Wrexham have missed out on a trip to Wembley after squandering a 2-0 lead over Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy semi-finals.
Wrexham are pushing for promotion from League One but the EFL Trophy took full focus on Wednesday night.
Birmingham City had already made it to Wembley but Peterborough United – managed by former Wrexham ace Darren Ferguson – stood in the way of Wrexham meeting them in the final.
Ferguson wanted to spoil a potential ‘Hollywood’ final and book his own spot at Wembley – and did so in dramatic fashion.
Wrexham were coasting at half time, 2-0 up thanks to goals from Modou Faal and George Dobson with one foot in the final.
It all went wrong in the second half though as Peterborough rallied back to 2-2 and managed to win the game on penalties, completing a stunning comeback.
Phil Parkinson on Harry Ashfield
We can’t act like Wrexham weren’t given the warning signs.
Peterborough were dangerous in the first half and dominated the ball throughout, but were hit by two clinical Wrexham finishes.
The second half wasn’t much better from a performance perspective with Wrexham having just 30% of possession over the course of the game.
Allowing Peterborough to dominate was asking for trouble and sure enough, Wrexham were made to pay.
There wasn’t much to shout about for Wrexham fans but Harry Ashfield was a shining light.
Ashfield was picked to replace Andy Cannon in the Wrexham midfield with Parkinson keen to see him play against League One competition.
The teenager was brilliant throughout, showing quality in tight areas and displaying the potential to play more first-team action.
Wrexham fans were impressed with Ashfield and Parkinson has now joined in.
Parkinson has praised Ashfield’s performance whilst speaking on Wrexham Matchday Live, suggesting that the Wrexham talent is ‘very gifted’.
Parkinson explained his reasoning for starting Ashfield, highlighting how other midfield options weren’t really at his disposal – and Ashfield did his cause no harm.
“Very good,” said Parkinson on Ashfield.
“He’s a very gifted player, Harry, and like I said before the game, with Andy out injured and Elliot [Lee] only trained one day, I didn’t want to risk Rathbone from the start and it was a great opportunity for Harry tonight in a high-profile game and he certainly didn’t do himself any harm,” he added.
Harry Ashfield has shown that he can step up for Wrexham
We have been banging the dum for so long that Wrexham should have signed another attacking midfielder in January.
Elliot Lee is a quality player but expecting him to play every single game is a huge ask and we saw him look a little burnt out in the latter stages of last season.
Ollie Rathbone has added goals to his game but some games need guile as well, and Lee is the only Wrexham midfielder who provides that in spades.
Andy Cannon’s injury heightens that need for forward-thinking midfield players and Ashfield’s display on Wednesday suggests that he can do it.
Starting League One games right now may be an ask, but appearances off the bench should not be beyond Ashfield with his technical quality potentially a big addition to the Wrexham ranks for the final stages of the season and beyond.