Ninety minutes before kick-off a couple of digivans poking fun at Wrexham completed another lap of St Mary’s, whizzing past with a LED billboard that read: “Who needs Hollywood?” with the letters of Southampton studded in the Californian hills. On this evidence the Welsh club – back at this level for the first time since 1982 after an extraordinary rise from non-league – are sure to be a fun addition but how they were given a galling reminder of the step up in trip, Saints scoring twice in the final nine minutes to earn a comeback victory and a first under Will Still.
Just two years ago, Southampton were operating four divisions higher than Wrexham, ending 2022-23 with a 4-4 draw against Liverpool while Wrexham signed off from the National League with a 2-2 draw at Torquay. It is only four years since the journey to this point under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney began; Phil Parkinson’s side began the 2021-22 season at Solihull Moors in front of a crowd of 2,196 and Saints a 10th straight season in the top flight. Here they were duking it out on a level playing field, a pristine surface a world away from Damson Park. Max Cleworth and Ryan Barnett – both on the pitch that day, the latter for Solihull – also began here.
Continue reading…Ninety minutes before kick-off a couple of digivans poking fun at Wrexham completed another lap of St Mary’s, whizzing past with a LED billboard that read: “Who needs Hollywood?” with the letters of Southampton studded in the Californian hills. On this evidence the Welsh club – back at this level for the first time since 1982 after an extraordinary rise from non-league – are sure to be a fun addition but how they were given a galling reminder of the step up in trip, Saints scoring twice in the final nine minutes to earn a comeback victory and a first under Will Still.Just two years ago, Southampton were operating four divisions higher than Wrexham, ending 2022-23 with a 4-4 draw against Liverpool while Wrexham signed off from the National League with a 2-2 draw at Torquay. It is only four years since the journey to this point under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney began; Phil Parkinson’s side began the 2021-22 season at Solihull Moors in front of a crowd of 2,196 and Saints a 10th straight season in the top flight. Here they were duking it out on a level playing field, a pristine surface a world away from Damson Park. Max Cleworth and Ryan Barnett – both on the pitch that day, the latter for Solihull – also began here. Continue reading…
