Wrexham squandered a chance to face Birmingham City at Wembley after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Peterborough United.
Wrexham looked to be on the verge of reaching the EFL Trophy having taken a 2-0 lead against Peterborough United.
Darren Ferguson wanted to stop a ‘Hollywood’ final between Wrexham and Birmingham City but his plans looked ruined at half time.
Modou Faal and George Dobson found the net in the first half and appeared to have given Wrexham a passage to a Wembley final.
Peterborough came back though and after Malik Mothersille pulled one back, Bradley Ihionvien scored in injury-time to send the game to penalties.
Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee both had spot kicks saved by Jed Steer as Peterborough secured their place in the final at Wrexham’s expense.
Wrexham fans are no doubt gobsmacked at such a collapse, but let’s dig into five talking points from Wednesday’s defeat…
An enormous missed opportunity
There is simply no other way to feel about this; Wrexham have thrown away a golden opportunity to play in a Wembley final.
2-0 up at half time, Wrexham should have seen the game out and booked a final place against Birmingham City.
Wrexham ended up conceding soft goals and then came up short in the penalty shootout, squandering a chance at silverware.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds would have no doubt loved a trip to Wembley, especially with some form of revenge in mind having lost to Bromley at Wembley in the 2022 FA Trophy final.
Players, managers and fans dream of Wembley finals and Wrexham were so nearly there, but any journey to London can now be forgotten about as Wrexham buckled under the pressure in frustrating fashion.
Modou Faal takes his chance
Wrexham fans may have been left baffled as Paul Mullin was once again left on the bench.
This may have seemed like the ideal time to bring Mullin back into the fold to gain some sharpness for the League One run-in.
Parkinson went with Jack Marriott and Modou Faal though, just as he did against Bolton Wanderers in the last round.
Faal has yet to start a single League One game this season but again showed glimpses of his potential.
The giant striker pulled off a sumptuous finish to put Wrexham ahead, nonchalantly lobbing the ball over Jed Steer and into the net.
Wrexham supporters gave Faal a well-deserved ovation as he left the pitch with the striker again showing his goalscoring talents in the EFL Trophy, but whether that leads to more League One action remains to be seen.
Paul Mullin woes continue
Speaking of Mullin, you almost have to feel sorry for the Wrexham striker right now.
Mullin has been left out of Wrexham’s squad in recent games but was at least back on the bench against Mansfield Town on Sunday.
Parkinson still decided to leave Mullin on the bench against Peterborough but threw him on in the second half as Wrexham hoped to see the game out.
That didn’t happen but Mullin stepped up to take Wrexham’s first kick in the shootout.
A few months ago, Wrexham fans would have had full confidence in Mullin scoring; this time, there was a slight nervousness.
Mullin hasn’t enjoyed his best season in front of goal, hasn’t played as much as he would have liked recently and was facing a pressure spot kick after Wrexham had thrown away a 2-0 lead.
This was a recipe for disaster and Mullin’s spot kick met the palms of Jed Steer, handing Peterborough the initiative as this difficult period for the Wrexham goal hero continues.
Harry Ashfield catches the eye again
Phil Parkinson made a big call with his Wrexham lineup.
Andy Cannon’s major knee injury opened up a chance in midfield for somebody to really step up and make an impression.
Parkinson picked teenager Harry Ashfield to start in midfield with the teenager stepping up in a big game.
Ashfield was excellent in the Wrexham midfield, showing outstanding quality on the ball to really drive Wrexham forward in the final third.
Ashfield may only be 18 but this was the kind of performance to really get fans excited – and believe that another Max Cleworth is really emerging.
‘He’s one of our own’ rang around the STōK Cae Ras as Ashfield was substituted and we can only hope to see much, much more from him in the near future.
It’s all about the response – again
We seem to keep talking about this with Wrexham so up and down of late.
Wrexham have largely been consistent in the Parkinson era but the last few weeks have been a real rollercoaster.
The defeat at Shrewsbury Town, the home loss to Stevenage and then losing to Leyton Orient after stringing together four wins in a row.
Wrexham hit back on Sunday at Mansfield Town but have now suffered another setback with his shock collapse and cup exit.
Wrexham do tend to respond well to adversity and need to do it once again as Bolton Wanderers visit this weekend.
This up-and-down nature simply can’t continue with promotion on the line; Wrexham have squandered a place at Wembley but really can’t let promotion hopes slip away in League One.