Wrexham owner Rob McElhenney missed FA Cup shock finish
The Red Dragons upset Coventry and will now play Sheffield United in the fourth round
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney was left scrambling to find out what happened towards the end of his side’s FA Cup third-round tie after television coverage in the United States cut out.
The Red Dragons beat Coventry 4-3 to set up a fourth-round tie with Sheffield United.
But the actor was left in the dark during the final moments and took to social media to follow the closing stages of the match at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Co-owner Ryan Reynolds was also shocked by the upset and said he was left “totally speechless” as Phil Parkinson’s side held on after the Sky Blues closed to within a goal after trailing 4-1.
And owner McElhenney said on social media: “The feed at ESPN+ went down!!! What’s happening????”
While Reynolds added: “I’m completely and totally speechless. What a club. What a town. What a win. Wrexham forever.”
McElhenney then took aim at Sheffield United, Wrexham’s fourth round opponents, labelling them “the enemy” in a tongue in cheek tweet.
He said: “I visited Sheffield last summer! The town was beautiful and the people couldn’t be more welcoming. They of course are the enemy now and their tyrannical reign through the Championship must be stopped a la Goliath. But lovely people.”
Parkinson, who can count an FA Cup run to the quarter-finals while in charge of Bradford City, said the win was “up with the best” moments since joining the club in July 2021.
“You have to savour these days,” he said, “It was a great occasion from the moment the coach arrived at the ground and the players saw all those 4,500 fans.
“Honestly, everyone felt 10 feet tall when they walked into the dressing room. The adrenaline that was pumping through the players’ bodies was a by-product of that great support.
“The league is most important but we’ve got a great history in the FA Cup and we wanted to respect that.
“It was an excellent performance and the players had to show different qualities over the 90 minutes.
“We played some fantastic football against a really strong Championship team to go 4-1 up. Dolby’s goal was a great move.
“But the referee made some strange decisions so it ended up being a lot tighter than it should have been.
“We had to dig deep in adversity to make sure those decisions didn’t spoil a great day for the club.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments