It's Wrexham at Christmas, everyone's favorite season,
But the fans are worried, and this is the reason.
Whiteman hooks it across to the far post.
Ricochets around. Drilled in! Preston equalize and it's Armstrong,
and Wrexham will be frustrated to concede like that.
Points just get lost every single week.
Wrexham managed to hang on for their ninth draw in the Championship.
The highest number of draws by any team in all of the top four tiers.
Too many losses and frustrating draws,
While many speculate, not one knows the cause.
It was a terrible, piss-poor performance.
A blow for Wrexham tonight. How do you bounce back?
What a game to knock you out of the Christmas spirit that was.
What we're seeing is a team that isn't quick,
isn't super powerful, doesn't create chances.
There's O'Brien. Wrexham lose the ball.
Oh, fucking hell.
So, the lights are low and the table looks grim,
The glow from the Cae Ras is flickering dim.
Nice touch…
One mistake from Arthur Okonkwo was louder than all,
And down to 15th our Wrexham fall.
And that is the final whistle, and Wrexham throw away a point at Swansea.
It's just we saw everything bad about that Wrexham team
in one entire performance.
That's a game we should have
at the very least be coming away with a point.
But the beauty of football when spirits are low,
Is a second chance waiting beneath fresh fallen snow.
The dragon's not done, nor the story all told,
As from the winter's dark gray may come bright New Year's gold.
♪ Don't forget where you came from ♪
♪ Don't forget what you're made of ♪
♪ The ones who were there ♪
♪ When no one else would care ♪
♪ Don't be afraid to cry now ♪
♪ Even when the world comes crashing in ♪
♪ Don't forget to sing when you win ♪
Wrex. All right, mate? Merry Christmas.
It's a Great British footballing tradition is
an absolute shed load of fixtures around Christmas,
but I bloody love it.
I mean, I just… I love that basically
from sort of around December the 23rd until January the 2nd,
it's just nonstop football.
Seasons greetings!
Come on, you Reds!
Christmas is huge, isn't it?
It's like probably my favorite time of the year for football.
'Cause you can get to Christmas and be 20th,
and then get to the end of the year
and you can be… …a few points off making the playoffs.
Three wins in a row and…
- Everything changes. - …they could be right back in the mix.
The holiday period, four games in ten days,
and we've got to come out of that with a good haul of points
to keep our promotion push in place.
This is me in my den. I don't play as much anymore.
My friends are gonna say, "Yes, you do." But I don't think I do.
At the moment, I'm playing 2K26.
I used to be a huge gamer. Call of Duty was my game.
It's so hard to be a gamer and play football.
Like… …they don't correlate.
What do you do with your time off, normally?
Watch TV.
What, watching endless football matches? No?
At the moment, you wanna know what I'm watching?
I'm watching Twilight.
Which is actually really good.
When we normally play rival teams,
I think there's certain teams that I don't like.
Can I… Can I even… Oh, no, I shouldn't.
Should I just say the teams I don't like?
Welcome to Swansea.
Tipped over well by Okonkwo.
I was having a really good game.
An inswinger, left-footed again, swept to the far post.
Okonkwo comes, takes that comfortably.
But it will fall for a shot, which Okonkwo gets right behind.
Free kick on the halfway line.
Okonkwo's coming, and punches, rather up in the air.
It's headed into the goalmouth, Okonkwo goes back.
Mishandles it! It's a horrible mistake!
Oh, what happened there?
In the moment, I wanted the world to just swallow me whole.
He shouldn't have come out for it.
Mistakes-wise, it was as… pretty much as bad as they come for a goalkeeper.
Horrible way to lose a derby. But what a mistake by Okonkwo.
Obviously, I was fuming,
but you know, I can't… I can't really show that.
I don't think I'm that type of person to bring the team down,
like, because I'm feeling a certain type of way.
It's really hard to take.
Young players or any player's gonna make mistakes, it's how you respond,
and Arthur's always got our full support because he cares a lot
and he's been instrumental into getting Wrexham, you know, into this division.
