After Wrexham defeated Mansfield Town 2-1 at Field Mill in the FA Cup first round, Paul Mullin, a striker for the club, compared the ground to a “swimming pool.”
Wrexham’s FA Cup victory over Mansfield
In a 2-1 victory, Mullin and Dalby score.
A striker calls out the soggy pitch.
AHEAD OF TIME? On Saturday night, goals from Sam Dalby and Mullin in each half guaranteed the Welsh team’s advancement into the competition’s second round. The League Two sides engaged in a fierce battle, exchanging 42 attempts on goal, but in the end, it was Phil Parkinson’s team—who had given up a minute after Mullin’s score through Rhys Oates—who prevailed. The Wrexham striker expressed his happiness at making it through, but he had some criticisms regarding the field.
WHAT THEY SAID: He stated following the match, “We knew going into the pitch that it appeared a little bit waterlogged, looked like we were going swimming at times. The pitch was really difficult tonight.” However, I thought that at certain points tonight’s football game was outstanding.
“Due to our outstanding football, we should have won the game out of sight in the first half. We moved the ball incredibly well and notably created the space for Dalbs’ [Dalby] goal. Although I believe the pitch made things challenging, we overcame it tonight.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Right now, Wrexham is riding high. In addition to being in the FA Cup’s second round for the second year in a row—the Red Dragons made it to the round of sixteen the previous season—they are now ranked third in League Two following their promotion from the National League.
Next what? The draw on Sunday will reveal Wrexham’s opponents for the second round.
