It was a successful start to the pre-season tour Down Under for Wrexham and Ryan Hardie, but Plymouth Argyle fans were gutted to see their former striker doing the business for the Red Dragons.
Wrexham kicked off their pre-season tour with a clash against Melbourne Victory on Friday, running out 3-0 winners at the Marvel Stadium.
A fairly dour first half saw Wrexham take a 1-0 lead into the break, before Phil Parkinson sent a completely different XI out for the second 45.
Ryan Hardie was introduced at half-time, and played a part in two goals, including his first strike for the Red Dragons since joining the club from Plymouth Argyle.
What Plymouth Argyle fans are saying about Ryan Hardie’s Wrexham debut
While Wrexham fans will be pleased to see their new signing get off the mark, and Parkinson praised Hardie’s input, Plymouth fans are gutted.
Taking to Twitter/X to react to Hardie’s debut goal, one Argyle fan said: “I feel physically sick.”
Another went in hard on the fact that selling Hardie was a bad decision, adding: “Just more evidence of the direction Plymouth are going. You cannot let players like Hardie, Gibson and [Talovierov] go to other Championship clubs when you aspire to be a Championship club yourself.”
Others commented on how strange it was to see Hardie playing for another team, with one fan saying, “He looked so much better in green,” and another saying, “He doesn’t look right in red.”
Elsewhere, some Plymouth fans were simply happy for Hardie, with one admitting the player deserves this success. They wrote: “He showed loyalty above and beyond when most of the clubs in League One and the lower half of the championship plus a few in Scotland were chasing him. I don’t begrudge him a single moment of it.”
Argyle fans also predicted big things for Hardie now, with one writing, “He is going to score a lot of goals for them,” and another adding, “Odds he gets called straight up to Scotland.”
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Ryan Hardie stakes his claim on starting spot for Wrexham
It’s safe to say Wrexham fans were happy with Ryan Hardie on Friday, and the fact the striker scored and helped set up another goal bodes well for the season ahead.
With record signing Sam Smith not involved against Melbourne Victory, Hardie will have done his chances of grabbing a starting spot for the 2025/26 campaign the world of good.
There’s every chance Hardie and Smith are paired up by Parkinson, but it’s worth noting the former does have a big advantage over his teammate in that he has genuine Championship experience.
Smith’s record in the Championship leaves a lot to be desired, with just eight appearances and one goal. Hardie, on the other hand, has 22 goals in 77 games in the second tier.