It was a hard fought evening for Wrexham’s Red Dragons away at Bramall Lane yesterday when they faced Championship side Sheffield United in a 4th round replay for the FA Cup.
Even before the starting whistle supporters of both teams knew this was going to be a tense match. Wrexham AFC, a team currently in the National League, which is the fifth division of English Football, had previously stunned Championship side Coventry City FC in the 3rd round of the FA Cup on 7 January. Defeating a team three divisions higher would normally be considered a successful cup run. However, Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham squad were not going down without a fight. Last week on 29 January Wrexham shocked the football world by battling Paul Heckingbottom’s Sheffield United to a 3-3 draw. Sheffield, who currently are placed 2nd in the EFL Championship 10 points ahead of their next rivals are considered by most to be a Premier League team-in-waiting. However, their FA Cup run was nearly cut short by Wrexham if not for Sheffield’s John Egan putting a corner from Tommy Doyle into the back of the net in the penultimate minute of stoppage time to force a replay.
The replay began yesterday evening with Sheffield underperforming. While their defense held during the first half, it was mired with missed opportunity. The most shocking was on James McAtee’s breakaway which got through the Wrexham defense only to shoot the ball wide to the left and miss a nearly open goal in the 29th minute.
The second half was more eventful. Both sides seemed to have had a fire lit under them in the dressing rooms. After Sheffield scored in the 50th minute it was Paul Mullin who brought Wrexham level with a penalty kick only 9 minutes later. However as the second half progressed, Mullin was unable to repeat this feat after Sheffield’s Oliver Norwood fouled him in the box in the 72nd minute. The missed penalty kick would prove costly for the Red Dragons.
While both sides appeared to battle to a stalemate it was clear the Wrexham side was struggling in transition. The real star of Wrexham’s side was goalkeeper Rob Lainton who made save after save against Sheffield’s onslaught. However in the as the match went into stoppage time the cracks in Wrexham’s defense began to show. Sheffield’s Billy Sharp seized upon a defensive error and fired a shot into the back corner of the net, followed two minutes later by Sander Berge shortly before the final whistle. Despite Wrexham’s best efforts, it will be Heckingbottom’s Sheffield who will host Tottenham Hotspur in the 5th round on 1 March.
Will Wrexham AFC have the Hollywood finish to the season they are seeking?
The National League is English Football’s version of Purgatory, the fifth division where clubs who have fallen from their former glory days must repent for their failings before being able to rise again.
It is the most difficult league in the football pyramid to escape from. The league comprises 24 teams from across the whole of England (and Wales). It is the lowest level on the pyramid that still maintains a single division, all levels below it operate on a regional or local level. At the end of the season the bottom 4 teams are automatically relegated to either the Northern or Southern leagues. The National League only has two slots for promotion, and it is no easy task. The league champion at the end of the season gains the only automatic promotion slot to the EFL League Two. The only remaining promotion slot can only be gained by winning a series of play-offs between the teams ranked 2nd through 7th. These single-elimination play-offs see the 2nd place and 3rd place team enter at the semi-finals. The last team remaining will secure the coveted 2nd promotion slot.
As it stands Notts County currently are in 1st place in the National League with a total of 71 points. Wrexham, who have been on a long unbeaten run since October currently occupy 2nd place with 68 points. In Hollywood fashion it was Notts County who were the last team to beat Wrexham 1-0 when they played at Meadow Lane. However, Wrexham now have two games in hand (28 to Notts 30 played). With a showdown at the Racecourse Ground set for 10 April we may get to see the Hollywood ending to the season that Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny could only dream of.