Wrexham and Port Vale went head-to-head in an EFL Trophy clash on Tuesday evening.
The fixture was originally postponed last month, meaning the winner of the meeting already knew they were set to face Bolton Wanderers in the quarter-final of the competition.
Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps because Wrexham are not in action this weekend, Phil Parkinson opted for a strong starting lineup to face Port Vale.
Parkinson deployed a midfield trio that won him promotion from League Two in 2023/24, while Arthur Okonkwo returned between the sticks.
There was also a rare start for Sebastian Revan at left-wing-back, while Ryan Longman was in from the off on the opposite flank for the first time since his Wrexham move.
Up front, despite the Red Dragons now having seven centre-forwards, were Modou Faal and an 18-year-old Harry Ashfield.
Even with a weak attack, however, it was Parkinson and co. who, on paper, were the favourites to progress.
Wrexham fans in agreement about Modou Faal after Port Vale
However, some questionable defending from Revan allowed the home team to take the lead inside a minute.
Wrexham largely dominated possession from there, however, and got themselves back into the game with half an hour on the clock.
Max Cleworth’s deflected shot fell to Faal in the box, who held it up nicely, allowing Andy Cannon to run in and equalise.
The striker then found the back of the net inside the final 10 minutes to kill off any small hope of a comeback from Port Vale, who Wrexham beat 4-1.
It was by no means a clinical from Faal on the night, but Wrexham fans took to social media during and after the match to praise him.
One fan wrote: “Fantastic control in the box, showing some better signs now! A great teamwork goal, Faal giving Cannon some space to finish it off. Really enjoying seeing more of Mo today.”
A second added: “Very leggy but athletic. Long-term project, I reckon,” while a third wrote: “Nice hold up play from Faal for that, cool finish from Cannon too.”
Another predicted: “There will be a game later this year where Faal’s height in the box gets us a goal… Or maybe saves us a goal.”
A fourth Wrexham fan simply stated: “Love Mo Faal,” with another writing: “Nice passing from Faal.”
“Nice hold-up play from Faal for that, cool finish from Cannon too,” a sixth echoed.
While a seventh wrote: “Faal earned that goal with his shift today. You can see his intensity growing.”
Wrexham fan’s stance on Modou Faal has changed
Faal was by no means outstanding on Tuesday despite his goal, but the number nine clearly did enough to change the tune of the Red Dragons’ faithful.
His last start for the club came in 2024, facing off with Crewe in the EFL Trophy.
After that showing, Wrexham fans hit out at Faal, with one going as far as to write: “The Faal transfer needs to be investigated for money laundering.”
The view of the striker was completely different against Port Vale but even still, it seems unlikely he will see much game time in League One going forward.
He’s only played 56 minutes in the competition since joining Wrexham and their January additions mean that number probably won’t increase much in the coming months.