Former Finnish international goalkeeper coach Jussi Jaaskelainen says Wrexham FC had the look of a Football League team in their crushing 5-1 home win against Salford City.
The visitors from Manchester went into the Vanarama National League clash ahead of the Dragons, who powered not second place thanks to the victory at their Racecourse home.
Manager Graham Barrow revealed that goalkeeping coach Jaaskelainen had compared the performance to that of a Football League team.
More than 8,000 spectators watched the promotion rivals go head-to-head and Barrow said: “We’ve had big performances but not had big results so to get the performance and the result, and such a fantastic crowd… it had everything.
“One or two players hit their best form today and that’s always great. That’s what we asked for.
“It’s a statement. The best way to stay in the race is to win games.
“The fans have always been brilliant, but I said to the lads, ‘how lucky are you, to be at this level and have a crowd that big?’
“The lads gave fans what they deserved.
“It has to be the best performance of the season. Jussi has said to me, when we play like that we look like a league team.
“We’ve had those chances in previous games and not taken them. Today, we took just about every one that came our way.”
Among the goalscorers were debutant Ben Tollitt and fellow substitute Chris Holroyd, who put the seal on a great win after the Dragons led 3-0 at half-time.
I don’t think debuts get much better than that… 💥 a debut goal, a 5-1 win, a great team performance and brilliant support too 👏🏻⚽️ @Wrexham_AFC pic.twitter.com/roiC5JCkCB
— Ben Tollitt (@bentollitt) December 27, 2018
And Barrow was pleased to see the substitutes contributing – reserving praise for Tollitt’s performance in the first game of his loan spell.
“It was great too see the subs score,” he said. “Substitutes are a big part of the modern game and when that pays off like it did, it’s all the better.
“Ben showed everything that we saw in him. He was full of confidence and that was good to see.
“He’s a typical wide player, but he also looks as though he has a goal in him. That was one of the best debuts I’ve seen.”
Wrexham now focus on Saturday’s clash with high-flying Solihull Moors, who visit the Racecourse on Saturday (December 29).
Barrow has a full squad available with Luke Young returning after suspension, Manny Smith back working with the full squad after injury and Kevin Roberts back in the group.
Salford and Wrexham then play their return match at Moor Lane on New Year’s Day.
“That will be a different type of game,” said Barrow. “I take my hat off to Salford and their manager, Graham Alexander, and the way they are trying to play the game.
“It is similar to ourselves, but it takes all sorts and we know what’s coming Saturday. We could bring Manny back and we have other options, but we’ll have to look at the energy of everyone. I would imagine they all want to play.”
Shaun Pearson’s header put Wrexham in front before Akil Wright and Brad Walker struck to give Wrexham a 3-0 lead at half-time in front of 8,283 fans.
Tollitt’s debut goal and Holroyd’s strike sealed victory late in the second-half, with Salford playing out the final few minutes with 10 players after Thomas Walker’s red card for a second bookable offence.
Their consolation game came from virtually the last kick when Daniel Whitehead’s long-range strike deflected into the net.
Salford have now suffered three successive defeats after an unbeaten run of 20 matches and manager Alexander said: “We’re all extremely disappointed and the players were hurting.
“We feel as a group and as a squad we let ourselves down. We can’t hide away from getting beat like that, we’ve just got a lot of questions to answer and have to make sure that we do.
“It’s important to confront it, face it and find the answers. A harsh lesson.”
Wrexham AFC: (4-1-4-1): Lainton, Carrington, Lawlor, Pearson, Jennings, Walker, Grant (Holroyd 85), Summerfield, Wright, Rutherford (Deverdics 87), Beavon (Tollitt 65). Subs not used: Dibble, Smith.
Salford City: (4-4-2): Neal, Wiseman (Rodney 76), Pond (Hogan 46), Piergianni, Touray, Walker, Whitehead, Mafuta (Gaffney 65), Lloyd, Rooney, Green. Subs not used: Crombe, Nolan.
Referee: James Oldham (Derbyshire)
Attendance 8,283 (away 276)
Vanarama National League Top 10
| POS | TEAM | PL | PTS |
| 1 | Leyton Orient | 26 | 53 |
| 2 | Wrexham | 25 | 50 |
| 3 | Salford City | 26 | 49 |
| 4 | Solihull Moors | 25 | 47 |
| 5 | AFC Fylde | 26 | 46 |
| 6 | Harrogate Town | 26 | 46 |
| 7 | Gateshead | 25 | 45 |
| 8 | Sutton United | 25 | 43 |
| 9 | Eastleigh | 26 | 40 |
| 10 | Ebbsfleet United | 26 | 37 |