Wrexham reality check as Southampton stuns late
Wrexham suffered a heartbreaking start to life back in the EFL Championship, conceding in the 90th and 96th minutes of its opening game of the season against Southampton to blow a lead and lose 2-1 at St Mary's.
A stunning free-kick from Saints' Ryan Manning equalised Josh Windass's first-half penalty for Wrexham, and just as the points looked like being shared, the hosts grabbed a winner when skipper Jack Stephens poked home deep into stoppage-time to claim all three points.
It was a thrill a minute in the first half, with Southampton staring brightly before Wrexham – back in England's second tier for the first time in 43 years after an unprecedented three straight promotions under boss Phil Parkinson – settled in and started to create chances of its own.
Kiefer Moore was causing all sorts of issues for the home defence on his debut and won the penalty after being shoved in the back by Ronnie Edwards, and fellow debutant Windass, who had earlier hit the bar with a fine effort, made it look easy from the spot to give the visitors a deserved lead.
It was Wrexham that went in at the break in the ascendancy, and as Southampton started to search more desperately for an equaliser in the second half, Parkinson's men almost caught their hosts on the break.
But Southampton could consider itself unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty on two occasions, one for a clear handball and another for a shirt pull. Those denials appeared to fire up not just the crowd, but the players in red and white, too.
With the clock running down and Wrexham looking more and more tired, a free-kick was awarded to Southampton around 30 yards out from goal.
Manning only ever had one thing on his mind as he stepped up to take it, and he sent a powerful, curling strike over the wall and out of the reach of Wrexham keeper Danny Ward to level the scores.
Southampton then smelled blood, and deep into stoppage-time, Manning was involved again as he picked up the ball inside the box and lifted it across over for Stephens to fire in off the crossbar at the far post, sparking wild celebrations as new manager Will Still roared on the touchline.
Southampton, relegated from the Premier League last season, is one of the favourites for promotion and while this result won't change that, it was clear it won't be an easy ride for Still and his men.
Wrexham, while undoubtedly gutted to lose in such a fashion on its much-hyped return, showed more than enough promise to suggest while a fourth straight promotion might prove more difficult than the three it has won to this point, it can more than hold its own against the big clubs this season, and possibly achieve the impossible.
