Are Wrexham Dragons writing their next Hollywood story? The Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac owned Welsh side advanced past Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 4-3 on penalties in the third round on Saturday, following a dramatic 120 minute slugfest which ended 3-3. The Dragons are no strangers to cup success as their rise up the English soccer pyramid has been marked by making deep runs, knocking off teams in divisions above them, but that generally stopped at knocking off teams in the Championship. As a National League side in the 2022-23 season, the Dragons made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup, knocking out Coventry City, but now they’re taking it a step further by getting past a Premier League side, and the result was no fluke.
It’s almost unheard of for a team to make runs like this, no matter what division they’re in, but manager Phil Parkinson’s had this side set up for anything that comes their way. After three promotions in a row, notable cup runs and everything in between, it’s becoming a struggle to think of things that Wrexham can’t do. With the grind of the Championship, teams don’t always want to bother with the extra matches that come with a cup run, but the revenue and exposure can be helpful…not to mention the dramatic storylines if you happen to, you know, be the focus of an ongoing documentary TV series.
Wrexham did rotate heavily facing Nottingham Forest, but they got out to a swift 2-0 lead in the first half of play via goals from Liberato Cacace and Olivier Rathbone before the Tricky Trees woke up to make this a game. By then, it seemed, the danger had already been done. Wrexham only took five shots in the first half of play, but they made the most of them, scoring twice. When Cacace took aim from outside the box, it was only a 0.07 xG chance that he turned into a 0.70 post-shot xG stunner that beat Matz Sels in the Forest net. It was also Cacace’s first goal of the season for Wrexham, and it couldn’t come at a bigger moment. After forcing a turnover from Forest, Cacace didn’t hesitate to let fly, and it was a similar goal for Rathbone’s second, with Forest again being the architects of their own destruction.
Sean Dyche made changes at the half, bringing on Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Nicolas Dominguez, showing just how much depth a Premier League side has at their disposal in comparison to one in the Championship. Despite Forest holding 64% of the possession and taking 15 shots in the second half, Wrexham were still able to hold their own in the second period, producing an xG of 1.37 to Forest’s 1.67. But ultimately they weren’t able to stop the Forest comeback.
Igor Jesus and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who came on just before the 70th minute, scored for Forest, with Dominic Hyam getting another for Wrexham, and then, with time winding down, Hudson-Odoi found another goal in the 89th minute of play to force extra time. In the extra periods it was Forest pushing for a winner, while Wrexham held on for penalties, with the Premier League side getting 13 of their 31 shots in the extra period of play, while Wrexham were only able to muster three shots of their own.
The shootout came down to a miss by Omari Hutchinson, allowing Wrexham to grab the landmark victory in what has continued to be an impressive season. It was a wild way to get there for Wrexham, but it was hardly a fluke victory as they went toe-to-toe with a Premier League side for 120 minutes and lived to tell the tale moving on to the next round of the FA Cup.
The Dragons are now unbeaten in five consecutive matches in all competitions as they’ve been charging up the Championship table since Boxing Day. In ninth place, Wrexham are only one point off a playoff place despite just getting promoted from League One to the second division. When Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took over the Welsh side, making grand claims of turning Wrexham into a Premier League side, many didn’t think it’d be possible. Yet now, there’s a very real chance that Wrexham could have a shot at promotion to the Premier League this season.
In these cup runs, they’ve already proven that top flight sides aren’t going to cause them to worry, and continuing on in the FA Cup could provide even more confidence. Despite Forest looking to stay out of the relegation zone, this is a Europa League team that Wrexham toppled, and that’s something that Parkinson made sure to point out.
“Credit to the lads for the character, because after the Christmas period to go into extra time against a Premier League team is one almighty effort, from both sides, but from us in particular playing against a team of the pedigree of Nottingham Forest,” Parkinson said to ESPN following the match.
It could’ve been easy to fold after allowing that late equalizer and facing immense amounts of pressure in extra time. The fact that Wrexham didn’t shows just how resilient Parkinson’s side is. He’s the most important figure at the Racecourse Ground, and as long as the Dragons have their manager, success will continue to follow.
