Wrexham beat Crawley after chaotic ending in League One

Updated: Feb 1, 2025, 01:09 pm

Wrexham maintained their push for automatic promotion from League One with a dramatic victory over Crawley Town, with Elliot Lee scoring the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of the contest.

The Welsh club had looked comfortable for most of the game after Matty James scored in the second minute of proceedings at Broadfield Stadium, the midfielder firing home from Oliver Rathbone's pull-back.

Phil Parkinson started both of his new signings in Jay Rodríguez and Sam Smith -- the latter arriving for a reported club-record fee -- and Wrexham appeared to have a good grip on proceedings until the final throws of the 90 minutes.

However, Bradley Ibrahim had other ideas, smashing home a long-range effort in the 90th minute that stunned the home and travelling support alike.

Wrexham looked set to lose more ground on their promotion rivals -- they are third, behind Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers -- before Lee leapt highest to meet Ryan Longman's cross and earn all three points for his team.

Birmingham came from behind to beat Rotherham at home in their game on Saturday, while Wycombe were held at Cambridge United.

The results leave Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side on 55 points, four behind Wycombe in the second and final automatic promotion spot after 29 games. Birmingham have 63 points and have played two games fewer than their rivals.