Wrexham progressed into the next round of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening with a victory over Port Vale.
The Red Dragons’ attention has been firmly focused on the League One promotion race this season but ending 2024/25 with their first trophy under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds would be something special.
Wrexham faced off with Port Vale in midweek, aware victory would see them take on Bolton Wanderers in the quarter-final of the competition.
Phil Parkinson put out a pretty strong squad for the clash and unsurprisingly, it was enough to see the Welsh side dominate their League Two opponents and come away with a 4-1 victory.
Ryan Longman stole the show vs Port Vale, providing two assists in what was a sensational showing from the right-wing-back.
And despite previously struggling to impress, Wrexham fans praised Modou Faal heavily for his display on the night, which included playing a key role in their equaliser and scoring the fourth.
While Longman and Faal earned plaudits, however, the star of the show was most definitely Wrexham-born Harry Ashfield.
James McClean message to Harry Ashfield after Wrexham beat Port Vale
Ashfield is a product of the club’s academy and was making just his second-ever senior start for his boyhood team.
He is a natural right-sided midfielder and his previous start came in a midfield role in the EFL Trophy.
However, the 18-year-old was given the unorthodox Elliot Lee role on Tuesday, playing just off Faal.
Ashfield was immense for Wrexham versus Port Vale, scoring his first senior goal for the Welsh side after being assisted by Longman.
Now, another of the club’s wing-backs, James McClean, has taken to social media to send Ashfield a message following his star-making display.
Via his Instagram story, McClean quoted a picture of the teenager, writing: “Yes @harryash21 go on lad.”
Phil Parkinson verdict on Harry Ashfield after Port Vale vs Wrexham
Ashfield was replaced in the 60th minute by Ollie Palmer after appearing to pick up a knock.
Nevertheless, it was still a great display from the teenager, who earned the praise of his manager post-match.
Parkinson said on Ashfield: “He was very good tonight. His all-round performance was very good, he kind of linked the play brilliantly in the first half and got his moment with the goal.
“I’m really pleased for Harry, he had a great pre-season with us in America and he trains really hard every day.
“That didn’t surprise us tonight, that’s not a performance we didn’t see coming because we know what quality he’s got and the lads are so pleased for him in there because he’s a humble young man, a credit to his family and what a moment for our academy tonight to see one of the young players play so well.”