That’s all from this MBM. Thanks for reading! Here is Dominic Booth’s take on the night’s frivolities …
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Vítor Matos speaks to Sky. “Hard to take … we started good … we created chances … maybe the luck was not on our side … the last moment, situation, pass, action … proud of the boys … three games in six days is insane … we are going in the right direction … we try to improve … we created chances to score … sometimes there is a good decision by the referee in terms of a penalty, sometimes not … that is part of football … my focus is on improving … there are still games to go … the mentality, effort, mindset we need to take with us … now we recover … keep going.”
Phil Parkinson talks to Sky. “The performance tonight was about character … resilience … it needed to be, because Swansea are a good side … possession [Wrexham had 33 percent] doesn’t win you games of football, it’s goals … when you play Friday or early Saturday it’s about putting a marker down … it’s always better when you’ve got the win … the games come thick and fast … when you get to this stage, you have players hardened to that … they keep producing performances when we need it most.”
That’s a big result for Wrexham, who consolidate their position in the play-off places. A fourth successive promotion in a row is very much a possibility. Swansea, who are now eight points off the play-offs, having played one game more, see their hopes and dreams diminish.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 37 | 39 | 77 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 37 | 22 | 69 |
| 3 | Millwall | 37 | 10 | 68 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 36 | 26 | 65 |
| 5 | Hull | 37 | 6 | 63 |
| 6 | Wrexham | 37 | 10 | 60 |
| 7 | Southampton | 36 | 11 | 54 |
| 8 | Derby | 37 | 6 | 54 |
| 9 | Watford | 36 | 4 | 52 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 37 | 0 | 52 |
| 11 | Swansea | 38 | -2 | 52 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 37 | 0 | 50 |
| 13 | Sheff Utd | 37 | 1 | 49 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 37 | -4 | 49 |
| 15 | Norwich | 36 | 4 | 48 |
| 16 | Stoke | 37 | 3 | 48 |
| 17 | Charlton | 37 | -9 | 47 |
| 18 | QPR | 37 | -13 | 47 |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 36 | -11 | 40 |
| 20 | Blackburn | 37 | -14 | 39 |
| 21 | Leicester | 37 | -7 | 38 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 37 | -13 | 38 |
| 23 | West Brom | 37 | -18 | 37 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 37 | -51 | -6 |
Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds name their men of the match: Dom Hyam and Arthur Okonkwo. “We have no idea what we’re taking about,” quips Mac, but that’s a fair enough shout.
FULL TIME: Wrexham 2-0 Swansea City
The whistle goes. Phil Parkinson comes onto the pitch, smiling broadly, celebrating his first win in ten attempts against Swansea! “This was an absolute pleasure,” says Ryan Reynolds from the commentary box. Content, in both senses of the word.
90 min +4: … so having said that, Eom finds space down the right and cuts back from the byline. Cleworth slides in and nearly turns the ball into his own net, but Okonkwo blocks. The Hollywood dream comes true.
90 min +3: “I want a clean sheet,” demands Reynolds. It looks like he’s going to get one.
90 min +1: Widell hauls Kabore to the ground in irritation. Had that happened earlier in the game, the referee might have flashed a card. But he realises Swansea’s frustration and makes do with a lecture.
90 min: There will be five additional minutes.
GOAL! Wrexham 2-0 Swansea City (Cullen og 88)
Thomason crosses from the left. Doyle rises to win a header at the far post. It’s heading wide left, but pings off the heel of Cullen and past the wrong-footed Vigouroux. Game over!
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86 min: Smith is replaced by Cadamarteri, who wastes no time in getting involved, not quite getting enough contact on a header eight yards out.
84 min: This game is petering out, to the point that Rob Mac and former Wrexham striker Steven Fletcher are now talking about their record when pairing up at golf.
82 min: Tymon is replaced by Walta.
