Hollywood-worthy drama in Wrexham friendly, star player sent to hospital

An impressive 40,242 fans - an overwhelming majority of which were wearing red Wrexham merchandise - packed into Sydney Football Stadium on a school night, as the visiting Championship side from Wales played its second friendly in Australia.

There was no sign of Wrexham's famous owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney making a surprise appearance in the stands, but Sydney FC's supporter section 'The Cove' and the many Red Dragons fans ensured a loud and lively atmosphere.

Wrexham scored the opener after a mean cross into the penalty area by captain James McLean led to a Sydney defender conceding an own-goal.

Sydney FC didn't collapse like their A-League rivals Melbourne Victory did last weekend in a 3-0 defeat to Wrexham, though.

Alexandar Popovic equalised for Sydney FC before half-time as Wrexham watched Ollie Rathbone, the club's reigning player of the year, go down with an ankle injury that immediately sent him to hospital for X-rays.

Then, not long after the start of the second half, both teams substituted all their starters in somewhat comical scenes, with Sydney FC's youngsters given a chance to strut their stuff, and they did not disappoint.

It was 18-year-old Joe Lacey's curling strike for his first senior goal in the 74th minute that eventually gave Sydney FC a 2-1 victory, with a heartwarming backstory that wouldn't be out of place if it featured in Wrexham's popular Disney documentary series.

The Sydney youth academy product with Welsh heritage grew up in the harbour city, but both his parents were watching the game from Wales on holiday. There is even a family connection to Wrexham A.F.C. with Lacey's aunt a game-day paramedic at the club's famous Racecourse home ground.

Lacey was in tears after the game as he was congratulated by his sister in the stands.

"Well, as much as we're here to win games and win trophies, we're here to entertain as well," Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay said post-game.

"It's great that the young boys came on and entertained.

"Hopefully we've excited these people and they buy memberships and they come to our games."

The loss was Wrexham's first in its Australia and New Zealand pre-season tour.

"We needed a competitive game and it certainly was that in front of 40,000 people, but obviously work to be done from our point of view," Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson said.

"Some of the quality from us wasn't where it needs to be. There was some good stuff, but probably not enough, but it was a good, physical workout.

"Ollie had to go to the hospital for an X-ray, so we're hoping. It's a quiet dressing room because we're concerned about Ollie. It swelled up instantly in the dressing room. We've just got to keep our fingers crossed."

The next stop for the Red Dragons is Wellington for a game against A-League side, the Phoenix, on Saturday.

Then the squad heads back to Wales in preparation for a Championship campaign starting August 9, chasing a fourth-straight promotion into the English Premier League.

Welcome to Wrexham, Down Under.

Australia is 16,000 kilometres from the small Welsh city, but for two off-season friendly matches soccer fans here have been swept off their feet by the Disney-produced, fairytale comeback story of Wrexham A.F.C.

Unless Ryan Reynolds was dressed in his Deadpool costume to deliver the match ball in Melbourne, there have been no sightings of Wrexham's Hollywood star owners Reynolds and Rob McElhenney for the Australian tour - as yet.

It doesn't seem to matter if they don't show, though.

Through the exposure the acting duo have brought the club via a Disney documentary series 'Welcome to Wrexham', more fans, unprecedented investment, and even an economic boom has hit 'The Town'.

And that impact has reverberated throughout the globe with extraordinary reach.

A strong crowd of 37,020 turned out to Melbourne's Docklands for the first match of Wrexham's visit to Australia and New Zealand, and another impressive crowd is expected for the match at Moore Park on Tuesday night against Sydney FC.

Meet-and-greet events in Australia in addition to the games truly highlight the mania surrounding the club that once languished in one of the worst leagues of professional soccer in Europe.

Aussies have happily jumped on the bandwagon, wear all the kit, know the team chants, and worship past and present players as if they were born and bred in Wrexham.

Now, from near financial ruin to achieving historic back-to-back-to-back promotions in the highly-competitive English football system, Wrexham is playing in the Championship, one division below the lucrative English Premier League.

The underdog story well-documented in the Disney series is hard not to get behind, but the rise of Wrexham within just a few years to become a globally-adored team has been a whirlwind journey that even those within the squad struggle to process.

Just ask Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson, sunkissed by Sydney's winter sunshine, fresh off the training pitch at NSW Rugby League Headquarters where Bulldogs NRL coach Cameron Ciraldo paid a visit, before a kick-around with a Steeden.

"Sometimes you've got to pinch yourself," Parkinson said.

"Young players, they can't quite believe it - to be representing Wrexham in Australia from where the club's come from.

"It's been a tough period over the last 20 years... to imagine that we'd be touring Australia and having all these great experiences..."

"There's been so many moments where people think, 'Has it been scripted?' But no, it actually all did happen," he added.

Behind the revival has been Reynolds and McElhenney, who took over Wrexham's majority ownership in 2020.

But unlike some sporting ownership changes, it appears as though every facet has been done right, and wholly embraced by original fans, as well as the ever-expanding new supporter community. The success along the way is proof of that.

Could this happen to any other club in the world? For soccer fans in Canberra eagerly awaiting a new ownership announcement for its A-League Women and Men's team, it's a tantalising thought.

"Of course, it can happen to any club," Parkinson said. "But for a club of the divisions we played in, to have this kind of publicity, it's pretty unheard of really".

Wrexham's revival certainly is an inspirational story for struggling clubs around the world, and remarkably that story isn't over, nor has the club reached its ceiling.

Major redevelopment is planned for its historic home ground, the Racecourse, the club's academy and women's programs still need improving, and of course, with further on-field success an EPL promotion is within reach.

Experts will say Wrexham needs to sit in the Championship for a few seasons to allow the club to steadily grow on and off the field before the EPL, but good luck telling this team to slow down.

While Parkinson said his team must be "realistic" with the playing roster dwarfed in salaries by some other Championship clubs, Wrexham dare to dream - and after what its achieved, who can blame them.

"It's a very, very tough league [the Championship]. It's a huge step," the coach said.

"I think hunger can take you a long way. It's not everything, but we have got players with a bit of a point to prove, and if we can add some Championship quality [players] to that, who knows?"