Despite Quality Performances, Wrexham Women and U18s Fall Short
The Women finish second in hunt for the Bute Energy Welsh Cup and the academy finally taste defeat.
It was a disappointing final weekend of Wrexham football, but the future looks bright for both the Women and the Academy.
The Wrecap:
Wrexham AFC Women 0 - 2 Cardiff City Women
It may very well have been Wrexham’s best showing against Cardiff City this season, but it wasn’t quite enough to claim the cup. Despite the visitors' holding more of the ball throughout the contest, Cardiff bookended the match with two goals that sealed a domestic treble: the Welsh Cup, the Adran trophy, and the league title.
For their final match of the season, manager Steve Dale imposed a surprising strategy: holding Rosie Hughes on the bench until the back half of the match when Cardiff’s defense may be strained. Not the worst idea, but in retrospect it’s hard not to wonder what contributions Rosie might have had in the first half. Rhianne Oakley got the scoring started after just 16’, but it was against the run of play as Wrexham came out of the gate strong with Carra Jones putting in a few early attempts that were handled well in goal. Wrexham held the hosts to just one goal in the first half before Steve brought on Annie Small and Rosie Hughes in the second half. They couldn’t level things up, though, and Emma Beynon put the final stamp on it in stoppage time with Cardiff’s second goal.
All in all, a very respectable first Adran Premier campaign for the Wrexham women. They finished third in the league and made it to the final of the cup, while turning in a quality performance against the champs. I’m excited to see where this momentum brings us next season.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Morgan, Lovett, Allen (Sharp 90+3’), Davies, Pritchard, L.Jones, Fuller, Lightfoot, Gibbard (Hughes 68’), Cairns (Small 57’), C.Jones
Bench: Sharp, Hughes, Small, Dickens, Ankers.
Goals: CAR: Oakley (16’), Beynon (90’)
Yellow Cards: CAR: Watkins (25’), Oakley (72’), Beynon (84’). WXM: Cairns (20’), Allen (85’).
Stockport County U18s 2 - 1 Wrexham AFC U18s
The Wrexham U18 squad came agonizingly close to claiming the title in the EFL Youth Alliance Group B table on their final day of the season, but unfortunately, they came just one goal short. Callum Edwards and Harry Ashfield both had chances in the early going, but Stockport was awarded a penalty after 22’ when Harry Dean was ruled to have tripped Christian Mulindwa in the box. Mulindwa took the kick himself, putting Stockport ahead early.
Wrexham had some chances to level things up in the first half and Liam Hall had a few impressive saves, but they entered the tunnel down and stayed there for the rest of the match. At 67’, Lee Williams scored to give Stockport some insurance. But as the game was winding down, Wrexham were given a lifeline: another penalty, this one against Rainbird. Ashfield stepped up and scored, giving the Reds hope of a draw in the closing stages.
Alas, they couldn’t make it happen and since Preston North End won, they lept over the Dragons to finish in first by just a single point. A disappointing finish for the academy, but they have plenty to be proud of considering this is our first year in the league. Not only that, but plenty of academy players made a name for themselves this season, perhaps none more so than Harry Ashfield, who finishes the season having scored in six consecutive matches and a total of 23 times over the entire 23-24 campaign. Plus he saw a brief first-team debut in October in the EFL Trophy, albeit only for a few moments. Harry and the rest of the academy have a lot to look forward to next season.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Hall, James, Kelly, Moore, Dean, Purvis (Hayes 51’), Edwards, Roberts (Cruise 51’), Hayman (Chesworth 80’), Ashfield, Rainbird.
Bench: Hayes, Cruise, Chesworth, Pilkington, Nicholas
Goals: SPC: Mulindwa (P-22’), Williams (67’). WXM: Ashfield (P-84’).
Yellow Cards: SPC: Figg (49’), Mulindwa (71’), Kenny (90’). WXM: Purvis (45’), Kelly (90’).
The Week Ahead
League Two Playoffs
The season itself may be finished, but there’s still one more promotion spot to be won. The semi-final matches are this week with the final to be played on May 19th. The first legs of the playoffs were played on Monday and Tuesday, with Doncaster making a strong start with a 2-0 defeat of Crewe Alexandra and Crawley Town pulling off a surprising 3-0 victory against MK Dons. The winner is determined by the aggregate score after the two legs, so things look bleak for Crewe and the Dons heading into this Friday and Saturday, when the second legs will be played.
Other News:
Wrexham Announce Retained/Released List for 2024
Last Friday Wrexham announced the fate of our out-of-contract players ahead of the summer transfer window. There were a few departures from my predictions in last week’s Wreader, but not a ton.
The players released by the club are Aaron Hayden, Rob Lainton, Callum McFadzean, Jordan Tunnicliffe, Owen Cushion, Dan Davies, Ben Tozer, and Luke Young. A decision on Scott Butler was waiting for the end of his loan spell at Marine FC, which just concluded with promotion to the National League North in the sixth tier of English Football. I would expect an update from the club on his status before next week.
Meanwhile, James McClean’s option was picked up and he will return next year, while Steven Fletcher, Aaron James, and Mark Howard were all offered new contracts. Wrexham also extended young players Harry Ashfield, Callum Edwards, Liam Hall, and James Rainbird while promoting Harry Dean to the first team. Max Hayes, Michael Hayman, Jack Pilkington, Jake Roberts, and Dan Wright were the academy players that were released.
On the departing players, Phil said:
I'd like to thank all the players for their efforts over the last few years. They've all played a part in our success and I'd like to wish them all the best for the future.
The professionalism shown by all the lads has been excellent, and likewise those who have not been playing as regularly still play an important part with their attitudes and standards off the pitch.
