Wrexham Coach Slams Harambee Stars Defender and Co Over ‘Soft Goals’ in Shock Defeat

Harambee Stars defender Zak Vyner played 90 minutes as his club Wrexham suffered a surprise home defeat in the English Championship and came in for heavy criticism from his coach.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson expressed his shock at the manner of the goals his team conceded during a 2-1 loss to Birmingham City at The Racecourse.

The home side was largely outplayed as Birmingham City, under pressure after a winless start to the season, secured a much-needed victory. Two headers from defender Phil Neumann proved decisive, extending Wrexham's own wait for a first win of the campaign.

Neumann opened the scoring in the 13th minute, overpowering the Wrexham defence to connect with an Alex Cochrane cross and nod the ball home.

Wrexham showed signs of life after the break and found an equaliser through Callum Doyle. However, their parity was short-lived. Just after the hour mark, Neumann struck again, getting ahead of Vyner to head in his and Birmingham's second goal of the evening.

Parkinson was highly critical of his team's defensive efforts. "In all of my time here, I think those two are the softest goals we’ve conceded," he stated as per North Wales Chronicle. "We’ve got to give ourselves a chance and defend the box better than we’ve done tonight. The first one, two of their players could have scored and that’s unacceptable."

Despite controlling possession for long periods, Wrexham struggled to create clear-cut opportunities in the first half. In contrast, Birmingham could have put the game to bed before halftime, with both August Priske and Jay Stansfield squandering excellent chances.

"In the first half, we didn’t play with enough conviction or belief in the final third," Parkinson added. "We looked like a team of players who were waiting for somebody else to do something rather than taking responsibility."

Vyner has started all four matches this season with Wrexham recording two draws and a defeat in their opening three Championship matches which leaves them on 15th in the standings with two points.