Wrexham kick off their 2024/25 FA Cup campaign with a meeting against Harrogate Town on Saturday, aiming to bounce back from a disappointing draw with Charlton Athletic last time out.
Wrexham first entered England’s oldest cup competition in the 1882/83 season, making it into the second round of the competition.
Over the years, the Red Dragons have enjoyed some success in the FA Cup but have never made it past the quarter-final stage, last doing so in 1996/97.
The 2023/24 campaign saw Phil Parkinson’s side make it into the fourth round of the competition before losing 4-1 to Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers.
With a number of new faces brought to the Racecourse Ground over the summer though, Wrexham fans are no doubt hoping they will surpass that position in the current season.
Harrogate Town are the first side the Welsh outfit must see off, taking on the Yorkshire outfit on Sunday, November 3rd.
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What referee told Wrexham after Charlton penalty
The two sides have only ever faced off on three occasions throughout their history.
The first meeting between the duo came in the FA Cup on November 6th, 2021, and saw Harrogate emerge with a 2-1 win.
After Wrexham’s promotion from the National League in 2022/23, they then faced Harrogate twice in League Two last season.
Prior to facing Harrogate though, Parkinson shared what the ‘head of referees’ told him after their draw with Charlton Athletic last week.
Charlton secured a 2-2 draw thanks to a penalty in the 97th minute and Parkinson has now revealed, as per Leader Live, that the referee’s assessor and the head of referees agreed that it was not a penalty.
He said: “There is a real feel-good factor around the club.
“We are disappointed we didn’t get the win at Charlton, it was a weekend of late goals across the board and we weren’t the only team who suffered that.
“We have had a good look at the reasons for that and the referee’s assessor and the head of referees has agreed with us that it wasn’t a penalty.
“But we can’t turn the clock back, we have got to accept what happened and now me and my staff will be looking at how we can take that performance into the Harrogate game.”
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Phil Parkinson expected to make changes for Wrexham clash with Harrogate Town
While Wrexham will be left disappointed by the Charlton game, their attention must now turn toward the cup.
Given it is the first round of the FA Cup and Wrexham’s primary focus this season should be League One, Parkinson will likely make several changes to his starting line-up from the draw with Charlton Athletic last time out.
Up front, Modou Faal should be given a rare start in place of Ollie Palmer, while the club’s recent free-agent signings could also be given a run-out.
Elsewhere, Lewis Brunt will surely start after playing just 21 minutes of League One football since he joined from Leicester City.
Left-back Sebastian Revan may also come in for James McClean or potentially at right-back in place of Ryan Barnett.