Ben Tozer and Luke Young have not had as much game time in the last few months, but as club captain and first-team captain they have showed great leadership for the Club.
All the players leaving the Club go with our very grateful thanks for their efforts and contributions during their time at Wrexham.
Luke Young departs as a bonafide Wrexham legend, playing 259 games, scoring 2 Goals of the Season to match his two Player of the Season awards. And, oh yeah, under his captaincy Wrexham moved from the National League to League One in back-to-back promotions.
Club Captain Ben Tozer has been no small part of Wrexham’s success either and took to Twitter to say his goodbyes:
These are the first of what should be many summer moves for Phil and company, and just like I did during the January transfer window, I’ll be tracking them at the bottom of the Wreader moving forward.
As for the offers made, Mark Howard looks poised to re-sign with the club. In an interview with The Leader he made it clear that, contrary to my prediction last week, he has no plans to retire and wants to stay at Wrexham, saying:
At 37 I feel I have two or three more years left in me and I just want to continue this journey at Wrexham.
It’s not what I expected, but given this news I think it’s fair to pencil Howard in as the primary backup keeper for next season, assuming we sign Okonkwo or another higher-level keeper to take the number one slot.
Rob and Ryan Seek a “45-55,000” Seat Racecourse
It’s already well-known that Rob and Ryan are working to get construction on a new Kop stand started as soon as possible, but in an interview with Collider, Rob revealed that he and Reynolds don’t plan to stop there.
We have a plan in place that would work from stand to stand so, eventually, you get all four sides…We think we could get between 45,000 and 55,000 people in there.”
Currently, the STōK Cae Ras has a listed capacity of 12,600. For reference, Etihad Stadium, home to Premier League club Manchester City, holds 53,400. To date, the Racecourse’s record crowd came during an FA Cup match with Manchester United back in 1957, topping off at 34,445, so any way you slice it this would be a giant change for the city of Wrexham.
The Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe did an excellent examination into whether or not such an expansion would be logistically possible, considering the Racecourse is flanked on one side by Mold Road - a main thoroughfare of the city - and on another by University land and housing that once belonged to the club. It’s worth the read if you want to learn more (and have access), but the long and short of it is: let’s see what the demand is like once the new Kop and its 16,000 additional seats are finished, but if the funds and demand are there…anything’s possible for Wrexham AFC these days.
Fleur Robinson Steps Down as CEO
Wrexham announced last Friday that Fleur Robinson, who joined the club as CEO three years ago, will be leaving at the end of the season. This will be a huge change for the club, who have obviously enjoyed enormous success under Robinson’s leadership. It will be very interesting to see who comes in to replace her in the executive suite, something that I’m sure will happen before the start of the next campaign.
TST Squad Updates
The 7-a-side "The Soccer Tournament” will once again feature Wrexham in North Carolina this June, but this time both the men and women will feature and the squads are beginning to take shape. Wrexham announced the women’s roster last week while adding the first few names for the men’s side on Monday.
The Wrexham Women’s side will feature seven mainstays of the current first team roster, in addition to being led by manager Steve Dale. They include Rosie Hughes, Lili Jones, Del Morgan, Phoebe Davies, Carra Jones, Ava Suckley, and Captain Keren Allen. They’ll be joined by retired keeper Carly Telford, who has experience at the top of women’s football with multiple stints at Chelsea. Other retired vets coming back for the tournament include Americans Nicole Baxter, Bridget Callahan, and Danica Evans. They’ll be accompanied by Puerto Rico captain Nickolette Driesse, Canadian Lindsay Agnew, Mexican international Sabrina Flores, and Brianne Reed of the Dominican Republic.
For the men, former Premier Leaguer George Boyd, who played for Wrexham in the tournament’s inaugural bout last year, will return alongside last year’s top scorer Dan Jarvis, and first-team coach David Jones who will serve as both a player and manager of the team. First-teamers Mark Howard, Aaron James, and Scott Butler will also play for the squad, perhaps hinting at their contract decisions, along with returning loaned striker Jake Bickerstaff. But that’s not all: some of Wrexham’s U18s will be getting a piece of the action as well. Liam Hall, Callum Edwards, and Academy Player of the Year Harry Ashfield will also travel to US with the squad. Roger Espinoza and Gary Hooper, two veterans of the English pyramid’s upper echelons, will also join as guest players.
TST Groups Revealed
Yesterday TST announced the groups for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. There are only eight teams and two groups in the women’s tournament, with Wrexham slotted in with Angel City FC, Streetball Canada, and finally, and most notably: US Women. The US Women’s team will feature former American internationals Ali Krieger, Casey Lloyd, Cat Whitehill, and Heather O’Reilly, among others.
Meanwhile, in the 48-team men’s bracket, Wrexham will face FC Roha Eagles, Desimpedidos, and Saturdays Football. Saturdays Football will feature, among others, Cruz Beckham, son of…well, ya know.
To see all the groups, which boast squads from Burnley, Inter, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmand, and other big clubs, click here.
Arrivals
James McClean »»» Contract extended for a second year
Harry Dean »»» Signed to a professional contract from the youth squad
Departures
Aaron Hayden »»» Released, currently a free agent
Rob Lainton »»» Released, currently a free agent
Callum McFadzean »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jordan Tunnicliffe »»» Released, currently a free agent
Owen Cushion »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Davies. »»» Released, currently a free agent
Ben Tozer »»» Released, currently a free agent
Luke Young »»» Released, currently a free agent
Max Hayes »»» Released, currently a free agent
Michael Hayman »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jack Pilkington »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jake Roberts »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Wright »»» Released, currently a free agent
Known Offers
Steven Fletcher
Aaron James
Mark Howard
