Wrexham secured an outstanding draw against Chelsea in a pre-season friendly in California as James McClean was embroiled in some controversy on the pitch.
Wrexham are preparing for their first campaign in League One for 19 years and preparations are going swimmingly well.
In the first match of their Wrex Coast tour, Phil Parkinson’s men secured an impressive 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, while trumping that in their next game.
The Reds were written off by many against Chelsea following last year’s 5-0 thumping however, Parkinson’s squad pulled off an incredible result by drawing 2-2 thanks to goals from Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott.
Despite only having 25% of the ball as expected, Wrexham took their chances when they came and were good value for a draw.
It was a match that was played at a fast tempo, highlighted by tempers flaring between James McClean and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill.
James McClean responds on Instagram after clashing with Chelsea’s Levi Colwill
McClean is known for being involved in controversial situations and although it was a friendly, the Irishman didn’t act like it was one.
In the opening exchanges of the contest, the Irishman lunged into a challenge on Colwill, who wasn’t happy with the ferocity of it and responded by pushing the 35-year-old.
That turned into a flare-up on the pitch as both players grabbed each other’s shirts and were then surrounded by their teammates.
Whilst it was only a friendly, Colwill and McClean were perhaps fortunate not to see any card brandished by the referee and after the game, the Wrexham midfielder didn’t act like anything had happened, responding with a two word message via Instagram.
Tagging teammate George Evans in his story, he wrote: “My mate 🥰”.
READ MORE: James McClean: Profile, Height, Transfer, Salary, Net Worth and More
James McClean played striker vs Chelsea
For the manager and coaching staff, pre-season is always an opportunity to try out a new system or use a player in an unfamiliar position.
On this occasion, Parkinson started McClean as a striker alongside Ollie Palmer, whilst the former Sunderland man is used to being deployed as a left wing-back, winger or central midfielder.
McClean was perhaps used in that role for his ability to press well and put the Chelsea defenders under pressure, which is why he somewhat overstepped the mark with his challenge on Colwill.
Nonetheless, starting him as a striker does perhaps show how Parkinson feels about his current options at Wrexham, with the likes of Sam Dalby, Marriott, Jake Bickerstaff and Billy Waters starting on the bench.
Whether this was just an experiment Parkinson fancied in pre-season, or something he’ll lean towards in the future remains to be seen.