05/02/26 01:49:00
Printable Page
05/02 09:47 CDT Wrexham's Premier League dream on hold after missing out on
playoffs. Ipswich secures promotion
Wrexham's Premier League dream on hold after missing out on playoffs. Ipswich
secures promotion
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Wrexham's dream of reaching the Premier League is over, for this season anyway.
The Welsh club owned by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac missed
out on a place in the playoffs in the second-tier Championship after drawing
2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season on
Saturday.
That allowed Hull to jump ahead of Wrexham and into sixth place --- the fourth
and final spot in the playoffs --- courtesy of a 2-1 win over Norwich in a
match played at the same time. The winning goal for Hull, by Oli McBurnie in
the 67th, appeared to be scored from an offside position but there are no video
reviews in the English Football League.
It ends Wrexham's unprecedented run of three straight promotions under its
famous owners --- a streak that began by getting out of the fifth tier in the
2022-23 season and has been documented in the globally popular, Emmy
Award-winning "Welcome to Wrexham" series.
Elsewhere, Ipswich secured the second automatic promotion spot behind champion
Coventry --- and an immediate return to the Premier League --- by beating
Queens Park Rangers 3-0.
Ipswich is owned by U.S. investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited and counts pop
star Ed Sheeran as a minority shareholder.
Joining Hull in the playoffs, which begin next week and are over two legs, are
Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough.
Millwall will face Hull, and Southampton will meet Middlesbrough.
Best-ever finish by Wrexham
Despite the last-day disappointment, it was still a memorable campaign by
Wrexham in its first season in the second tier since the 1980s.
Seventh place marked the club's highest finish in its 162-year history,
bettering 15th position in the second tier in the 1978--79 season.
Still, the short-term pain will be acute, and Wrexham's players sat on the
ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle --- even though the
Hull-Norwich match hadn't finished.
Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and
conceded in the fourth minute to Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh
Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead by the 41st.
Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham
finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner
that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.
In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
