Twice Wrexham led and many more times they threatened, but eventually, after 120 minutes and countless undulations, the cast of an uplifting documentary was knocked out of the FA Cup by the ensemble of Chelsea’s latest slasher movie.
A happy ending? For Chelsea certainly. Or relief, at the very least, especially for Liam Rosenior, whose decisions here carried the risk of making him look very silly indeed.
But for Wrexham, for their manager Phil Parkinson, and for Ryan Reynolds, it was different. There will be pride, of course, and more content for Disney, too. And yet the nature of this defeat was something akin to the slaying of Bambi’s mother for plot cruelty.
Because, quite simply, Wrexham got close. So close. For a combined 26 minutes of this match they led, first through Sam Smith, and then Callum Doyle, but Chelsea, to their credit, kept fighting back. First, they benefited from a freaky own goal off the Wrexham’s goalkeeper’s spine and then via Josh Acheampong for 2-2, but even then they could not pull clear.
Time and again they were forced to fight off the back foot, often due to their own deficiencies and mostly because of the spirit of a Championship side chasing a fourth promotion in as many seasons.
When Wrexham went down to 10 men late in normal time, we assumed they were done, and especially when Alejandro Garnacho struck for 3-2, but only a marginal VAR decision in the 114th minute kept Chelsea ahead – Lewis Brunt was a toe offside – before Joao Pedro finally added comfort in final seconds.
Joao Pedro scored in extra time to make it 4-2 and finish off the faint Wrexham hopes
Ryan Reynolds (left) and Rob McElhenney (right) enjoyed the display put on by their side
Callum Doyle celebrates scoring Wrexham’s second goal of the game against Chelsea
A wild ride, indeed. And one in which Rosenior was complicit to his own troubles – of the starting 11 who pulled the wings off Aston Villa on Wednesday, only Jorrel Hato and Alejandro Garnacho were retained. Riskier was the decision to give Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez a night off entirely. If that was bold, then the tactics were conservative, with Rosenior setting a layer of three-centre backs, and that unit became a recurring source of weakness.
As for Phil Parkinson, the alterations were more understated, albeit with the quirk of benching his two leading scorers, Josh Windass and Kieffer Moore, who between them have accounted for 20 of Wrexham’s 54 Championship goals this season. Responsibilities at the tip of the speer went instead to Smith.
His impact? After 17 minutes he had Reynolds dancing in front of his camera crew.
The origins of the goal were direct, which is to say a 70-yard ball of perfect line and length from Callum Doyle, before a three-man chase commenced between Smith, Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile. That sprint was a test of speed, strength and desire, so conclude what you wish about Tosin giving up after 10 yards and Badiashile getting shunted aside by Smith prior to the strike.
The quality of Smith’s finish was undeniable, and ditto Doyle, whose signing from Manchester City has been indicative of Wrexham’s shrewd use of their funds. But what of a Chelsea defence that turned slower than milk? They might feel some awkwardness in Rosenior’s forthcoming video sessions.
Not that they’ll stand alone. Too often, the duels and examinations of will were lost and, initially, the supply line to Liam Delap was non-existent.
Alejandro Garnacho scored for Chelsea in extra-time after the Blues were pushed all the way
George Dobson was given his marching orders in a key moment in the FA Cup clash
Wrexham took the lead through Sam Smith after he fired past Robert Sanchez
At the other end, Wrexham’s threat was easier to measure, despite Parkinson’s side holding far less possession. Twice they exploited the space behind Chelsea’s wing-backs to create dangerous moments for Smith and Ryan Longman – an echo of what happened in the first half against Napoli, when Rosenior last used this system.
As with that game, there was a belated improvement. With the money Chelsea have spent, that should at least be taken for granted.
Here, the revival was orchestrated by Delap, who collected a pass from Sanchez in midfield before spinning away from Dom Hyam and spreading play to Garnacho on the left. The Argentine’s finish was blocked on the line by George Thomason, with the unfortunate consequence that the ball ricocheted back off Arthur Okonkwo’s shoulder blades and into his own net.
Rosenior resisted any urges to change his side at half-time – maybe he regretted leaving Palmer at home – and Chelsea remained stodgy. No control in the middle. No focal point further ahead. But three substitutions soon injected some energy, most notably from Marc Cucurella, with Parkinson responding by sending on three of his own, each of them an attacker. He wanted the win and almost got his reward.
The touch for 2-1 was a beauty, with Doyle flicking in off his heel after a Moore shot in his direction. Reynolds and almost squeezed the life out of Rob McElhenney.
But the celebration ended quickly. Within four minutes, Acheampong had driven Chelsea level and soon after Pedro Neto hit the bar, before George Dobson was sent off for a knee-high challenge on Garnacho. Remarkably, the referee Peter Bankes required the VAR to make the decision.
With extra-time necessary, the difference showed itself – Wrexham were over-stretched when Dario Essugo crossed to the far post and Garnacho, unmarked, controlled his volley past Okonkwo.
That was heartbreaking for Parkinson. More so when Brunt had an equaliser disallowed by the VAR and Pedro scored a fourth in stoppage time. No doubt Disney garnered some good footage along the way, but Wrexham might have felt entitled to more from this Cup run.