81 min: Some more head tennis in the Wrexham box. The ball drops to Yalcouye, who slices horribly wide right. He should have worked the keeper at the very least. “Bloody hell,” snaps Reynolds. Hey, it’s after the watershed.
79 min: Kabore has been excellent for Wrexham tonight. His whipped cross in from the right is turned behind by Burgess, and from the corner, Rathbone flays high over the bar.
77 min: A long ball down the middle towards Windass. Tymon battles for it on the halfway line, and the ball hits his arm. He’s the last man, and that looked deliberate, so Wrexham want a red card … but it’s not a Dogso. Just a yellow. “Has anyone ever caught a ball in their mouth?” wonders Ryan Reynolds. This show hasn’t really got going, has it.
75 min: The action has almost ground to a halt. Neither team in any sort of rhythm. Widell comes on for Stamenic.
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73 min: O’Brien has the opportunity to release Smith down the middle, but faffs and the chance is gone.
71 min: Doyle curls a dangerous deep cross in from the left. Smith doesn’t compete for it at the far stick. That’s a bit better from Wrexham.
69 min: With nothing much going on, talk turns esoterically to the efforts of Racecourse head groundsman Paul Chaloner. “He has individually named each blade of grass and given them a backstory,” extemporises Reynolds. “Do not mess with this man’s pitch.”
67 min: Windass comes on for the goalscorer Broadhead, who takes his place in the dugout. “He’s not putting a warm-up coat on,” notes Ryan Reynolds. “Does he know he can’t go back in?”
66 min: Some pinball in the Wrexham box. It drops to Stamenic, who creams a shot towards the bottom right. Okonkwo gets down to parry brilliantly, and nothing comes of the resulting corner. “He’s my favourite human being on earth tonight,” says Rob Mac of his keeper. “You have to be wondering how you’re going to get the ball past this man.”
64 min: It’s all got a bit scrappy. Two-pass moves at a premium.
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62 min: Eom’s first act is to send Rathbone off to the shops for a copy of the Wrexham Evening Leader. The resulting attempt at a cross is no good, though.
61 min: Kabore tries to skin Tymon down the right. He might have done so had the defender not stuck out an arm and whacked him on the jaw. No foul. The second time the referee has been strangely laissez faire during this second half. Both teams have benefitted in turn.
59 min: A triple change for Swansea. Ronald, Nunes and Franco are replaced by Cullen, Yalcouye and Eom.
58 min: Nunes tries to release Tymon into the Wrexham box down the inside-left channel, but overhits the pass. It’s not quite happening for Swansea.
56 min: Broadhead shovels a pass down the inside-right channel for Rathbone, who hits a cross-cum-shot that’s snaffled by Vigouroux at the near post.
54 min: Tymon crosses low from the Swansea left. Hyam hooks clear. Swansea are enjoying the majority of the possession again, but they’ve not forced Okonkwo into action for a while now.
52 min: Cleworth strides elegantly down the right and passes infield for Smith, who tries to dink the ball over Cabango. He doesn’t quite manage it. Had he pulled off the trick, he was through on goal.
50 min: Galbraith curls in from the right. Franco comes across to chest down. Hyam barges him straight in the back and over. It’s surely a penalty, but the referee isn’t interested. Wrexham get away with a big one. Not sure what Hyam was thinking.
49 min: Smith snaffles a loose ball in the centre circle and powrs down the middle. He feeds Broadhead to his left. He’s got time to shape a shot towards the bottom right, but sends a poor curler well wide of the post.
47 min: A ball rolled down the middle has Wrexham at sixes and sevens. Nunes runs towards it and tries a first-time lay-off to Vipotnik, but gets it all wrong. Had he trapped that and taken it on himself, he was through.
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Swansea City get the second half started. No changes.
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HALF TIME: Wrexham 1-0 Swansea City
A capsule review of the first half, courtesy of Rob Mac: “Giddy up!”
