Wrexham seal League One promotion, edging closer to EPL
An emphatic six goal victory has sealed Wrexham’s promotion to League One putting them halfway towards their Premier League dream.
After purchasing Wrexham in 2021, Hollywood duo Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds composed a flawless screenplay.
The story continues as a 6-0 thrashing of Forest Green put them over the top to seal promotion and send Wrexham to League One.
With their second straight promotion, the Welsh team will now be playing in the third tier of English football.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Hollywood combo, took over the Red Dragons and completely revamped the team. Since then, they’ve been nothing short of spectacular.
With a victory against last-place Forest Green, Phil Parkinson’s squad knew they would be guaranteed promotion for the second year in a row. They secured promotion with a bang at the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham took a 4-0 lead into halftime courtesy of goals from Elliot Lee, Paul Mullin (two), and an own goal by Ryan Inniss. In a repeat performance from the second half, Ryan Barnett and Jack Marriott scored more to set the tone for the celebration.
Even though the club had issued a strong warning earlier in the day, thousands of supporters rushed onto the field as soon as the last whistle sounded.
What did Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds say?
“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney. Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives”, Reynolds wrote on X.
In an Instagram post, club co-owner and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney expressed his inability to find the right words. “The passion and perseverance that these players have is incredible to watch.”
For Wrexham to gain promotion, they required their opponents to lose more than just one game. They moved within four points of league leader Stockport after the victory, despite Stockport having played one less game.
One step closer to Premier League
Wrexham will return to the third division for the first time since the 2004-05 season next year. The Welsh club has never been promoted in back-to-back seasons before either.
Following McElhenney and Reynolds’ acquisition of the squad in February 2021, the franchise gained prominence on a global scale. ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, a documentary series on FX, won five Emmys, one of which was for a best-unscripted reality program. It has already shown two seasons, and May will bring the premiere of the third.
Along with Morecambe, Stockport’s 2-0 victory guaranteed promotion, and the home team’s supporters celebrated on the field after the game. Just one point was required to ensure County’s promotion; they had been in the top three since October.
The next level of English football, the Championship, is the target for Wrexham. In fact, they are currently two promotions away from the English Premier League.
When they return to action on April 20, the Welsh team will aim to keep their title hopes alive in League Two. At Crewe, England’s The Mornflake Stadium, they will take on Crewe Alexandra.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Pro Sports Images