Ryan Reynolds ‘completely gutted’ as Wrexham miss playoffs
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds said he was “completely gutted” after Wrexham’s dream of reaching the Premier League came to an end, for this season anyway, on Saturday.
The Welsh club fell two points from a Second Division Championship playoff place after drawing 2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season.
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This allowed Hull to leapfrog Wrexham and move into sixth place – the fourth and final playoff spot – with a 2-1 victory over Norwich in a match played at the same time.
Hull’s winning goal, by Oli McBurnie in the 67th, appears to have been scored from an offside position, but there are no video reviews in the English Football League.
This ended an unprecedented run of three consecutive Wrexham promotions under their famous owners Reynolds and fellow actor Rob Mac – a streak which began when coming out of the fifth tier in the 2022-23 season and which was documented in the globally popular and Emmy Award-winning FX series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
Yet seventh place marked Wrexham’s best finish in their history, improving on the 15th position achieved in the second tier in the 1978-79 season. And Reynolds echoed the words of manager Phil Parkinson by saying the club has “so much to be proud of”.
“I’m completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season,” Reynolds wrote on X.
“We have come a long way in five years and this is the best result in our 150-year history. “There is still much to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, the Reds.”
It was a memorable campaign from Wrexham in their first season in the Second Division since the 1980s.
However, the short-term pain was acute and Wrexham players sat on the ground and appeared inconsolable after the final whistle – even though the Hull-Norwich match was not over.
Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and conceded in the fourth minute against Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead in the 41st.
Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer, but Wrexham finished stronger, squandering a series of fine late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.
In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.
“This team as it is, with a pre-season together, will be even stronger next year,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, who oversaw a summer outlay of around $40 million last year.
“Of course we will always look to add something to try to give ourselves an even better chance… we know where we would like to strengthen and what we need to improve. We will do that and we will make this team as strong as possible to challenge next year.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
