Life Overshadows Sport in Wycombe vs Wrexham
The clash between the two automatic promotion contenders lived up to the hype, but the outcome took a backseat to a medical emergency in the stands.
The Wycombe players, staff, and fans all showed real class on Saturday as one Wrexham fan suffered a serious medical emergency.
The Wrecap:
Wycombe 0 - 1 Wrexham
For this highly-anticipated match, Phil rolled out the lineup we’ve come to expect, with Dobson returning to the lineup along with Brunt. Some wondered about Rodriguez’s continued inclusion despite his lackluster performances thus far, but Phil held firm for the high-dollar new arrival. Once again, the bench was devoid of Mullin or Plamer.
Both squads played very well throughout a feisty, fast-paced first half and Wrexham looked worlds better than they did earlier in the week against Reading. Okonkwo was put to work several times, making several critical saves as he dealt with Wycombe’s six shots. Despite some tempers flaring (there were seventeen first-half fouls in all), no cards were shown and no stoppage time was added on before the players hit the tunnel. Of course, no goals were scored either.
The match picked up right where it left off in the second half but with far fewer chances at either end. Through the first twenty-five minutes of the second half, Wrexham’s best chance came when Wycombe bungled a pass back to the keeper. Smith was quick to take advantage, but, agonizingly, his shot hit off the post. Smith was also brought down in the box by two defenders in a crystal-clear penalty, but despite stopping the game for a head injury to Smith…referee Ben Speedie said no foul and no penalty kick.
But then at 76’ came a very lengthy delay when a Wrexham fan in the crowd suffered a a serious medical emergency. We don’t have all the details, but the visitor collapsed and very quickly the match was called to a halt. At first, the clock continued to tick and the players remained on the sidelines but before long both squads left the pitch entirely. Wycombe staff raised flags around the Wrexham fan as staff and fans alike helped the individual while the stadium waited for the ambulance to arrive. Rob McElhenney would later applaud Wycombe’s response and effort to “save someone’s life.” Nearly an hour went by before the game finally resumed. When the Wrexham players came back out on the pitch, both home and away supporters applauded the Reds in a very touching show of support and sportsmanship. Wycombe announced over the loudspeaker that the patient was stable as they left for the hospital.
When the match eventually restarted, it was with a Wycombe corner that was nearly turned in for an immediate opener. Wrexham got the ball away and very quickly began a sustained attack on the home goal. McClean had a cross that pinballed around the box before Sam Smith was able to get to it and — finally — put a ‘1’ on the scoreboard. A gritty final fourteen minutes ensued before only five minutes were added on (the clock was stopped once the players left the pitch for the medical delay) and Wrexham, playing very defensively, were able to hold on to claim second place on the table at long last.
It would be short-lived, however, as Wycombe played and won their game in hand last night. Still, the win is tremendously important for Wrexham. It delivered three key points from going into the Wanderers’ pockets and kept us even with Wycombe on points going forward. Smith and Okonkwo both deserve MotM, but I’m handing it to Okonkwo who is clearly approaching his pre-injury form, just in the knick of time. The keeper put in a hell of a shift with three saves and ten recoveries and is largely the reason the home fans couldn’t celebrate what would have been a key victory.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
And watch the highlights here or below:
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Okonkwo, Cleworth, O’Connell, Brunt, Longman, Dobson, James, Rathbone (Lee 74’), McClean, Smith (O’Connor 90+4’), Rodriguez (Fletcher 70’)
Bench: Howard, Scarr, Mendy, O’Connor, Lee, Marriott, Fletcher
Goals:
WRX — Smith (78’)
WYC — None
Yellow Cards:
WRX — Rathbone (37’), O’Connor (90+5’)
WYX — None
Women: FAW Cup Semi-Final
Pontypridd United 0 - 4 Wrexham Women
The Wrexham Women waltzed by Pontypridd United to reach their second consecutive FAW Cup final. After Abbie Iddenden opened the scoring just five minutes in an own goal from Pontypridd twenty minutes later gave the Reds a strong hold on the match. Brooke Cairns tightened the grip even further just before the half-hour mark before Iddenden capped off the scoring early in the second half with her second goal of the day.