Get your feet right. Focus on your contact.
Strike it at them.
Here we go, Cal. Keep the focus.
Hit him in his nose.
It's all about how he bounces back now.
Arthur's save percentage has been ludicrous.
I think it was up near the 75, 78 mark last time I looked.
So, he's done… he's got more credit in the bank.
Get those fucking feet going.
I'm glad that Parky came out afterward
and said, "Look, he's been a colossus for us.
Let's move past it," because that's what you've gotta do.
Let's just see how he recovers.
Can I please have a flat white please?
- And then, do you want a hot chocolate? - Yeah.
Can you make it so it's not too hot?
And then Manu's going to have a cinnamon roll.
I'm Maxine. I'm a journalist, originally from North Wales.
I am based in the United States,
and I'm also the Welsh translator for Rob and Ryan.
Thank you. Here we go.
And mark.
- Hello, my name is Rob McElhenney. - My name is Ryan Reynolds.
Hello, my name is Rob McElhenney.
And I'm Ryan Reynolds.
Never, ever say that Wales is in England.
- Oh, God. - Oh, we're aware of that.
- We're very, very, very aware of that. - We're aware of that.
Oh, you're enjoying that, aren't you?
I would say being Welsh plays a role in everything I do.
Yeah.
Whether it's bringing up my children
and teaching them about Wales and speaking Welsh to them.
How's this compared to the ones in America? Better?
Or my work broadcasting through Welsh.
Congress hasn't declared war.
It's very important to me.
So, how do you feel about being back this time?
Well, I feel better… obviously.
You look much better.
I look like a hedgehog.
I think your hair looks great.
Your background as a journalist…
Did that have any impact in what you've been through?
Yes.
This is the turning point in the interview. Duh-duh-duh.
I've just had a shower this morning and, um…
This is what's in the sink.
Disgusting, isn't it?
My initial instinct when I was diagnosed with cancer
was to pick up a camera and document it.
When you go through so much trauma in such a short period of time,
I think it's really hard to come out of that.
And the people that are there with you along the way, who support you,
you feel even more grateful for.
- Welsh cakes. So, flour-- - What is a Welsh cake?
The Welsh name for Welsh cake is Pice ar y maen.
And it's kind of like a flat scone.
A scone?
No, it's… it's a scone.
- Scone. Flat scone. - It's a flat scone.
Over the years, working closely with Rob,
we've gotten to know each other and each other's family.
You have to, like, make it until it's kind of like crumbs.
- So, you gave me the dirty job, basically. - Yes, I did.
- You did that very intentionally. - I know.
Since meeting Jill, Rob's stepmother,
there's something quite similar about us, maybe.
Um, I don't know if Jill would like to… …hear that or not.
How many hands… How many hands can we put in this Welsh cake?
As soon as I was diagnosed with cancer,
she was the most obvious person for me to call
because I knew that she went through cancer herself.
I think we talked plainly to one another.
- Yes, like directly. - Right.
When somebody has a diagnosis that is catastrophic,
and potentially, you know, life-threatening,
it creates opportunities to really deepen
and create a very intimate relationship with your support system.
When I was going through chemo, and when I was doing all my treatment,
I looked on my phone and I had an email from the Eisteddfod…
…saying that I was gonna be inducted into the Gorsedd,
to be made a bard.
To be invited is…
I guess it would be compared to something like being knighted in England.
So, I-I was due to have a double mastectomy, the week of the Eisteddfod,
and I asked the surgeon to delay it and to move everything.
…Maxine John Conwy.
It was just so meaningful for me, you know,
to have this happen to me during this period of my life,
in this place that has provided so much positivity
for me and for my children.
Hello.
- How are you? - I'm feeling good.
- Excellent. - Yeah.
So, we have some paperwork to do, I guess.
- Yeah, I think so. - Yeah.
When I went into my oncologist's office,
and she said, "You don't have cancer anymore.
You had a complete pathological response to the chemo
and you've had a mastectomy."
And I said, "Wow, what am I supposed now? 'Cause I'm terrified."
And she said, "You have to go live your life."
And because of relationships that I've made through Wrexham,
and the support I'd received from the community of Wrexham,
I feel so excited about new things.
Now, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
I guess I just feel like I've had a second chance.
Unbelievable.
With desks adorned with cheap tinsel and cheer,
The lights that half work, but come out every year.
So, we have a little competition going on for best festive workspace area.
- Oh, wow, that's serious. - It's cozy, isn't it?
He's also killed Santa Claus for a Christmas competition.
Got work to do now.
Oh, 'tis the season, obviously. 'Tis the season.
All of Wrexham was buzzing with Christmas spirit,
And then came great news with everyone happy to hear it.
Ollie Rathbone has taken the 25th spot in the squad.
Liam, did we know that?
I-I mean, Parky had mentioned it was likely to be,
but I don't know that it was confirmed.
So, no, that is exclusive.
I think we're on a bit of a rocky run, we're getting a few draws, and doing okay.
And then we had that kick in the teeth at Swansea.
It could go either way here. If you get on a good run, great.
But if it goes the other way, then you're looking over your shoulder a little bit.
But it's such a tight league, isn't it?
If you get one win, you're right up that table straight away.
Yeah. I don't think you can kind of get too high with the good ones
and too low with the bad ones
because the quality of the division is so high.
I had a really difficult start to the year.
Ollie Rathbone with five minutes to go in this first half.
Putting Ryan Grant under pressure.
The ball came to me on the edge of the box.
I think I chested it down, we were kind of scrapping for the ball.
And then in the middle of it all, I just felt a big crack.
Yeah, finding out that I'd ruptured the ligament.
It was really, really difficult, I can't lie,
because I also felt a little bit embarrassed.
Kind of last year being, like, the Player of the Season.
And then, like, a few months later, kind of not playing
and not getting on the bench and being injured.
He didn't really say that much about it,
but I could tell he was a little bit worried.
My name's Mick Rathbone. I'm Oliver Rathbone's father.
Proud father.
Fifty years in professional football is my claim to fame.
Predominantly, I played for Blackburn for seven years,
the bulk of my playing career.
I was physio seven years at Preston,
and then eight years, I was head of medical at Everton.
But with Oliver, we kind of tried to get him to do other things,
but he always came back to football.
He slept with a football.
I'll pull onto the drive, and every single day,
there he was stood there with the ball under his arm,
and I couldn't go in until we played shots in the front garden.
And he had to score ten goals with his left, ten goals with his right.
Then I found out when I was a lot older, he used to, like, sometimes park
at the bottom of the road and wait for it to go dark.
"No, I can't play now, Son. It's dark."
How frustrating is it, when you've done all pre-season…
- Mmm. - …fit as a fiddle, good to go, raring.
And then you get that injury, and you're out of the team
for the next three, four months.
I came up from Australia
but by the time I'd got fit, we'd signed Josh Windass, Lewis O'Brien,
Nathan Broadhead, Ben Sheaf.
We basically signed five players that could play in my position.
You do kind of worry like, "Oh, if I don't get back playing,
then maybe I'll have to go on loan in January
or get some game time elsewhere."
Like, the whole group was kind of, like, getting together,
and they were all getting to know each other and training together,
and I was kind of just, like, a spare part.
Just, like, waiting to get back involved.
For your whole life, you say, "Oh, I'm a footballer."
When you're injured, you don't feel like that.
I think it's quite hard for people outside of football
to understand how psychologically damaging an injury is
because it is a player's entire sense of self and being.
And while you're recovering from an injury,
you're watching the guy who's playing in your position,
he's doing very well, and you're wondering,
"Am I ever gonna get to dislodge that player?
Am I gonna get to be part of this?"
It's hard to kind of keep positive and… all the time.
You just gotta kind of keep the faith
that you're gonna get your opportunity at some point,
and when you do, you just gotta make sure you're ready.
Yeah, Ollie. Ollie.
