Max Bird’s brilliant late volley earned Bristol City a 2-2 draw at Ashton Gate, ending Wrexham’s run of five successive Sky Bet Championship away wins.
Wrexham twice took the lead through own goals from Ollie Rathbone and Joe Williams, but City were rewarded with a spirited second half performance.
Sinclair Armstrong hit home immediately after the restart, and with two minutes left, fellow substitute Bird hit the ball home from 20 yards out, hitting the underside of the crossbar.
On a bitterly cold night, the prize for the winner was sixth place and a place in the playoffs.
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Bristol City’s Max Bird scored a stunning late equalizer with a volley from the edge of the box in a 2-2 draw with Wrexham in the Sky Bet Championship.
City returned to promotion with victory over Hull at the weekend, but they had some compensation for the home fans after a heavy 5-0 defeat at Derby at Ashton Gate last time out.
George Tanner escaped injury after being knocked down by his own goalkeeper Radek Vitek, and Neto Borges fired a shot into the air from the edge of the box.
Both keepers were in trouble until midway through the first half when Nathan Broadhead played the ball back to George Thomason and Vitek kept Callum Doyle’s header under the crossbar.
Mark Sykes was adamant that Dominic Higham had dealt with the ball that bounced inside the Wrexham area, but his passionate pleas for a penalty were waved away by referee Rubin Ricciardo.
Wrexham took the lead in the 34th minute when Doyle’s cross rebounded into the path of Rathbone, who fired his first shot with his left foot past Vitek.
City’s players missed a single shot on target and were booed during the break.
Robins coach Gerhard Struber made three substitutions at the interval, with Armstrong, Delano Burgsorg and Jason Knight making an immediate impact and turning the game on its head.
Arthur Okonkwo made saves from Tomi Horvat and Armstrong within seconds of the restart, but the Dragons goalkeeper was exposed again shortly after.
Horvat fed Armstrong on the right, and the substitute made short work of a difficult angle to slot the ball past Okonkwo and into the top corner.
The cautious nature of the early stages changed into a thrilling back-and-forth battle.
Witek darted to the left to prevent Broadhead from repeating his come-from-behind goal against Wrexham in November, and fired a shot wide from a position not too dissimilar to that from which Armstrong had scored.
The muscular Armstrong posed a threat with every touch of the ball, but after 76 minutes the momentum shifted towards Wrexham.
Issa Kabore guided the ball into the center of the box, but unfortunately Williams was unable to get his footing right and was unable to get the ball past Vitek.
Derby held on to sixth place after Bird’s superb volley stung the follow-on and George Dobson squandered two brilliant chances to beat Wrexham.
managers
Gerhard Struber of Bristol City:
“It’s not a coincidence that he scores a goal like that. Of course it takes a bit of luck, but he’s confident in this moment.
“The message with this shot was a clear signal from him. We knew from training that he could score goals like that.”
“It’s a good moment for Max and I’m really happy for him after five months out.
“We had a special conversation in my office about his injury. I’m really happy he’s healthy and able to help the team.”
Phil Parkinson from Wrexham:
“As good as we have played before, we were completely in control. We were patient and got the goal with a great ollie finish.
“You never dominate the second half like you did the first half, that doesn’t happen in soccer.
“It feels like (losing two points) and of course it’s a little quiet in the dressing room.
“But as a coach I have to remain calm because the players gave us a lot of charm.”
