Wrexham were beaten 2-1 by Sydney FC on Tuesday morning as Phil Parkinson tasted defeat at the Allianz Stadium.
Wrexham beat Melbourne Victory on Friday, coasting to a 3-0 victory in the opening game of this pre-season tour in Australia and New Zealand.
Tuesday saw Wrexham head to take on Sydney FC, but this game ended in defeat for the Red Dragons.
A first-half own goal put Wrexham in front, only for Alexandar Popovic to level it up for the hosts.
Joe Lacey bagged the winner, curling the ball home to hand Sydney FC a 2-1 victory.
Ollie Rathbone’s injury is the biggest concern for Wrexham, and Phil Parkinson’s attention will turn to this weekend’s game against Wellington Phoenix.
Sydney match-winner’s emotional celebration explained
Wrexham won’t be too concerned about a pre-season friendly defeat, with fitness certainly the focus at this stage of the summer.
This game certainly meant a lot to Sydney match-winner Lacey, though, as he showed real emotion after scoring the crucial goal.
Sydney FC have posted a video of Lacey in tears after the final whistle, celebrating with a loved one in the process.
Many may think that sounds strange for a pre-season friendly, but Sydney FC explained why this goal meant so much to Lacey.
They noted that Lacey’s mother is Welsh, most of his family members are currently in Wales on holiday, and his aunt even works at Wrexham for every home game.
Lacey’s aunt works as a paramedic, so this moment meant so much to him and his family.
Attacking midfielder Lacey is only 18 and is attempting to become a first-team regular at Sydney FC, so Tuesday’s match-winning goal should stand him in good stead.
Wrexham fans won’t have loved losing, but won’t begrudge Lacey his special moment, given that he has Wrexham in his family.
What comes next for Wrexham?
Wrexham now head on to New Zealand, with Wellington Phoenix the next opponents for Parkinson’s side.
This will be another strong test for Wrexham, with Parkinson looking for a victory as well as more minutes in the legs.
Wrexham face Wellington Phoenix on Friday morning and will then head back to North Wales.
Home friendlies have yet to be announced, despite Parkinson admitting games were being teed up back in May.
Wrexham start the Championship season against Southampton in August and will look for two more friendlies to build up more fitness ahead of that big kick-off.