Everyone's saying, "Oh, you'll get your chance."
But then, it's very much… …down to you to take your chance.
You know, if he gives you a chance, and you don't take it,
then you are really on the back foot.
Big round of applause for Rathbone,
whose injuries, of course, have limited his chances, comes onto the pitch.
Ollie! Ollie!
Windass with the away swinger.
Steps up, stands it beyond the far post, a great header by Pollock.
Rathbone, edge of the area. In for the shot! Rathbone scores!
The hummingbird strikes! Oh, what a hit!
What a story!
♪ Guess who's back ♪
♪ The king is back, whoa ♪
I was just so happy.
Just pure, pure joy.
And yeah, just not looked back since, really.
Wrexham against Preston North End.
Broadhead. He's got Thomason outside him.
Inside to Dobson now, 25 yards out. Plays the killer ball! Rathbone!
♪ This is a moment of greatness ♪
♪ Championship, how I played it ♪
The super sub strikes again.
Ollie's return to the side has been enormously exciting.
He's brought energy. He's brought dynamism.
He's brought his patented 4'4" rascalness.
I don't know how tall… Everyone's about the same height to me when I look down.
Wrexham, at Blackburn Rovers, looking to build
on those two excellent home performances.
And then Ollie Rathbone's dad is a legend here.
Mick Rathbone is having a presentation today.
One of three players who have been brought into their equivalent of the Hall of Fame.
And I think Ollie Rathbone… Well, what's he played so far this season?
About ten minutes in the Championship and already got two goals to his name.
Ollie's class. I missed him all season to be fair.
Love him. Didn't get to see Mickey Thomas play, but…
Maybe it's just the hair, but shades of Mickey Thomas, I think,
got a goal in him.
Rathbone intercepts and now goes scurrying forward.
Only Longman ahead of him.
He's taken late, and that's gonna be a card.
Free kick. Matty James is on it. Little run behind the line by Hyam.
It's swept in across the bodies,
and will drop for Rathbone who hooks it in.
Oh! What a goal!
At the ground that his dad served Blackburn with such quality.
His son nails it!
Ollie! Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!
The crowd is singing my name, and I'm looking up at my mom and dad, like,
trying hard for like, my lip not to quiver
and kind of not to well up, because
it was just such a great moment.
Well, this boy is on absolute fire at the moment.
That is an impressive performance.
I'm fortunate to have an amazing family.
My parents were always confident in, you know,
this is just a setback, this happens.
Just kind of making sure that I didn't drop my standards…
and kind of gave everything every day.
Because it's easy sometimes when you think,
"Oh, God, I'm not getting a game at the moment
so I'm gonna, sack it off today,"
and they kinda just made me promise like, don't let that happen.
Which they were absolutely spot-on to do.
How proud are you of him?
For sticking around, and coming through that injury?
Beyond words.
Oh.
Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!
He's a good lad, isn't he?
Yeah. The best.
The revelation for me over the last couple of weeks,
and I'm really pleased for this.
I just feel we've hit a groove at the moment.
Probably the most enjoyable chunk of football.
What a great, great time.
We start on Boxing Day against our old foes from Sheffield United.
Come on, Josh.
Right-footed! It's 5!
Get in!
Wrexham 5, Sheffield United 3.
Happy Christmas.
And then with Preston and Blackburn on New Year's Day,
which set us up for the last game at Derby.
Thomason takes a touch,
hooks it in the goalmouth, good defend by Sanderson.
He alters his balance well to clear.
Poor clearance, though. Matty James hits it!
Oh, yes!
Get in! Fucking get in, lads!
Is that enough celebration for you?
- Yes! - Come on!
Come on!
And that is the final whistle. Wrexham win at Derby.
For the first time ever, we've won four second tier games in a row.
We are a very happy podcast because, all of a sudden,
we are 9th in the Championship.
Just one point off the playoffs.
I don't think that going into the holiday period,
anybody expected the team to get 12 points.
But equally, the players were tired.
They haven't had a chance to recover, yet the same players had to go again.
