clark fired just wide.

But Wrexham went ahead in the 25th minute when Broadhead crossed from the left and Smith got in front of Matt Clarke to volley home from 10 yards.

Derby responded quickly, however, with Clarke releasing Brereton-Diaz who surged up the right and held off a challenge before lashing low past Arthur Okonkwo nine minutes later.

Broadhead shot narrowly wide before the break but James made no mistake three minutes after the restart, curling a brilliant 20-yard shot into the top-left corner.

Joe Ward forced Okonkwo into a sprawling save from a free-kick but Wrexham were defending well and Oliver Rathbone was denied by the fingertips of Zetterstrom in the 80th minute.

Agyemang fashioned a decent opening only to shoot well over from outside the box and Clarke flashed a low ball across the six-yard box that evaded everybody.

Derby kept pushing and Andreas Weimann drove a shot well off target, although Wrexham’s discipline and organisation limited the hosts to half chances in the closing minutes.

Wrexham almost sealed the points with a third goal in stoppage time but, on a bitterly cold day, this was a performance to warm the visiting fans while Derby came up short despite their determination and endeavour.