It wasn’t spectacular, it wasn’t flashy, but it was important. Kevin Wilkin’s first win as Wrexham manager answered a few more questions and made the next few weeks a little more straightforward.

Although the balance of play was pretty even, once Wrexham got the early goal there was little sense that we’d struggle to hold on. Macclesfield had plenty of possession but looked blunt up front. That was also the case when they failed to turn nice approach play into goals against Cambridge last Tuesday, but credit should also go to a back four which looked solid.

Wilkin might have learned some more about his squad on the tactical side of things.  Although we nominally played with the same formation, it looked better. The diamond remained, but it was a bit flatter, Keates anchoring and Hunt and Harris offering a little more width. That certainly suited Hunt, who apart from scoring the only goal whipped in some good delivery from the left and was a good out ball when we looked to break.

There still have to be conditions attached to this win. After all, Macclesfield are having problems off the pitch: we’ve won three of our last thirteen games, and all to teams who are hampered by financial problems. Macc’s away form is horrible, and the only away game they’ve not lost in their last nine was against…yes, you guessed it: Hereford. But what of it? This is a Wrexham side in transition, and it no longer has to look over its shoulder at the bottom four. Wilkin has earned the right to look at next season without anything to distract him now, which makes this an important victory.

Wrexham (4-4-2): Mayebi; Carrington, Artell, Livesey (Tomassen), Ashton; Harris (Ormerod), Clarke, Keates, Hunt; Anyinsah (Ogleby), Bishop. Unused subs: Wright, Reid

Macclesfield (4-4-2): Taylor; Halls, Pilkington, Williams, Andrew; Makreth, Turnbull, Lewis, Whitaker; Holroyd, Bodin. Unused subs: Connor, Winn, Branagan, Rowe

Attendance:

Referee Declan Ford