Wrexham welcomed Charlton Athletic to the Racecourse Ground on the brink of promotion to the Championship.
Phil Parkinson named an unchanged side from the one that beat Blackpool 2-1 in their previous fixture as Dan Scarr continued in defence in place of Eoghan O’Connell.
Ollie Rathbone gave Wrexham a dream start as a short corner routine found the midfielder on the edge of the box and his strike flew past the Charlton keeper.
Sam Smith doubled Wrexham’s lead soon after with an acrobatic finish following an excellent pass from team mate Matty James.
Max Cleworth’s excellent cross was then glanced home by Smith via a deflection to seal the deal for the Red Dragons and secure a historic third successive promotion.
Wrexham were superb and thoroughly deserving of the victory that secured promotion, here are the winners and losers from Wrexham’s League One clash with Charlton Athletic.
Five winners from Wrexham’s clash with Charlton Athletic
Ollie Rathbone
If anybody deserved to be on the score sheet in a promotion parade it is Rathbone after his heroics this season in the Red Dragons midfield.
His overall performance was typical Rathbone, energetic, creative and the real driving force for Parkinson’s side but his opening goal was the catalyst for the historic evening.
Rathbone received the ball from a short corner routine and let fly through a crowd of bodies to leave Mannion with no chance in the Charlton goal.
Sam Smith
Has cut an isolated figure up front for most of his time since joining from Reading but what an impact Smith has made at the club.
The 27-year-old does not stop running and harrying the opposition defence but has also proven that he is ice-cold in front of goal.
Smith’s goal was a fantastic finish, a finish that only a top predatory striker could produce on instinct and he will be a key figure for Parkinson in the Championship next season.
Dan Scarr
Parkinson’s selection dilemma heading into the huge clash was whether to bring O’Connell back into the side.
The manager stuck with Scarr and he did not let Parkinson down with a magnificent performance at the centre of the back three.
Scarr won everything in the air, made crucial blocks and interceptions and lead his team with passion and experience from the first whistle to the last.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
The owners could not have dreamed for a better way to take one step closer to Wrexham’s ultimate goal of Premier League football.
Reynolds and McElhenney watched on with pride as they saw their side produce an astonishing display to clinch promotion and preparations will already be in full swing for the next campaign.
They have breed life into the whole town, let alone just the football club and the owners will now reap the rewards of their club heading into English football’s second tier.
One loser from Wrexham’s clash with Charlton Athletic
Nathan Jones
Jones called Wrexham a ‘circus’ in the build up to the clash but his comment just seemed to fire up the home side and crowd even more for the crucial clash.
His Charlton side were cut apart in the opening twenty minutes and ultimately it proved decisive in the match as The Addicks failed to recover.
The play offs now beckon for Jones but he must be regretting his comments that made the trip to North Wales even more challenging for his side.