The main reason actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over as owners of Welsh soccer club Wrexham A.F.C. was to get them promoted, to take them to the highest possible heights. Well, the real main reason was to make a TV show, but that show sure is more exciting if they climb the English soccer ladder. They appear to be on the verge of taking the next step. On Monday, Wrexham earned a drama-filled, wild and crazy comeback victory over first-place Notts County, 3-2. The monumental win lifted second-placed Wrexham over Notts County into first place with just four games to go in the National League season.
The division, fifth-highest in the English football league system, features 24 teams, and the club that wins the league earns promotion to the fourth division, knowing as League Two. That league is three tiers below the Premier League. It's a dramatic step because the top four tiers of English football are the ones covered as part of the English Football League. More or less, League 2 and higher are fully professional everything below that is semi-pro, or at least in a gray area.
Finishing in first place is huge because teams in second through seventh play in a playoff for one more promotion spot. Wrexham finished in second last season and did not win the playoff, failing to earn promotion that this season now looks likely.
Here's what to know about Monday's game:
So both teams entered the day on 100 points in what's been a two-horse race all season long. Notts County entered the day in first because of their +70 goal differential, three better than Wrexham's. That meant a win or draw would keep Notts in first place for this final stretch of the season.
Playing at home, Wrexham went down early in the first half on a John Bostock goal before star striker Paul Mullin leveled things just three minutes into the second half. Jacob Mendy got Wrexham into the league just over 20 minutes later before Kyle Cameron leveled things for Notts County with just 15 minutes to go.
But this goal from Elliot Lee, which was a gift from Notts County three minutes later, proved to be the game winner:
Paul Mullin tees up Elliot Lee to put @Wrexham_AFC back in control of a match for the ages against @Official_NCFC 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8LHHAYTgtq
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 10, 2023
Things weren't done there though. A penalty kick for Notts in added time, one that would be taken in the 97th minute, meant that everything could change. Convert the penalty, and Notts earn a point to remain in first place on goal differential. Concede it, and their chances of winning the league take a massive hit, putting Wrexham in pole position.
In goal for Wrexham was the recently unretired Ben Foster, 40, who has played for Manchester United and others at the very top of the sport. He actually went on loan to Wrexham back in 2005, and nearly 20 years later, here he was, attempting to stop the most important penalty kick his club has ever faced. Take a look at what happened:
Ben Foster comes up BIG to save the day for Wrexham. 👊
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 10, 2023
📽️ @btsportfootball pic.twitter.com/um6b58eUQK
What scenes. What a moment for this club, one that soon might be able to continue dreaming about climbing the ladder. While any chance at making the Premier League would be years away and would take a lot of investment both in terms of squad and infrastructure, this is the day that they will remember as the turning point in their season if it ends with promotion.
