Wrexham crashed out of the Carabao Cup last night, as they were defeated brutally in a penalty shootout by Bradford City.
Mark Hughes’ side came out on top after a well-battled 1-1 draw at the Racecourse ground. Tyler Smith put the visitors ahead with a penalty inside three minutes, when Aaron Hayden gave away a penalty.
It took until the 73rd minute for the Welsh Dragons to equalise, with a William Boyle header sending the home ground into a state of sweet ecstasy.
A draw ultimately meant we were straight into penalties, and unfortunately after just seven kicks – it was Wrexham who crashed out. But it wasn’t the shootout that left Phil Parkinson feeling depleted – but the incident within the first five minutes.
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Parkinson on Carabao Cup exit
It wasn’t meant to be for Wrexham in the Carabao Cup this season.
However, Parkinson spoke to the media after the loss and stated his fury with the decision in the third minute that he thought was never a penalty.
“We had a League Managers’ meeting, which (Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief executive) Howard Webb spoke well at.
“He talked about a higher tolerance level for nudges and pushes and things like that.
“On Saturday (at Barrow), Elliot Lee is running through and gets pushed to the floor – which I thought was a free-kick. But the referee said to me at the end, ‘Phil, you were at the meeting about the high tolerance level’. I said, ‘Ok’.”
He then went on to lay how jow this has inflicted his fury in last night’s game following the penalty being given.
“But then, for an absolutely nothing incident, the ref has given a penalty. That’s the first point.
“The second point is he has four players in between him and the incident.
“The ref has told me he gave it. But there is absolutely no way he can see it, so he has clearly guessed.
“The third point is the linesman has the best view of all.
“I feel a little bit aggrieved at how that decision has come about. But we have to take it on the chin and the lads responded really well.”
Parkinson was not happy whatsoever with the call and ultimately believes that’s why Wrexham crashed out in the early stages.
It was an unfortunate night, which happens in football, but what really matters is the performance and Wrexham looked good against a strong Bradford team.
The gaffer was happy despite the result
Despite crashing out, Parkinson did have respect for how his side battled against the Chickens.
“It was a very good performance from us after the start,” he added. “I thought we played some really good football and certainly in the second half, we had them pinned in for long periods.
“In terms of our performance and the intensity and the quality of our play, I thought it was good.
“I’m disappointed not to win on penalties but I felt the performance from us over 90 minutes warranted us to go through.”
A valiant performance from the lads. Not to worry with the Carabao, now let’s kick on and focus on the league.