Wrexham's Premier League Promotion Hopes End in Final Day Heartbreak

Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds has said that he is "completely gutted" after Wrexham's dream of reaching the Premier League came to an end, for this season anyway, on Saturday.

The Welsh club fell two points short of a place in the playoffs in the second-tier Championship after drawing 2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season.

That allowed Hull to jump ahead of Wrexham and into sixth place -- the fourth and final spot in the playoffs -- courtesy of a 2-1 win over Norwich in a match played at the same time.

The winning goal for Hull, by Oli McBurnie in the 67th, appeared to be scored from an offside position but there are no video reviews in the English Football League.

It ended Wrexham's unprecedented run of three straight promotions under their famous owners Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney -- a streak that began by getting out of the fifth tier in the 2022-23 season and has been documented in the globally popular, Emmy Award-winning "Welcome to Wrexham" FX series.

Still, seventh place marked Wrexham's highest finish in their history, bettering the 15th position they achieved in the second tier in the 1978-79 season. And Reynolds echoed manager Phil Parkinson's words by saying that the club has "so much to be proud of."

"I am completely gutted by today's result but incredibly proud of our season," Reynolds wrote on X.

"We've come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history. "More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, Reds."

It was a memorable campaign by Wrexham in their first season in the second tier since the 1980s.

However, the short-term pain was acute, and Wrexham's players sat on the ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle -- even though the Hull-Norwich match hadn't finished.

Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and conceded in the fourth minute to Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead by the 41st.

Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.

In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.

"This squad as it stands, with a preseason together, will be even stronger next year," said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, who oversaw a summer spend of around $40 million last year.

"Of course we'll always look to add to that to try and give ourselves an even better chance ... we know where we'd like to strengthen and what we need to improve on. We'll do that and we'll make this squad as strong as we possibly can to mount a challenge next year."