Come on, let's get it going then now.
Get it going, this group going. Let's go, son. Good.
Last one if you put in anymore then your work's done.
In the Championship, there's 46 games,
where the Premiership have 38 games.
So there's a lot more midweek games, and it's very intense.
A lot of high-speed running.
The sprint distance is a lot higher than we're used to.
It's not just gonna be, you know, flick a switch
and you suddenly become a Championship player.
You've got to work on aspects of your game.
The way you live, the way you prepare for games,
the work you do in the gym, the work with sports science,
some of the tactical kind of differences in the division,
and you've got to adapt to all those.
We don't like to leave any stone unturned
in the player's performance and hydration, nutrition
is really, really key to that.
It's one of the pillars that we really focus on.
It really helps the players both physically and mentally
to go the whole way to the end of games, which is important for us.
To get us to the Premier League,
we're arguably going to have to be more successful
in the second half of the season, which is difficult,
particularly with the third round of the FA Cup coming up
in such a short period of time.
So welcome along to the draw for the FA Cup third round.
We are live from St James's Park, home of Brackley Town,
alongside their wonderful fans in here tonight.
Right, the Premier League and Championship clubs,
of course, enter the competition.
We're now down to 65 teams
from 747 who started on the journey.
Joe, you're gonna start us off with the home teams.
Crouchy's gonna do the away teams.
- So, let's get going. - All right.
It wasn't in that particular fixture, no. Harsh.
- Forty-four. - Forty-four is Wrexham.
Number 28.
Number 28 is Nottingham Forest.
Wrexham versus Forest.
Wrexham! Wrexham! Wrexham! Wrexham!
Um, the FA Cup is a competition
that's open to all football teams in the UK, pretty much.
I mean, there's a small entrance fee,
but you can enter into a sort of qualifying round
as an organized football team, way, way down.
For us now, we now enter the FA Cup at the third round,
along with the rest of the Championship teams
and the Premier League teams.
Wrexham has a great history in the FA Cup,
and we would love to win it.
Into Cae Ras, the worthy giants came,
With a storied history that brings with them fame.
A Premier League side, this formidable foe,
And not one soul knew how this night would go.
But we have our own giant, says mighty Wrexham.
He goes by Arthur and can surely vex them,
As boots meet the grass, into the fray they proceed
With goals back and forth, to and fro
Who would take the lead?
From a surging class from the Prem's pedigree,
At the last moment, the score was knotted at three.
A draw in this cup leads to stress penalties,
Leaving every soul in the crowd feeling quite ill at ease.
In an FA Cup penalty shoot-out, each team gets five attempts on goal.
And if it's still tied, after that,
the penalties will keep going until eventually, there's just one winner.
So I was back in Philly
for the FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest.
And it turned out to be a hell of a game, and it all came down to penalties.
Windass. Yes!
Drills it in.
I love penalties. I feel like anyone that knows me quite well
knows that I do like… I-I love a penalty shoot-out.
For me, there's no pressure on a penalty shoot-out,
because you as the player, have more pressure than me.
Jesus steps up right-footed.
Saved!
Great save by Okonkwo!
Callum Doyle next, left-footed.
Drills it! He's really got the atmosphere going.
Hudson-Odoi. 2-2. The tension continues.
Thomason, left-footed, drills it.
Williams steps up. It's in.
Jay Rodriguez steps up.
Oh, it's a good pen.
Just felt like everyone was switched on.
We wanted to put a bit of fire in their bellies,
wanted to… to send a message.
So, this is it. 4-3 to Wrexham.
The last penalty of the ten.
Saved! Wrexham are through!
Arthur Okonkwo, the hero, diving to his left!
I've trained and played my whole life to create moments like that,
to-to be a hero in a penalty shoot-out.
So yeah, it's a moment I'll never forget.
Big Arthur!
Anyway, it went really well.
And that night, I was with all of my Philly friends,
which meant I got really drunk.
We earnt our swagger and proved our worth,
Leaving the fans a reason for mirth.