Wrexham will now face the Cardiff Women in a rematch of last year’s final. Last year they fell 2-0 to Cardiff, but before that hadn’t allowed a single goal for the entire competition. That is exactly the same situation they find themselves in now, having scored a staggering thirty goals over just four matches without conceding any. Having finally found themselves on the winning side of the scorecard against Cardiff, there’s certainly reason to believe the Wrexham Women can grab a cup title in 2025.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Craven, Davies (Sharp 80’), Allen, Lovett, C.Jones, Gibbard, L.Jones (Burke 84’), Cairns, Lightfoot (Pritchard 67’), Suckley (Hughes 67’), Iddenden
Bench: Morgan, Sharp, Burke, Pritchard, Hughes
Goals:
WRX — Iddenden (5’, 55’), L. Jones (OG - 24’), Cairns (29’)
PON — None
Yellow Cards:
WRX — None
PON - Seaborne (78’)
U18s: Harrogate Town 2 - 3 Wrexham
It was another win for the U18 side this weekend, their seventh in a row, as they bested Harrogate Town in a tight contest thanks to Tom Kelly’s stoppage-time winner. It was Kelly’s second goal of the day, giving him three on the season. Keane Hazeldine contributed the other Wrexham goal, his seventeenth of the year.
Read the full report from Wrexham here.
Match Facts:
Starting Lineup: Jones, Clayton, Kelly, Moore, Dean, Purvis (Edwards 42’), Almedida, McTweed, Owen, Roberts (Slosarczyk 66’), Hazeldine (Chesworth 72’).
Bench: Lussey, Edwards, Slosarczyk, Chesworth
Goals:
WRX — Hazeldine (4’), Kelly (36’, 90+3’)
HAR — ??
Yellow Cards:
WRX — Moore (76’)
HAR — None
Current Tables
League One
Adran Premier
News from the Week:
Wrexham Fan Update
Wrexham confirmed that the fan who suffered a medical emergency at Saturday’s match was alive and in stable condition at the hospital on Sunday. I join the club in wishing the fan a full and speedy recovery.
Steve Fleet Passes Away
Steve Fleet, Wrexham’s keeper in the mid-’60s for nearly 100 appearances, passed away at age 87 last week. After coming up with Manchester City, Fleet joined Wrexham for three years before moving on to Stockport County and Altrincham. He’d go on to manage in Iceland in the early ‘80s, but his legacy was cemented as a coach for Manchester City, where he returned to help develop players for 25 years.
Wrexham joins UN’s “Football for the Goals” initiative
Wrexham announced this morning that they had joined the United Nations’ “Football for the Goals” initiative which aims to provide: “a platform for the global football community to engage with and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Those SDGs are:
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Wellbeing
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
The Week Ahead
3/22 vs Stockport County
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
11am EST / 3:00pm BST
Stockport have been up and down this season, but at the moment they’re very much on the rise having lost just one of their last twelve matches. That momentum will serve them well as they face Wrexham this weekend, who they beat 1-0 back in November. Striker Louie Barry’s 15 goals make him the third-best goalscorer in the league, as well as the third-best player overall according to FotMob. Defender Ethan Pye highlights their defense as their other player in FotMob’s top 30.
Our pals from League Two last year should put up quite the fight this weekend. Although they’re six points behind us, they still have an outsized chance at catching up and joining the automatic promotion race, but more pressingly they’re only in the safety of the playoffs by five points. They’ll be determined to take something from this match and would no doubt revel in helping to spoil Wrexham’s bid for second place. Of course, Wrexham hold the second-best record at home with an impressive +19 goal differential at the Racecourse. Stockport are ranked fifth on the road but have earned only a +7 GD during their away fixtures. With only nine matches left, Wrexham need to take as many of those remaining twenty-seven points as they possibly can…so dropping home games is simply not an option.
I’m curious to see how Phil plays this. Calls from the fandom for Mullin and Palmer to rejoin the squad have been growing as Jay Rodriguez has still failed to really impress (or score) next to (and more recently, behind) Smith, yet is still included the starting XI match after match. I’d like to see him hit the bench for this one, with Fletcher or Marriott joining Smith up front. And as for the bench, I think it’s time Super Paul Mullin gets a seat back over the likes of Faal or even Marriott/Fletcher. There’s no question he’s disappointed this year, likely himself more than anyone else, but he can hardly fight to regain his spot if he never gets the chance.
Women: 3/23 at Briton Ferry Llansawel
US: Paramount+, iFollow. UK: Skysports+
11am EST / 3:00pm BST
The preview for the Wrexham Women's matches remains very straightforward: they simply must win to have a chance at the title. And even then it may not be enough if Cardiff continues to dominate. Despite their thunderous form of late, Wrexham remain nine points from Cardiff at the top of the table. So with just four regular season matches to go, they must win (and hope Cardiff falters) to have a prayer of climbing the ladder in time.
That said, Briton are only four points ahead of the Reds. After spending much of the season wondering if they could make it to the safety of the top four, they now have a very real chance at improving on their third-place finish last season. In the first phase of the season, each squad grabbed a 3-0 win. Briton are coming off a win that followed their first loss (to Cardiff) since November, so they will be no pushover. But the fire is certainly bursting from the Dragons as of late, setting up what should be a proper battle this Sunday.