The men in yellow shirts dropped to their haunches or stood with their hands on their knees, none of them quite sure how they had just let it all slip through their fingers.
Their 3,000 supporters who left Wales before sunrise, and who spent the previous few hours singing of marching armies, fighting foes and the land of their fathers suddenly found their throats empty and unable to make a sound.
Wrexham are used to drama these days, this being the club of Hollywood owners and Netflix docuseries, but they are also in the habit of those twists and turns falling in their favour after back-to-back-to-back promotions. Not this time.
First the sucker punch, then the knockout blow. A 25-yard free-kick in the 90th minute by Ryan Manning, then Jack Stephens off the crossbar at the back post in the 95th. One-nil up, two-one down. Welcome to the Championship.
It was 14 years ago to the day that Wrexham fans raised £100,000 to keep their club alive and here they were competing in the second tier for the first time in 43 years, about to take on a Southampton side who last season faced the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal.
So when the players ran out for their warm-up before the game, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson took a moment to reflect on how far this club has come in only four years since their journey under Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, previously McElhenney, began. They may not have been seen here today but, as Daily Mail Sport revealed earlier this week, they have a two-year plan to get Wrexham into the Premier League.
Southampton marked their return to the Championship with a late win over Wrexham
The men in yellow shirts dropped to their haunches or stood with their hands on their knees
Josh Windass had given Wrexham the lead with a penalty inside 22 minutes
It was no wonder the hordes of supporters who filtered their way off the row of Pat’s Coaches parked up on Melbourne Street to make the short walk to St Mary’s were in such strong voice despite how early their days had begun.
The buses left Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground around 4.30am, with some of those who spoke to Daily Mail Sport saying they had set their alarms for half past two. One fan named Lucy described it as like waking up on Christmas morning.
She, like many, remembered the days of trips to Northampton on a Tuesday night to watch Wrexham play in front of few more than 200 supporters. Here they were playing in front nearly 31,000. However the day may have ended, they are still ones to savour.
And how well they did play for such long periods. For the most part, you would have been unable to tell which of the sides spent last season in League One and which in the Premier League. This result might not have gone their way but they showed they already look right at home.
‘Hugely disappointed not to get anything from the game but a lot to build on,’ reflected a proud Parkinson afterwards. ‘It is a very proud day for the club playing at this level. I thought we were really good. That gives us great heart for the season ahead.’
Conor Coady put an early chance over from close range, Josh Windass hit the bar from distance. Kieffer Moore, a £2million arrival from Sheffield United, was shoved to the ground by Southampton defender Ronnie Edwards for a penalty that Windass, son of former striker Dean, tucked away. Edwards was lucky not to see red and Parkinson later revealed he’d spoken to referee James Bell about the decision.
The opener sparked bedlam in the away end. One young lad stood halfway up the stadium steps swinging his shirt above his head. ‘We are top of the league,’ they sang before another chorus of Land of our Fathers.
It was breathless stuff. Jay Robinson hit the post, Coady cleared another off the line, Southampton were enraged that a couple of penalty shouts didn’t go their way and Moore later went off with a concerning ankle injury.
A 25-yard free-kick in the 90th minute by Ryan Manning levelled the match in injury-time
Saints captain Jack Stephens then struck at the back post in the six minute of injury-time
The opening chapter of Wrexham’s latest one provided one hell of a thrilling start
And yet, as is so often the case when teams move up the divisions, taking your chances becomes even more important. Three minutes from time, Ryan Hardie raced clear and thought he’d slotted his effort into the bottom corner only for Saints keeper Gavin Bazunu to tip his effort around the post.
So it proved. Manning curled in his stunner before Stephens arrived late to give Southampton fans under young new manager Will Still a rush they have not felt in a long time.
‘A new beginning,’ our shuttle bus driver had declared to a group of Saints fans when he dropped us off outside St Mary’s earlier in the day. ‘We need a new beginning,’ one replied. ‘We need something,’ added another.
They got one all right. After a season in which they only narrowly escaped finishing with the fewest points in Premier League history, they now have as many home wins this term as they claimed in the whole of the last campaign.
‘Fair play to the players for sticking at it,’ said Still. ‘It’s good to show a bit of grit and determination and to bring the energy and the place alive.’
History only tells a story, the Wrexham fans had sung. The opening chapter of their latest one provided one hell of a thrilling start. It should make for a decent first episode.
