By Spencer Douglas photo credit: Gemma Thomas Photography
Wrexham 3 Boreham Wood 1
After 15 years of fifth tier football, Wrexham finally make their EFL return as they bounce back against play-off contenders Boreham Wood.
In front of a packed out Racecourse, the Reds knew a win would seal promotion, and see them lift the trophy on home soil.
But it was the team from the South who opened the scoring within the first minute, playing the ball over the top of the Wrexham backline, meeting Lee Ndlovu to take it over the head of Ben Foster.
However, this didn’t dampen the spirits of the fans, who kept the ground bouncing, as Phil Parkinson’s men kept fighting.
After 15 minutes of heavy attacking football from the Reds, Ryan Barnett crossed one into Elliot Lee to head home the equaliser, keeping the title-winning hopes well and truly alive.
With the first half coming to a close, Wrexham had displayed some strong attacking football as they were eagerly chasing the lead.
Just seven minutes into the second half, super Paul Mullin hit a scorcher past Nathan Ashmore, beating his defender on the left hand-side of the box, to fire it in the top right. A sensational goal.
Now in the lead, Wrexham were still pushing for that third goal to secure the win, with the crowd’s booming atmosphere transcending onto the pitch.
And in the 71st minute, it was that man again, Mullin, now on his 47th goal for the season, running through the defence to take it on his left, striking it past Ashmore who managed to get a hand to the ball but with no avail.
With both teams still creating chances, the Reds kept their two goal lead as the final whistle was sounded, meaning that Wrexham were back up in the EFL, 15 years to the day they were relegated into the fifth tier.
The second the game was over, the pitch was flooded with red shirts, flags, and pyro, to celebrate the tremendous occasion, they had finally done it.
A decade and a half in the making, the team from the North of Wales had returned, with owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in tears of joy, as well as the supporters who have really been through it all. They were all at the packed-out Racecourse to witness the best night of their lives.
The celebrations continued into the night, and the next couple of days, with the last game of the season next Saturday, a long trip down to Devon to face Torquay United, capping off a remarkable season.
Wrexham are set to replace Rochdale in League Two, following their relegation after spending 102 years in the EFL.
There are high expectations for the team next year, with many wondering if the Hollywood-backed Reds can cause an upset and see back-to-back promotions, seeing them rise up into League One.
Here is how the two teams lined up:
Wrexham: Foster, Barnett, O’Connell, Tozer ©, O’Connor, Mendy, Jones, Cannon, Lee, Mullin, Dalby (89’ Palmer)
Boreham Wood: Ashmore ©, Ilesanmi, Evans, Payne (75’ Rees), Ndlovu (80’ Newton), Broadbent, Marsh (70’ Lewis), Sousa, Brunt, Bush, Agbontohoma
Attendance: 10,126
