Wrexham survive! Red Dragons fend off Portsmouth fightback to keep hold of Championship play-off place

Wrexham had picked up four points from their two most recent fixtures against Bristol City and Ipswich Town, the latter of which was a barnstorming 5-3 victory, and knew another win on Tuesday night would help them retain their place in the play-offs.

Phil Parkinson's side made a great start in the first half, with a pair of headers giving them the lead at the break. Smith rose highest to nod in Callum Doyle's delivery before Cleworth met George Dobson's header and made it 2-0.

All seemed to be going swimmingly enough for the Red Dragons, but Portsmouth found a route back into a game with a nicely crafted goal, with Swanson dribbling from deep and playing a one-two with Regan Poole before a deflected effort looped over Arthur Okonkwo and in.

Pompey dominated the majority of the second half but just struggled to create the opportunity they needed to level the scores. The visitors racked up a huge amount of corners but just couldn't make the dead-ball situations count. Instead it was Wrexham who threatened to finish the match off as a contest when Ollie Rathbone surged forward, but the 29-year-old smashed the post when he looked set to score.

In the end it didn't prove costly for Wrexham, who secured another win to improve their chances of finishing in the play-offs at the end of the season.

Sam Smith may have been starting to get a little twitchy over his recent run of three games without a goal, but the striker dispelled any possible anxieties with the game's opener. The 27-year-old showed expert timing and athleticism to get up at the right time to head in a whipped cross and Portsmouth's defenders looked worried every time he got near the box.

The relegation scrap is a really interesting one in the Championship, with Portsmouth battling against the likes of Norwich City, Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion to avoid going down with Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday, who already look cut adrift at the bottom.

The fact that his team was arguably the better of the two on the night will be a bitter pill for John Mousinho to swallow. The south coast side came into the match off the back of two wins in a row and would have taken at least a point from this game on another night, but instead Wrexham held firm to boost their own prospects.