Ryan Reynolds releases emotional statement following Wrexham's FA Cup defeat to Chelsea
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds has released an emotional statement reflecting on his side's efforts against Chelsea in their FA Cup fifth-round clash.
The Championship outfit gave it their all against Liam Rosenior's men on Saturday evening, eventually falling to a 4-2 defeat in extra-time.
Sam Smith opened the scoring and after an unfortunate Arthur Okonkwo own-goal, Callum Doyle restored Wrexham's lead with a clever finish.
Josh Acheampong levelled the scores four minutes later, with things going from bad to worse for Wrexham just before the end of normal time. George Dobson was judged to have hacked Alejandro Garnacho down after a VAR intervention, meaning they had to manage another 30 minutes of action with 10 men.
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Chelsea managed to capitalise, going ahead early into the restart through a cool Garnacho strike. You'd think that's where the drama ended, but there was still another cruel twist in the tale.
Wrexham thought they'd equalised when Lewis Brunt turned home Kieffer Moore's header, but VAR ruled the defender offside.
Joao Pedro scored Chelsea's fourth with the last kick of the game to seal a hard-fought victory and officially break Welsh hearts.
Hollywood superstar Reynolds and close friend Rob Mac, who took over the club in November 2020, were inside the Racecourse Ground for the glamour tie.
They've overseen Wrexham's rise through the English football pyramid, bringing them to the brink of Premier League promotion from the National League in just over five years.
Reynolds reminisced about how far they've come at full-time, posting about what went on this week in 2023.
He took to X and said: "Three years ago this week, we battled Maidenhead United to a draw. Today, we pushed Chelsea to extra time. So incredibly proud of Wrexham’s performance today."
Wrexham were in the National League at the time and on the hunt for promotion to League Two. For those interested, that particular game ended 2-2 and the goalscorer that day was Red Dragons icon Paul Mullin. He bagged a brace en route to clinching Player of the Season.
It's a testament to the job being done by Reynolds and Mac, who are backing manager Phil Parkinson to achieve the unthinkable and secure a fourth consecutive promotion.
Wrexham are currently sixth in the Championship and will take on fifth-place Hull City on Tuesday evening.
Daniel Marland