Is it really only three years ago?
Wrexham versus Notts County was a true game for the ages; so much so that, by the time the music stopped after almost 100 pulsating minutes of Easter Monday football, it felt as if the Welsh club had finally prised open the door marked ‘EFL Return’ after 15 long years in the wilderness of non-League.
Ben Foster’s 95th minute penalty save to clinch a season-defining 3-2 victory may be the abiding memory of a top-of-the-table clash that lived up to its “biggest non-League game in history” pre-match billing.
But, really, all footballing life was present at The Racecourse Ground that spring day, as two teams who had already breached the 100-point milestone swapped places at the top of the table for the 15th and final time that season.
There was even a touch of Hollywood glamour, of sorts, as Ryan Reynolds declared Foster to be a “double-handsome b*****d” in the dressing room afterwards, just moments after co-owner Rob Mac had kissed the former England goalkeeper full on the lips.
No matter how far Wrexham go — and the 2021 pledge by the co-owners to reach the Premier League one day now looks far less wild than it once did — nothing will surely compare to the emotional rollercoaster that was Easter Monday, 2023.
And yet here we are again, looking forward to another holiday fixture in north Wales that has a similar feel to that winner takes all contest against Luke Williams’ Notts County, a team who finished the 2022-23 National League season with 107 points but still had to negotiate the play-offs to clinch promotion due to the relentless form shown by Phil Parkinson’s champions.
Wrexham’s clash with Southampton has been looming large for some time. Shifted back a day due to the south coast club’s involvement in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-finals, where they shocked Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 2-1 home win, Southampton’s first league visit to The Racecourse since 1959 pits two sides who, for the past seven or so weeks, have been embroiled in their very own game of pass-the-parcel when it comes to sixth place.
First, Wrexham had it. Then Southampton, whose inactivity in the Championship on Good Friday allowed the Welsh club to wrestle back possession via a stirring second-half fightback in the 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
Derby County are also in the hunt along with Hull City but, really, Tuesday’s clash has felt for weeks to have the potential of providing the fourth and final play-offs qualifier. A point not lost on Wrexham’s Lewis O’Brien.
Wrexham’s Lewis O’Brien has been acutely aware of Southampton’s revival (Jess Hornby/Getty Images)
“When you look from the outside,” says the midfielder, “it is one of those games. We’re one point in front of them and they have a game in hand now. Before that, it was goal difference keeping us out of the play-offs.
“From that standpoint, people can big up the game as much as they want. But I don’t think we will be doing that. We stay in our own changing room and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Wrexham may publicly be keeping it cool but the stakes will undoubtedly be high on Tuesday night at a venue whose reputation as the place to be for goals in the EFL is well deserved. There have been 26 league and cup matches at the SToK Cae Ras this season, games that have yielded 90 goals.
Whether a sell-out crowd will be treated to a contest as captivating as that famous Notts County game remains to be seen. But, judging by how Southampton turned a 1-0 deficit against Wrexham on 90 minutes into three points by the time the final whistle blew on the opening day of the campaign, the potential for more thrills and spills seems high.
Southampton’s resurgence — they were fourth bottom on November 1 when Will Still was sacked — means those late, late goals from Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens have taken on even greater significance.
Certainly, Wrexham fans will be ready. Early in the season, there was no mistaking how much promotion heroes such as Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer and Elliot Lee were missed following their respective departures. The matchday atmosphere suffered as a result.
Now, though, a new band of fan favourites have emerged, complete with their own terrace songs, and the supporter-player bond that had been such a feature of the charge through the divisions has been restored.
“Playing at home is massive,” says O’Brien, one of 13 signings made last summer when joining from Nottingham Forest. “The fans finally feel we belong here, rather than are just here for a little bit.
“At the start of the season, they were a bit iffy as to what was going on. The team took time to gel. Now we have gelled, they believe we do belong here and get right behind us now.”
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has inspired the club’s revival after a slow start this term (Leila Coker/Getty Images)
Like Notts County going into that epic 2023 title showdown, Southampton will arrive at the SToK Cae Ras in great form, a 12-game unbeaten league run having yielded 30 points to cement the popularity of Tonda Eckert, Still’s successor as head coach.
Even the disruption of losing top scorer Adam Armstrong to Wolverhampton Wanderers in January — he is still the only player at St Mary’s with a double-figure tally of goals — has been overcome by the 33-year-old German, whose previous experience of English football had come as Gerhard Struber’s assistant at Barnsley.
“It is a massive game for us,” admits Parkinson, whose own side are in great form, too. Their haul of 36 points from 18 games since Christmas is bettered by only Millwall and Norwich City (37 apiece).
“At this stage of the season, though, it’s difficult to say one game is harder than the next because everyone is fighting for something. But, with Southampton’s resurgence, it has a special feel to it and we will be ready for Tuesday night.”
One huge difference between Wrexham’s first promotion under Parkinson in 2023 and today centres on stress levels, with supporters able to enjoy the push for the Premier League in a way that was unthinkable when trying to escape non-League.
Sure, every game matters in the quest to keep those dreams of a fourth consecutive promotion alive. And should Parkinson’s men triumph on Tuesday evening, the celebrations in the stands will be suitably raucous.
But, unlike that memorable National League run-in when even drawing a game felt like the end of the world, this has been a season to savour for Wrexham supporters.
Wrexham fans have enjoyed a memorable season already (Harriet Massey/Getty Images)
Already, their team is all but assured of securing the highest league finish in the club’s history, eclipsing the previous best of 15th in the old Second Division set in 1978-79. Then there is the sense that Wrexham’s ultimate destination under Reynolds and Mac will be the Premier League, be that next season or at some stage in the next few years.
That said, one look at the Championship table shows just what is at stake for both teams in this latest Easter six-pointer.
“Pressure is a privilege,” adds Parkinson, a manager with six promotions on his CV. “Absolutely, that’s the case. Football is about making the most of every season. I always feel every season is special and we have an opportunity to finish it well.
“We will do everything we can to do that. When you get into this position, it is important — like we have done in previous years — that we produce good performances. We have got to enjoy it and we will.”
