Birmingham Ends Wrexham's Winless Streak with Phil Neumann's Double

Wrexham’s return to the Championship is beginning to bite. Four games. No wins. And on a sharp, unforgiving night at the Racecourse Ground, a centre-back who rarely scores walked off with the match ball and the points in his pocket.

Phil Neumann, who has never hit more than two goals in a single season, struck twice in a composed, controlled 2-1 win for Birmingham that felt like a reset after their 6-1 Carabao Cup humiliation at Brentford in midweek. This was their answer. It was emphatic.

Birmingham seize control, Wrexham barely land a punch

From the first whistle, Chris Davies’ side looked like a team with a point to prove. They pressed, they hunted, and they carved Wrexham open almost at will in the opening half-hour.

The warning arrived early. On seven minutes, August Priske seemed certain to score when the ball dropped to him in front of goal, only for Ollie Rathbone to somehow get himself in the way and clear off the line.

The reprieve lasted six minutes.

Alex Cochrane swung in an inswinging corner to the far post, where Neumann muscled his way into space and nodded the ball over the line from close range. Simple delivery, simple finish, dreadful defending. Birmingham led, and it already felt like a long way back for Phil Parkinson’s side.

The visitors should have been out of sight by the interval. Carlos Vicente cut the ball back smartly to Jay Stansfield after an overload on 23 minutes; the forward, unmarked and central, leaned back and lashed his effort over the bar when it looked easier to score. A huge miss that left Davies raging on the touchline.

Wrexham, by contrast, barely laid a glove on Birmingham. Their first-half attacking output told the story: 0.22 xG, and even that flattered them. Danny Imray finally forced James Beadle into action on 37 minutes with a deflected drive from the right, the goalkeeper springing low to his left to claw it away. It was Wrexham’s only genuine moment of threat before the break.

Parkinson did not hide his anger afterwards.

“The two goals we conceded are two of the softest goals we've conceded in all my time here – and that includes being in the National League,” he told Sky Sports. “You can't concede goals like that and expect to win a game of football.”

Wrexham hit back – briefly

Whatever was said in the home dressing room at half-time had an effect. Wrexham came out with more purpose, more aggression, finally willing to take the initiative rather than waiting for someone else to do it.

The pressure told on 54 minutes. Lewis O’Brien, drifting into space on the left, whipped in a dipping, vicious cross that begged for a touch. Callum Doyle obliged, helping it beyond Beadle to drag Wrexham level. The Racecourse woke up. So did the players in red.

For a few minutes, Birmingham rocked. Wrexham snapped into tackles, pushed higher, and the noise rose. This felt like a game that might turn.

That hope barely lasted nine minutes.

Priske launched a long throw from the right, saw the first ball cleared, then recycled it with a measured delivery back into the box. Neumann, again untracked, glanced his header beyond Anthony Patterson for his second of the night. Another set-piece, another soft concession. Parkinson’s fury on the touchline said everything.

“We'd started really well, got back in the game,” he said. “That's why I'm so annoyed with the second goal… You've got to defend the box – it's as simple as that – particularly in the Championship.”

Birmingham stand firm as Wrexham rally late

Chasing again, Wrexham finally played with the urgency their situation demanded. The tempo rose, tackles flew in, and Birmingham were forced deeper.

On 77 minutes, the hosts came within inches of snatching something. Kieffer Moore met a cross with a firm header that Beadle failed to hold, the ball spilling dangerously into the six-yard box. Before a red shirt could pounce, Christoph Klarer threw himself into the chaos, scrambling the danger away with brave, last-ditch defending. It felt like Wrexham’s moment – and it was gone in a flash.

They pushed to the end, but Davies’ side, stung by midweek embarrassment, refused to yield. They managed the game, slowed it, broke it up. Professional, disciplined, united.

“It was a really good night for us,” the Birmingham manager said. “We started the game really well… I think we looked like a team, that's the main thing. We looked like a real team, and we had to be to come to a place like Wrexham and play a really solid, really good side, especially at home. It's a big, big win.”

Questions for Wrexham – and the window

As Wrexham’s players trudged off, the questions grew louder. Four games without a win in all competitions, familiar frailties at set-plays, and a manager openly challenging his squad’s mentality.

“We almost looked like a team of everyone looking around the pitch for someone else to go and make it happen, rather than taking responsibility as individuals,” Parkinson said. “In football, you can't feel sorry for yourself… We've got to look long and hard at ourselves and come out fighting at Millwall.”

The debate now turns to recruitment. Jobi McAnuff, on Sky Sports, pointed to a missing piece that once defined Wrexham’s rise.

“They possibly need a more dominant centre-half, which is something they had during that run through the leagues they had,” he said, suggesting nights like this can “jog the hierarchy” into action before Deadline Day.

The ownership have backed Parkinson heavily to this point. The manager still believes there is enough in this squad. But the Championship is unforgiving, and the table will not wait.

Birmingham leave with their season steadied and their pride restored. Wrexham are left with bruises, soft goals to replay, and a looming trip to Millwall that already feels bigger than it should this early in the campaign.