Though the forest loomed imposing and tall,
Wrexham rose up and caused their opponents to fall.
Wrexham!
- Hi, guys. - Hello.
The Wrexham shop luckily gave us
nine T-shirts to do a snood workshop.
These tops, don't even worry about cutting them up
because it's tops that would've gone into landfill.
So see, on the back of that one, the vinyl has all come off.
So they can't sell that.
They've given 'em us for this.
I'm Gemma Oakley, and I run Wrexham Sewing Studio.
So, we're just gonna go a little bit further over. That's it.
Oh, she's on it.
♪ Over the hill, just down the road ♪
♪ There's a place, I loved it though ♪
This is a safe space for people to come in,
learn something that they didn't know.
It's just somewhere you can go
where you don't have to worry about your day-to-day life,
apart from me being in it,
causing absolute carnage wherever I go.
I've been doing voluntary groups for about four years
because I've got a colorful past.
My whole life has been drink, drugs, fighting.
I got done for going equipped with a bladed article.
They said they were going to take all the kids off us.
And that was make or break really.
And I didn't go to prison.
So, so close, though, and that was a turning point, really.
- Mum. - What, mate?
- I can get you some cobblestone. - What you gonna build? What about a house?
Shall I build the house with the bricks?
Now, I look back and I think I'm glad that I've done all of that stuff,
because I'm in a good place now where I can say to people, "Don't do it.
Do something else, craft, or… just do something different."
I remember when Gem was participating in the classes,
and then, obviously, she learned her skills, she did her courses.
Like, you see how much she's smashed life
and it's to be able to show other people now,
- "If Gemma can do it, you can do it." - Yeah. yeah.
I'd just say sewing's changed my life, like, it's given me structure.
It's given me confidence.
And I want to give it back
to help others that are in the same position as me.
So this is a Wrexham bear out of upcycled materials.
I got the idea for the bears from a lady downstairs.
She told me, "You need to get one of them bears to Ryan Reynolds."
And I was like, "You, my friend, are a little superstar."
So we are going to take them over to Mike in the Wrexham shop,
and he is going to tell us whether he wants us to make these for him.
- Are you Mike? Are you Mike? - Hey, hiya.
- Yes. Yes. - Gemma, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. How are you? - Look, I come bearing gifts.
- Yeah. - What do you think?
That's cute. Those are from the shirts that we gave you?
- Yes. - Yeah.
The mission for me now is if you do accept us to do them…
- Uh-huh. - …I'm not gonna be just me doing them.
It's gonna be my charity, as in Ali, my other girls.
I just want people to know that there's a space for them.
It's just an opportunity that doesn't happen all the time
for people like me to get another chance.
These would fit in perfectly for us here.
I mean, we-we even have our own little "Made in Wrexham, Made in Wales" section.
Just to help highlight all of the great things that are made here locally.
We'll find a spot that we'll put it right in,
and we'll just have… we'll have all the bears, you know?
- Can I take a picture? - Yeah, sure.
I'm so proud, like, because this is one hell of an opportunity.
I was so scared. I was so scared,
'cause I just… I just didn't think my work was good enough.
Oh, no. It's great.
- They're super adorable. - I don't… What's wrong with me?
I never, ever thought this would happen.
So I think that I am proof
when the community have seen me go
from being so bad to so good.
It does happen to people. It can happen.
And I… And I want that to happen for more people.
I want my teddy bears to go to Ryan Reynolds.
I'll get there one day.
Ali, I can't believe it.
Once again, the faithful gathered near,
Their voices loud and singing with cheer.
Hey! QPR away? Town away? We're havin' it.
Great to come to an iconic ground, I must say.
Wrexham have got a great following.
It's a capacity crowd here at Loftus Road,
one of the traditional Great British grounds,
you know, QPR, a proper League club.
From gloomy depths to a winning streak,
Wrexham's rise was beginning to peak.
Wrexham looking for a third away win.
Well, another big Championship game.
Can't see us scoring many goals.
