WREXHAM – The sequel turned out to be just as good for Wrexham.
The Welsh team co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds clinched promotion to the third tier of English soccer thanks to a 6-0 home win over Forest Green on Saturday.
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That's back-to-back promotions for the team since it was thrust into the spotlight following the investment by its Hollywood owners. It is two tiers away from the Premier League.
“This is the ride of our lives,” Reynolds wrote on X, formely Twitter, after the game.
Wrexham needed to both beat Forest Green and see MK Dons and Barrow drop points in order to secure automatic promotion to League One with two rounds to go.
Wrexham's win was never in doubt as the team was 4-0 up at halftime. MK Dons wasted an early lead in losing at home against Mansfield 4-1, while Barrow lost to Gillingham 3-0. That sparked mass celebrations at Wrexham as fans ran onto the field after the final whistle, despite pre-game warnings from the club urging them to stay in the stands.
Wrexham is second in League Two, four points behind leader Stockport, which also clinched promotion on Saturday. The top three teams are automatically promoted to League One, and fourth-placed MK Dons can no longer catch Wrexham.
Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney bought the little-known club for $2.5 million in 2021.
Last season, they clinched the National League title to get back into the English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — for the first time in 15 years. This is the first time in the club's 159-year history that it has earned promotion in two consecutive seasons.
“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney," Reynolds wrote in his social media post. “Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town!”
The team’s journey has been chronicled in the show “Welcome to Wrexham.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer