Wrexham travelled to Vale Park for an EFL Trophy meeting on Tuesday evening, taking on Port Vale.
With early exits in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, the EFL Trophy represented the Red Dragons’ last real chance at silverware this season.
Elliot Lee has Wembley Stadium aspirations, sending a rousing message to his Wrexham teammates prior to the clash.
Phil Parkinson’s side dominated the group phase of the competition but were beaten on penalties by Port Vale.
The Welsh outfit then secured a 1-0 win over Crewe Alexandra in the following round and were just three victories away from the final ahead of Tuesday.
Parkinson opted for a strong matchday squad to take on Port Vale but there were still a couple of noticeable absentees and a few fringe stars given a chance.
It took Port Vale less than a minute to score, bursting forward before a lucky bounce off George Evans, poor defending from Sebastian Revan, and bad goalkeeping from Arthur Okonkwo handed the home side an easy lead.
Wrexham equalised in the 30th minute when Modou Faal held off a defender in the Port Vale box, allowing Andy Cannon to run through on goal and slot in seamlessly.
The Red Dragons then took the lead shortly after the break when Ryan Longman worked his magic down the right before finding Harry Ashfield in the middle.
Elliot Lee made it 3-1 with just over an hour gone, with Longman once again getting the assist. Faal scored the fourth in the 81st minute.
Here’s how the players rated –
Arthur Okonkwo – 6
Was a surprise inclusion in the eleven and his form continues to leave much to be desired, being beaten far too easily for the opener. However, he bounced back from the error well, making some big stops and clearances.
Max Cleworth – 7
Excellent with the ball and his feet and continues to provide an attacking threat with his marauding runs forward.
Dan Scarr – 5
Far too many misplaced passes on the night, playing Wrexham into trouble on a number of occasions.
Thomas O’Connor – 5
Had a really tough outing up against a tricky Rico Richards, who got the better of the centre-back on numerous occasions.
Ryan Longman – 9
Caused Port Vale a lot of problems down their left, produced a number of promising crosses, and already looks to be forming a good understanding with Cleworth down Wrexham’s right. Superb work to set up Ashfield for Wrexham’s second and Lee for the third.
Andy Cannon – 7
Showed excellent composure and work rate to get Wrexham back on level terms after 30 minutes.
George Evans – 6
Perhaps could have done slightly more to clear the ball in the buildup to Port Vale’s opener. A solid but quiet showing from the fringe player.
Elliot Lee – 7
Launched a few clever balls forward to start some attacks and scored his eighth goal of the campaign to kill the tie off.
Sebastian Revan – 5
With Longman ahead of him at right-wing-back, this game seemed like the final chance to prove himself at Wrexham and he didn’t really take it. Was a major reason why Port Vale scored inside a minute with some very questionable defending. Did get an assist late on though.
Harry Ashfield – 8
A lively showing from the teenager who worked his socks off and found a lot of space for himself with some smart runs. Took his chance well to score his first professional goal for Wrexham.
Modou Faal – 8
Threw his body around all night and played a key role in Canon’s equaliser. Didn’t show much in terms of a goal threat for much of the game but started and finished Wrexham’s fourth of the night.
Substitutes
Ollie Palmer – 5
Had little impact during his time on the pitch.
Jacob Mendy – 5
Looked solid during his short time on the pitch.
George Dobson – 5
Did little of note but helped Wrexham keep their dominance in midfield.