Wrexham left it late but managed to squeeze into the second round of the EFL Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory over Hull City.
Elliot Lee opened the scoring for Wrexham before Hull City took charge of the cup tie with three unanswered goals and looked to be sending Phil Parkinson’s side crashing out at the first hurdle.
However, up stepped forgotten man Ollie Palmer to fire two headers in stoppage time and take the game to a penalty shoot-out.
Jack Marriott was the hero in the shoot-out as he fired home to give the Red Dragons a 5-3 victory and some Wrexham supporters were taught a very important footballing lesson on the night.
READ MORE: Josh Windass makes brilliant Ollie Palmer U-turn after Carabao Cup brace, ‘maybe you could…’
Wrexham fans spotted rushing back into the stadium after Ollie Palmer brace
Wrexham fans were delighted for Palmer as he demonstrated that he still has the ability to make an impact at this level.
Parkinson has told Palmer to leave this summer but the Red Dragons boss may be reconsidering his stance after the striker’s heroics and injuries to Kieffer Moore and Jay Rodriguez.
Palmer also had some Wrexham supporters rethinking their choices after footage has emerged of fans running back into the Racecourse Ground upon hearing the cheers for his goals.
At 3-1 down, Wrexham looked to be heading out of the cup and some supporters decided they had seen enough before eight minutes of stoppage time was announced.
After Palmer’s first header, the whole atmosphere of the ground changed and it was like the ball was being sucked into the Hull City net – which of course it did one more time.
EFL Cup victory important for Wrexham and Phil Parkinson
Heading into stoppage time, Parkinson was staring at back-to-back defeats to kick off the campaign and faces a tough test in West Brom in the next game.
Parkinson’s Championship record has been discussed throughout the summer and he would have felt some pressure going into the next clash.
Now, he can relax knowing his side can compete at this level and pick up results against a Hull City side who look as though they will be very competitive in the Championship this season.
The victory also means that Wrexham could now face a Premier League side in round two of the EFL Cup and with that brings more exposure and revenue for the Red Dragons.