Wrexham have given their Championship survival bid a timely boost, beating league leaders Middlesbrough 2-0 at SToK Cae Ras to snap a two-game losing streak that had left Phil Parkinson's side under real pressure. The win moved them up to 16th in the table on 17 points from 14 games, one place and one point clear of the relegation zone, and it arrived at a moment when confidence was fragile after back-to-back defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United.

The result carries extra weight given the attacking injuries Wrexham have been managing. Josh Windass, Nathan Broadhead, and Callum O'Hare have all been sidelined, and their absence was felt acutely in the 1-0 loss at Bramall Lane, where the Red Dragons registered just one shot on target and finished with an xG of 0.6. Parkinson had called on his players to be more self-analytical after that performance, and the response against the division's top side will have encouraged the dressing room.

Off the pitch, the club completed a difficult week earlier in the month when the EFL fined them £75,000 for fielding two ineligible players, Issa Kabore and Callum O'Hare, in August and September fixtures. Wrexham escaped a points deduction, but the episode exposed structural gaps in club administration that the board is working to address by appointing a club secretary.

Attention now turns to Saturday's home fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers, another stern test, but one Wrexham will approach with renewed momentum.