-
Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
Wrexham saw off Barnsley in League One on Tuesday to claim their third consecutive victory and, more importantly, strengthen their position in the automatic promotion spots at the top of the standings.
For a long time it looked, for all the Red Dragons’ effort and endeavour, like the game would end goalless. That was until Oliver Rathbone‘s goal in the second minute of injury time delivered a 1-0 win in a dramatic climax that sent the Racecourse Ground into delirium.
Rathbone’s 20-yard strike also caused ructions 5,000 miles away from north Wales in Los Angeles where the club’s co-owner, actor Rob McElhenney, was watching the spectacle unfold on the giant screen at entertainment venue ‘Cosm’ in Inglewood.
As unlikely as it may sound, the midweek third-tier English Football League fixture between Wrexham and Barnsley was the subject of a “VIP viewing experience” staged at Cosm. The match was broadcast for a watch party of 100s of viewers, and McElhenney celebrated his side’s late goal right in front of the venue’s immersive, 87-foot diameter 8k screen with high fives, muscle flexes and fist pumps.
McElhenney attended alongside fellow “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” co-stars Charlie Day, Danny DeVito, Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson. Before the game, the gang met up with some stars from NFL team the Los Angeles Chargers: running back Kimani Vidal, long snapper Josh Harris, and kicker Cameron Dicker.
At full-time, DeVito was spotted handing out celebratory high fives to fans in the auditorium — a sight which is still hard for long-time followers of English lower-league football to compute almost four years since McElhenney and “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds completed their takeover.
The result saw Wrexham consolidate their hold on second place in League One, lurking just two points behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers having played a game more than their title rivals.
If they finished the season there, it would be enough to secure them a third consecutive promotion and take them from non-league to the second-tier Championship in just three seasons.
Wrexham have seven more league matches between now and Jan. 4, as well as an EFL Trophy second-round tie against Crewe Alexandra. Given the success of Tuesday’s screening, maybe we could soon see more EFL stalwarts like Burton Albion and Cambridge United given the Cosm big-screen watch-party treatment.