I hope I'm wrong, but, uh, it could be a tough watch at times.
I'm just pleased they're doing so well, actually.
The table now shows a delightful sight.
A place in the playoff spots could be theirs with just one more fight.
As we're close to the playoffs now, we've gotta go for it.
I don't think we're ready.
You're playing against sides that are established.
We are still learning about the Championship.
It's the toughest league in England.
It's just a crazy sort of league, so competitive,
and if you're not at it, boy, are you gonna get punished.
So, here we go.
Will Wrexham get a win and get into the playoff spots?
On the angle, Kief! Kief, from the angle!
O'Brien dropping off diligently.
Now he's got driving forwards from his own half,
poor pass by him, though,
and Madsen drives to the edge of the D.
Crowd tell him to shoot.
That's a good ball to Dembele, who hits it.
Hit the bar! Bounces back out.
- Handball! - Big shout for handball.
Tremendous, powerful strike.
And it's drilled in! Sensational finish by Vale.
Handball shout looked like it had something to it.
I think it might've hit an arm in there.
Not sure if it was too close to the body, but QPR won't care.
Okonkwo had no chance and Wrexham go behind early on.
This is, uh, not the best of starts for Wrexham.
Switch on!
Norrington-Davies swings in the cross.
Kone chests it down. Big chance, this.
- And it's in the side netting. - Fuckin' hell!
Very lucky to only be one down after that.
Wrexham continue to struggle to really find a foothold.
Fucking hell. Don't laugh at me.
This is a fucking joke performance, by the way.
I feel like these players haven't really gotten
into this game at all yet.
This feels very much like a case of survival.
Short corner, Dembele's got blocked.
Bobbling around in the box. Sheaf gets a head to it.
Wrexham will get… Dembele tries an overhead kick.
Just over the bar.
Clewie, you gotta be closer!
Wrexham have just got to hang in there,
somehow get a hold of this football, because at the moment,
QPR just look like they're going to score a second.
And that is halftime
and the QPR fans delighted with what they've seen.
Wrexham just weathered the storm.
Zero shots at half time. Ouch.
Can Wrexham turn in an improved second half performance?
I mean, we need to.
Wrexham going into the second half a lot more fresher.
You know, they know now what QPR's game plan is.
Right-footed, delivers an inswinger into a good area.
Hits the bar, and Okonkwo does well to catch the rebound.
Arthur Okonkwo, really not been tested in this second half.
But at some point, Wrexham are gonna have to go in
a little bit stronger.
Here's Okonkwo now. Drilling it through the middle.
That's a hell of a ball for Broadhead, left side of the area.
He breaks onto it. Moore's inside.
Broadhead takes on his man. Good tackle by Dunne.
And the shot comes in!
Hell of a save by the keeper.
Here's Broadhead now, feeding a good ball to Doyle on the overlap.
Hits the shot!
And scores his first goal for Wrexham! A screamer!
Tight angle, but it was on his left foot and he's going nuts!
Punching the air in front of the Wrexham fans!
Wrexham, just felt like suddenly turned up the intensity times ten.
Game on.
Broadhead is coming off now for Rathbone to come on.
We need to turn on the attack mode.
Enter Rathbone, so I think his energy can be very helpful.
Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!
Rathbone coming off the bench and going, "No, we want the win here."
To float it towards the near post! What a header!
What a goal! And QPR catch Wrexham out.
It's across Okonkwo, and Wrexham go behind again.
Frustration for Wrexham after turning this game round so effectively.
QPR just turned the screw again, getting on those second balls.
- Windass is ready to come on. - Wrexham! Wrexham!
Feeds it to the edge of the area. Hayden tries to curl it.
Puts it over. It's QPR now with the wind in their sails.
Putting more pressure on the Wrexham players.
Plays the big diagonal.
Looking for Moore, who heads it down beautifully.
O'Brien is there. Poor touch. Lays it back.
Shot comes and it's blocked. O'Brien. Windass again.
- It ricochets into the keeper's hands. - Fucking hell!