45 min +2: Rathbone hassles Stamenic, facing his own goal, into the concession of a corner. O’Brien sends the set piece long. Doyle rises highest at the far post, and surely has to score, but sends his header across the face of goal and out. A huge chance to double Wrexham’s lead!
45 min: Kabore dribbles hard down the right, using Tymon as a shield. At the edge of the box, he attempts an outside-of-foot curler towards the top left. Always wide and high, but a fine effort nonetheless. There will be one minute of additional time.
43 min: Swansea with a free kick out on the right. Nunes fails to beat the first man. Wrexham half clear. Ronald swings in from the same flank. Vipotnik stoops by the near post, and flashes a header wide.
41 min: Thomason passes infield from the left. A ricochet nearly tees up Broadhead to the left of the D … but not quite. Swansea aren’t doing a particularly good job in locating Broadhead down this channel. He’s been impressively slippery.
39 min: Kabore jinks his way down the right, having taken control of a sweeping O’Brien pass, and wins a corner. O’Brien takes the set piece, looping it to the far stick. Another corner’s won. Wrexham play it short, and nearly balls it up, but Swansea only half clear. Kabore races down the right again, and his fierce low cross only just evades Smith in the middle. A 2-0 scoreline would seriously flatter Wrexham, but they’ve come real close to it.
37 min: Swansea have responded well to falling behind. They’re hogging possession again, probing hither and yon. “Swansea could still sneak into the playoffs,” insists Julian Menz. “As someone of a certain age who remembers the 70s/80s/90s, I bet the Met would absolutely love the prospect of policing Millwall v Swansea at Wembley. Regarding just how far the game has come, I have no worries taking my 10-year-old daughter to a game now. I’d give that one a swerve though.”
35 min: More heroics from Okonkwo, who blocks a point-blank prod by Burgess, the ball having come in from the right. Turns out three Swansea players were offside, and the flag goes up, but the keeper wasn’t to know that. He’s doing a good job in making up for that costly mistake in Swansea last December.
34 min: Galbraith scampers after a cute Nunes flick down the left, his low cross deflected and nearly sneaking into the bottom left. Just a corner, which is dealt with well by Okonkwo.
32 min: A replay of Broadhead’s goal, Wrexham’s one shot on target so far. It was a lovely touch to get past Burgess, and a decent finish from the striker’s point of view. Vigouroux might wonder whether he could have done better, though, the ball going straight through him.
30 min: Nunes swings into the Wrexham box from the right. Cabango heads a decent chance over from six yards. Time for Ryan Reynolds to dip once more into his big book of goalkeeping facts: “I love that Arthur Okonkwo is eight foot two.”
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29 min: That goal has changed the atmosphere at the Racecourse. The home fans had fallen a little quiet just before it, with Swansea looking the more likely to open the scoring. But here we are.
27 min: That opening goal, which came against the run of play, was celebrated party-hearty by the Hollywood pair. Turns out Ryan Reynolds’ daughter was in the restroom when the goal went in, so he tells her to stay in there for the remainder of the game. From California to north Wales, the importance of sporting superstitions are universal.
GOAL! Wrexham 1-0 Swansea City (Broadhead 25)
Wrexham work the ball from right to left. Four players involved. Then Broadhead is sent into the box down the channel by Doyle. Broadhead takes a touch to ghost past Burgess, opens his body, then slots diagonally across Vigouroux and into the bottom right!
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23 min: That was a hell of a pass forward by Franco to split Wrexham apart. Well worthy of an assist, but he’s not going to get one. Meanwhile Ryan Reynolds celebrates his keeper’s save. “Ladies and gentlemen, Arthur Lanyard Okonkwo. That’s not his middle name, I’ve just made it up.”
21 min: Swansea should be leading. Vipotnik chases after a long pass down the middle. He’s clear of the Wrexham defence. He opens his body and steers a shot towards the bottom right. Okonkwo gets down to palm away with a strong hand. Great save, though he should never have been allowed to make it. Vitpotnik wears the pained look of a man who knows he should have done so much better.
