Blackburn manager fumes at 'disgraceful' call after Wrexham snatch dramatic late point - The Mirror

Wrexham extended their unbeaten Championship run to eight matches after securing a late draw against Blackburn

Blackburn manager Valerien Ismael has launched a scathing attack on match officials following his side's late heartbreak against Wrexham. The Red Dragons looked to be heading for defeat on Saturday as they trailed 1-0 at the Racecourse Ground deep into stoppage time following Andri Gudjohnsen's first-half headed goal.

But Wrexham were handed a lifeline when they were granted a last-gasp free-kick for a foul on Ryan Barnett down the right flank. George Dobson's cross was nodded down by Kieffer Moore for Nathan Broadhead, whose effort was converted by Max Cleworth to snatch a dramatic point for the hosts.

Rovers boss Ismael didn't hold back in his post-match assessment, slamming referee Tom Reeves' decision to award the match-changing set-piece.

He said: "It all comes down to the referee with the disgraceful decision. It was terrible. At some point, it has to stop and the EFL has to do something, because there are big decisions for teams every weekend. We need better quality, it's as simple as that.

"Nonetheless, we have to defend better, but it's another decision that takes the three points away from us. I've said to the boys that we're all frustrated and that we should have scored the second goal earlier.

"We had big chances in the first half and then two in the second with Yuki [Ohashi] and Andri. If you score the second one, I think we have the win."

The result lifted Wrexham to ninth in the Championship standings, stretching their undefeated league streak to eight games. The Welsh side struggled to find their rhythm in the opening 45 minutes on Saturday, with Gudjohnsen hushing the home supporters by nodding in his fifth league goal of the campaign on 13 minutes.

Wrexham showed greater intensity after the break and fought relentlessly until the dying moments to claim a dramatic late leveller. Boss Phil Parkinson remains optimistic his squad can maintain their push for the play-off places throughout December.

He said: "It's great to be up and around it, and, can we keep chipping away? Can we get into January in a challenging position? We're just going to keep working hard as a group and we'll see where that takes us.

"This season has been enjoyable so far because you're watching a group of players build together, get to know each other on and off the pitch, and that's all a process. We're well into that now and we've seen some good signs."

Parkinson added: "We're pleased with the run we're on. We'd love to have got three points but sometimes you've got to accept that the positives of the day were that the new lads have come in and had a great taste of us going to the end in games.

"Time and time again here, we've got late winners and we've got a late equaliser. It's so important that we keep that belief and drive to the very last kick of the game."

Wrexham are bracing themselves for a challenging away match against Preston, who currently sit 5th in the league, on Saturday. The Red Dragons will be hoping to replicate their previous success against Preston, having clinched a thrilling 3-2 victory in the Carabao Cup back in August.

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