Wrexham played out their second and final game in Australia on July 15, facing off with Sydney FC.
Wrexham fans expressed concern about Sam Smith ahead of the tie as the striker was left out for the second game in a row.
Ollie Palmer and academy product Harry Ashfield instead led the line, with Ryan Hardie also out with an issue.
It was the Red Dragons who took the lead on the day when James McClean’s cross was put into the Sydney net by one of the home team’s players.
In the end, however, Wrexham lost 2-1 to Sydney, seeing fans send a clear demand to Phil Parkinson post-match.
Australian media react to Wrexham defeat to Sydney
Following the tie, various Australian outlets have been sharing their thoughts on the game.
A Leagues were quick to praise McClean for his moment of magic that led to Wrexham’s only goal.
They wrote: “Somewhat against the run of play though it was the Welsh side who took the lead, and it came from a moment of set-piece magic from skipper McClean.”
The outlet went on to highlight how Sydney won the game against the run of play: “Completely against the run of play the home side then lifted the lid off Allianz Stadium as second-half substitute Lacey made it 2-1 to Sydney FC. Collecting the ball inside the own half a now youthful Sydney FC side raced forward on the counter with striker Akol Akon laying the ball into the path of Lacey who then bent a sublime curling effort into bottom corner to ultimately secure victory for his side.”
Elsewhere, Code Sports labelled the result as a ‘serious boilover’ amid the number of youth prospects Sydney played, writing: “Sure, it was a pre-season friendly, but with the visitors competing in the English second tier this upcoming season, and Sydney playing the final half hour with an outfield composed entirely of academy players, the result really felt like a serious boilover.”
And The Sydney Morning Herald claimed that Sydney were just the better side, commenting: “The Sky Blues were simply the better team, with Joe Lacey’s match-winning goal in the 74th minute the absolute highlight of the match.
“People came here to soak in a bit of that Wrexham magic, but they will leave talking about the promise of Sydney’s next generation of talent. Superb.”
Wrexham injury update shared after Sydney
As well as Smith and Hardie, Modou Faal was also absent from the 2-1 defeat on Tuesday.
Parkinson has now provided a Wrexham injury update and, after remaining silent in the last week, gave a brief comment on Smith.
He said: “Hopefully get Ryan Hardie, Mo Faal close to being selected for the weekend because those two need some minutes. Sam Smith’s still a bit behind that. We’ll just see how everybody is tomorrow.”
It means Smith is unlikely to play a single game during the club’s Australia and New Zealand trip.