19 min: Hyam and Vipotnik wrestle just inside the Wrexham box. The striker goes over, and claims a penalty. You’ve seen spot kicks given for less, but the referee shows no interest whatsoever. The hosts get away with a big one there.
17 min: Thomason overhits a cross from the left. Goal kick. Rob Mac cheers nonetheless. “Perception is an important part of the spot … I thought that was going into the right-hand portion of the net, and it wasn’t even close.
16 min: A low cross into the Wrexham box from the Swansea right. Neither Vipotnik nor Franco is able to control the ball on the edge of the area. Had they done so, they’d have had a workable shooting opportunity.
14 min: Vyner gets stuck into a challenge, which appeals to Ryan Reynolds’ baser instincts. Coos of encouragement. He wants Wrexham to get stuck in. “If you’re built like Callum Doyle, you’re gonna want to be physical.”
12 min: A pocket of space for Rathbone, 25 yards out, just to the left of centre. He slices horribly wide left, then falls over, claiming a foul that never happened. Rob and Ryan discuss the art of going down, looking for a cheap free kick, and suggest putting on an acting masterclass. “You’ve gotta sell it, real tears,” says Reynolds, before getting dark: “The guy last week with the compound fracture sold it.”
10 min: Kabore crosses from the right. Broadhead steers a header towards the top right, and Vigouroux claws it out. Nothing comes of the subsequent corner. It’s been a good end-to-end start, the Swans edging it.
8 min: Franco nearly gets on the end of a wedged pass down the right. Then Nunes glides down the left and floats a cross that pings off the top of the crossbar and away. Turns out it had sailed out for a goal kick beforehand, but I’m not sure Okonkwo had that situation under control. “What was that?!” splutters Reynolds, incredulity the top note, as he’d just beforehand been speaking of his dream of Wrexham leading 5-0 already.
6 min: Swansea have started the stronger. Ronald advances down the right again but can’t find Vipotnik in the middle with his cross.
5 min: Reynolds compares Kieffer Moore, missing through injury, to Errol Flynn. You can take the actor out of la-la land, etc.
4 min: Vyner dinks a cross in from the right. “Goal!” shouts Reynolds, an involuntary reaction as the ball is headed clear by the Swansea defence.
2 min: … and now Ronald makes a nuisance of himself down the same channel, but can’t keep the ball in play. Goal kick. Rob Mac has already used the word “purgatory”.
33 secs: “Uh-oh,” worries Ryan Reynolds, as Franco bursts into space down the Swansea inside-right channel. Rob Mac audibly sucks his teeth with anxiety. The commentary unashamedly Wrexham-focussed. Their fears are unfounded as Franco rolls a weak shot towards the bottom right.
Wrexham get the ball rolling. “There’s going to be a lot of goals,” says Rob Mac. The first rule of football commentary, Do Not Tempt Fate, recklessly kicked to touch from the get-go.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac take to the mic on Sky Sports Football. They’ve got regular presenter David Prutton alongside them during the build-up, which seems a bit of a cop out, but presumably he’ll be taking a back seat soon enough. Meanwhile, the teams are out! Wrexham in red, Swansea in white. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. “I wish Snoop Dogg all the best in his investment in Swansea City,” begins Peter Oh. “I hope he’ll simply appreciate the beauty and atmosphere of the game rather than get caught up in statistics and metrics. Nuthin’ but an xG Thang just wouldn’t be as good as the original.”
Wrexham make two changes to the starting XI after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Hull. Issa Kabore and Ollie Rathbone replace Ryan Longman and Josh Windass, who both drop to the bench.
Swansea also make two changes to their starting line-up, following their 2-1 victory at Portsmouth. Marko Stamenic and Gustavo Nunes replace Jay Fulton and Eom Ji-sung, who are benched.
