QPR 2-3 Wrexham: Hollywood Ending Fires Red Dragons Into Play-Off Places

Credit: Rob Atherton

After three consecutive promotions, the big question this summer was if Disney’s sweethearts Wrexham could replicate their lower-tier successes in the Championship. After a tricky start finding their feet at a new level and bedding in a plethora of new and expensive talent, Phil Parkinson’s side have started to put a run together and now occupy the final play-off position. With rumours of more heavy investment in the final weeks of January, could we see the Welsh club rise from non-league to English football’s top table in record time?

The Championship play-offs are a bizarre mix of teams after this weekend’s action. Ipswich sit third with a squad teeming with Premier League talent looking to make their return to the top at the first time of asking, you have Hull in 4th who barely survived relegation last time out and are premising excellently despite still being in the midst of a transfer embargo, and fifth-placed Millwall have operated by selling their best assets and rebuilding by finding value in the market over the years to finally culminate in this season’s promotion charge. Then, finally, you have Wrexham in sixth. 

If you’re sat here reading a match report on QPR v Wrexham, you know the story of the Red Dragons’ recent history by now. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny acquired the club in 2020 and shone an unprecedented level of light on the then fifth-division side with the documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ as well as through their own fame. Investment from Hollywood’s elite, in combination with massively increased merchandise sales and revenue from Disney Plus, has allowed Wrexham to financially bully their way through the divisions and rise from the National League to the brink of promotion to the Premier League. Now a Championship side, their financial situation is much more on-par with some of the heavy-hitters around them. With sides receiving parachute payments and teams with 25k+ seater stadiums raking in significant matchday income, the playing field has been somewhat levelled for the Welsh side, and yet they’re still able to compete right at the very top of the division. Whatever you think of Wrexham, it’s hard to argue that their recruitment hasn’t been excellent throughout their meteoric rise, only three players who started the win at QPR this weekend were Wrexham players in League One last time out and just Arthur Okonkwo between the sticks has been with them for more than two seasons. Integrating so many players at once, no matter their quality, is bound to present challenges. Now Parky has them firing, just how far can they go this season?

Their hosts refused to be phased by the presence of Disney’s cameras in the first-half, instead seeming to raise their game for the big screen. Okonkwo pulled out a fantastic stop to tip R’s winger Karamoko Dembele’s goal-bound effort onto the underside of the bar, but his defenders struggled to play their part and clear the ball away from danger. It ricocheted between a few players before dropping for Harvey Vale, who thundered in an edge-of-the-box volley on the turn through a crowd of players and into the top-right corner. Stick that in your documentary. QPR had the lead after just 6 minutes with what may just end up being their goal of the season, it’s a shame the final result probably means they won’t be replaying it too often. The Hoops carried this lead until the break in a fairly uneventful 45 minutes that saw neither ‘keeper forced into a single save. You’d be forgiven for expecting a similarly lacklustre second period, but that’s not how they do things in Hollywood. Ready for a big finale?

Wrexham broke the bank this summer to sign Manchester City centre-half Callum Doyle for a reported £7.5m. The 22 year-old had three consecutive Championship loan spells under his belt and was part of the Leicester side that won the title in 2023/24, so there were no doubts about his quality, but any player that commands a fee that high at this level will always be accompanied by raised eyebrows. To those doubters, can you centre-half do this? The goal started and ended with Doyle, who found George Thomasson with a smart ball down the left-hand side before charging forwards. Thomasson in turn played a pass inside to Nathan Broadhead, who found Doyle with a neat through-ball into the Rangers box. He took the ball under control with his right foot before firing a shot high into the net beyond Joe Walsh on his left from a tight angle. Callum Doyle; defends like a centre-half, passes like a midfielder and can, apparently, finish like a centre-forward. £7.5m isn’t looking like too bad a deal now, is it?

That goal still did little to bring the game to life, the action lacking with little in terms of high-quality chances for either team. That was until ten minutes from time, when the hosts thought they might just have won it. Forget your one-touch-passing and cultured left-footed finishing, 34 year-old Championship veteran centre-half Steve Cook showed us what a proper defender’s goal should look like. Midfielder Nicolas Madsen’s outswinging corner was met by the head of Cook as he made a darting run to the front-post, glancing the ball beyond the reach of Okonkwo and sending the QPR fans into raptures. Questions have to be asked of the Wrexham defenders, who all stood stone-still as the ball came in and watched on helplessly as Cook nodded his side into the lead late into the game. If they are going to go on to achieve promotion, they’ll need to tighten up from set-pieces and stop conceding easily preventable goals. Parkinson must have been fuming. That was only QPR’s third shot on target all afternoon, the early save and subsequent opening goal being the other two. In Wrexham’s loss to Norwich last Saturday it was a similar story, conceding two from three shots on target and ultimately losing on that occasion. They’re good at smothering teams and not allowing them many chances, they just need to get better at stopping chances going in when they are created. Alternatively, they could just carry on scoring more goals than everyone they play and defending won’t be an issue.

QPR looked to have all-but seen the game out when, in the 90th minute, right-back Amadou Mbengue was dismissed following a second yellow card for a needlessly reckless challenge on Thomasson, who had already released the ball and posed little threat. Mbengue could only watch on in horror at what transpired in injury time. With 93 minutes on the clock, a Wrexham corner was met by the hand of ‘keeper Joe Walsh, who could only palm the ball weakly into the centre of the box. The loose ball fell to substitute Josh Windass, he let it bounce before finishing high through the crowd of bodies to level things up late on. The forward had a remarkable amount of time and space in the box, if only QPR had had an extra man to mark him.

Ryan Reynolds will know all too well that true Hollywood action can never end in a stalemate, the hero this time out? Midfielder Ollie Rathbone from the subs bench. While QPR were still reeling from the equaliser and had their defence set back to see the game out, Rathbone picked the ball up 25 yards out and unleashed a drive straight into the top-left corner beyond the reach of the R’s ‘keeper. Bedlam. 2-1 down on 90 minutes, two goals in injury time and three points for the travelling Welsh side. Not to mention a place in the oh-so-coveted top 6.

QPR will be heartbroken at the way the game ended, but can take some heart from the fact that there is still just a four point gap between their opponents, now in 6th, and Rangers in 12th place. It’s that tight, in fact, that five different teams occupied 6th position as some point over the course of this weekend’s Championship action. They’ve been steady, but shipping the 4th most goals in the division is what’s been holding them back from converting a few losses to draws and draws into losses and really challenging at the upper echelon of the Championship. Defensive reinforcements could well be Loftus Road-bound in January, who knows how the rest of the season could transpire in that case?

Rumours continue to swirl around Wrexham and potential record-breaking deals in this January window, and with the Red Dragons poised to make a push towards the top-end of the table in the final 17 games they make an attractive prospect for any new signing. Not to mention the amount they’ll pay you to play for them, I’d take it if they gave me a call. Questions have been asked of Phil Parkinson this season as many believed he’d taken the club as far as he possibly could and he doesn’t have the tactical nuance to get them out of this league, so far so good for Parky though. If they continue on this trajectory, play-off football is definitely on the cards. The play-offs always bring drama, as do Wrexham, a big win at Wembley seems written in the stars.

Wrexham were always bound to bring fireworks to the second tier, and they’re beginning to look like a real force at this level now they’re settled in. More shrewd January recruitment could be just what they need to breathe a bit more fire into the Dragon’s performances and see them get over the line in May.