Wrexham beaten again! Summer signing Josh Windass nets first goal but Groningen too strong for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side

Groningen, the club that played a formative role in the careers of 21st century legends Virgil van Dijk, Luis Suarez and Arjen Robben, finished 13th in last season's Eredivisie and took the lead here through David van der Werff. Josh Windass levelled with his first Wrexham goal soon after at the Henk Nienhuis Stadium in Veendam, but a Dan Scarr mistake handed Brynjolfur Willumsson the chance to restore the home side's lead before half-time. After the break, Phil Parkinson's team seemed to lack cohesion and energy. Groningen finished the game on top and were fully deserving of their late third goal that came from Willumsson at a corner.

A different Wrexham XI had already faced Groningen in a private friendly at the Dutch side's training ground, during which new signing Conor Coady got his first minutes for the club. James McClean, Ollie Palmer and Elliot Lee all featured in that first game, ruling them out of the second. It feels like Parkinson doesn't fully know what his best lineup is, with prospective starters for the season spread across both of Saturday's friendlies and more recruits potentially to come in over the next few days.

This was an unofficial debut for Josh Windass after his arrival at the club, following five years at Sheffield Wednesday. He needed just 25 minutes to mark the occasion with a very good goal and it bodes well for the forthcoming season in the Championship that the 31-year-old has hit the ground running. Fellow debutant Lewis O'Brien also impressed in midfield. 

This hasn't been a good pre-season for goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo. He made a costly error in the recent defeat to Wellington Phoenix and would have expected to do better with Groningen's first two goals - beaten too easily at his near post for one and suffering a mix-up with Scarr for the other. Danny Ward is experienced in the Championship and could pose a real danger to Okonkwo's starting place.

After four defeats in five pre-season games, Wrexham are now just seven days away from their first fixture in the second tier of English football since 1982. It could hardly be a bigger test either, travelling away to Southampton, who were in the Premier League last season and won the 2023-24 Championship play-offs.