Here’s what the Championship table looks like going into this game. Wrexham won’t be going anywhere tonight, no matter what happens, though they can of course consolidate their position in the play-off places. Swansea can catapult themselves up to seventh with a win.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 37 | 39 | 77 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 37 | 22 | 69 |
| 3 | Millwall | 37 | 10 | 68 |
| 4 | Ipswich | 36 | 26 | 65 |
| 5 | Hull | 37 | 6 | 63 |
| 6 | Wrexham | 36 | 8 | 57 |
| 7 | Southampton | 36 | 11 | 54 |
| 8 | Derby | 37 | 6 | 54 |
| 9 | Watford | 36 | 4 | 52 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 37 | 0 | 52 |
| 11 | Swansea | 37 | 0 | 52 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 37 | 0 | 50 |
| 13 | Sheff Utd | 37 | 1 | 49 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 37 | -4 | 49 |
| 15 | Norwich | 36 | 4 | 48 |
| 16 | Stoke | 37 | 3 | 48 |
| 17 | Charlton | 37 | -9 | 47 |
| 18 | QPR | 37 | -13 | 47 |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 36 | -11 | 40 |
| 20 | Blackburn | 37 | -14 | 39 |
| 21 | Leicester | 37 | -7 | 38 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 37 | -13 | 38 |
| 23 | West Brom | 37 | -18 | 37 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 37 | -51 | -6 |
Swansea won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in December. Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo won’t have fond memories, spilling the ball at the feet of Adam Idah in the last minute, Idah slotting the winner from a yard out. That was the first time the teams had met in any competition since the 2002-03 season, when Wrexham won this fixture 4-0. In fact Wrexham’s form in this fixture is outstanding: they’ve hosted the Swans on 15 previous occasions in the Football League, winning ten and drawing four of them. However there is hope for Swansea, as Phil Parkinson has never beaten them as a manager, losing the last four meetings on the bounce. Rob, Ryan, feel free to take all of that if there’s any dead air to fill.
The teams
Wrexham: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle, Kabore, Vyner, Rathbone, O’Brien, Thomason, Smith, Broadhead.
Subs: Ward, Brunt, Keillor-Dunn, Windass, Cadamarteri, Rodriguez, Scarr, Barnett, Longman.
Swansea City: Vigouroux, Key, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon, Goncalo Franco, Stamenic, Galbraith, Ronald, Vipotnik, Nunes Gomes.
Subs: Fisher, Fulton, Widell, Yalcouye, Eom, Samuels-Smith, Cullen, Walta, Ward.
Referee: Tom Nield (West Yorkshire)
Swansea head coach Vitor Matos speaks to Sky. “It’s been a good process step by step, trying to build something we’ll all be proud of … that’s what we’ll try to show here tonight … concentration is really important … a mix of pretty control with the ball but at the same time mentality and character … we understand that each game is like a final … a good feeling around the club … it is a relentless league … there are still a lot of games to come.”
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson talks to Sky. “It’s business as usual for us … you have to embrace it [the outside noise] … the emotion of the Chelsea [FA Cup] game obviously takes a bit out of you … this is a huge game tonight … a Welsh derby … a chance to cement ourselves in the top six … tonight is about taking care of our own business.”
The Wrexham co-chairmen Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds are going to call the plays commentate on this game tonight for Sky Sports. Reynolds is all too aware that this gig differs significantly from the day job: “One take, that’s all we get.” Mac adds: “I am terrified.” We might as well listen in, but please don’t worry about flitting between such distinct genres and disciplines, gentlemen: if Ally McCoist can hold his own on the silver screen with Robert Duvall, you’ve surely got this.
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Preamble
This is ostensibly an affair between two Welsh concerns: Wrecsam ac Dinas Abertawe. But it’s not just that, is it. It’s Philadelphia versus California. It’s X-Men versus G-funk. It’s Don’t Forget versus Drop It Like It’s Hot. It’s Fight Milk versus Chandon. Rob Mac, Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg have changed everything. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Mae ymlaen!