With time running down,
their hope of getting a place in a playoff spot
might have to wait a little longer.
Wrexham! Wrexham!
I can't believe there's only four minutes of added time,
I've got to say, especially in a game which has twisted and turned.
Yeah, Wrexham really need to dig in and get through this.
Just relax, everybody, a bit!
Rathbone lays it off, desperate stuff.
Windass, long range shot, good power. Good save by the keeper.
Inswinging corner from the right-hand side.
O'Brien is on it. He signals.
Sweeps it under the bar. Keeper comes, punches one-handed.
It's driven in! What a finish by Windass! It bounced so high, but he didn't care!
He volleys it in! Oh, that's… That's a hit and a half, isn't it?
Technique. What a… What a hit.
'Cause that bounce is up near his waist, but he gets his body outside of the ball
and he hits down on it, which keeps it down.
Arrowed across and flies into the roof of the net.
No celebration.
Annoyed that he's not starting this football match.
But still, what a hit.
Who are ya? Who are ya? Who are ya?
Wrexham!
Brilliant technique. You felt like QPR were just cracking.
They'll be so frustrated not to cling on.
Come on, keep us going! Come on!
Just under a minute probably left in this game.
- Are we gonna see a winner? - Go for the win.
Get up to the ball!
Wrexham! Wrexham! Wrexham!
Now a draw won't do.
Wrexham need a win to get into that playoff spot.
Now here, Wrexham are pushing on again. O'Brien helps it wide.
And it's Windass driving down the left-hand side.
Fed back to Doyle, Doyle chips into the box.
There's a scramble, and Kolli just smashes it to the halfway line.
Boy, oh, boy.
Rathbone now, whips it into the box and its attack… Drops loose!
Moore is there, can't quite get there. It's hacked away.
Rathbone. Constant this.
We've got nine seconds left of the four added minutes.
Ref should add another minute on. Rathbone long-ranger.
Oh, my! Oh, my word! What a goal by Rathbone!
I love that man!
Ollie Rathbone, have my children! Please, take them!
Oh… Sorry, Ben.
You can't go with Ollie. Oh, my God, though.
You know, as a young lad that's loved football all his life,
you kind of literally grow up picturing that moment.
To be the one fortunate enough to score the winner is
just everything I've ever dreamed of.
Okonkwo is up there at the away end celebrating!
Ollie Rathbone! Ollie Rathbone.
Well, I'm nearly on Ollie Rathbone's back as well in here,
because that is sensational.
QPR, what a disaster, but who cares?
Ollie Rathbone, yet again, off the bench with a goal.
Impact.
Wrexham in a playoff spot, now who could believe?
A holiday miracle that only hope could conceive.
That's a fucking huge win for us today.
It gets us right in the fucking mix and do you know what?
It's because we've got a fucking good team.
We're in the playoff positions. Who would ever believe it?
Going through that is probably…
My cardiologist will probably have words to say to me,
but now I am just delighted.
♪ Oh, Ollie Rathbone You are the love of my life ♪
♪ Oh, Ollie Rathbone I'd let you shag my wife ♪
♪ Oh, Ollie Rathbone ♪
I couldn't put it better myself, to be honest.
That… That's about it, really.
Football and-and Christmas in the UK just go hand in hand, don't they?
They just… Everybody's up for it, everybody's in the pub celebrating.
Just to see grown adults in tears because they're happy.
And kids, and-and I couldn't believe, like, how lucky we are as a town,
and how lucky I am as a local little business owner.
And I get teary, I get emotional, just like a Christmas morning,
because you think, you know,
I'm just like tens of thousands of other Wrexham fans.
That's all we are, is we're fans, we put our money in,
and we go in the hope that we're gonna win football games.
Life really couldn't get much better, could it, as a Wrexham fan, you know?
Wrexham's rise, a second chance that burns like a flame,
Not just on the pitch, but in the hearts that bear its name.
For the people of Wrexham who struggle and persevere,
Find hope in a comeback that only comes this time of year.