Ryan Reynolds on Monday punched the air before turning to embrace Rob McElhenney as the Hollywood stars moved a big step closer to their dream of leading Welsh soccer team Wrexham to promotion.
The pair celebrated at the end of a game that had all the thrills of a big-screen blockbuster and the ultimate twist as former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster pulled off a penalty save in the seventh minute of stoppage-time to secure a 3-2 win against closest rivals Notts County.
“I don’t think I have a heart anymore,” Reynolds said afterward. “I think I used all the beats I had left during that match. That was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Photo: Reuters
Wrexham, who have been given A-list sparkle after being bought by the two actors, moved three points clear at the top of the fifth-tier National League with a game in hand.
Elliot Lee’s 78th-minute strike was the decisive goal after both teams had led during the match, but it was Foster’s save to deny Cedwyn Scott that secured victory and put the fourth tier of English soccer within sight.
“When I get my hands on Ben Foster he’s going to be on the injured reserve list because I’m going to break ribs,” Reynolds said. “I’m going to hug him so hard.”
It had been billed as possibly the biggest game in history at this level — and it did not disappoint.
Wrexham have gained global recognition since being taken over by Reynolds and McElhenney, and featuring in a television series that streams worldwide.
Both teams went into the match on 100 points each, with County topping the table on goal-difference. Only one team is automatically promoted and Wrexham now lead the way after the crucial win. They have four games left to play this season.
John Bostock fired County ahead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage-time with a free-kick.
Paul Mullin evened the score in the 50th minutes and Jacob Mendy put Wrexham ahead in the 69th as Reynolds and McElhenney watched on at the Racecourse Ground.
However, celebrations by the home fans were cut short when Kyle Cameron equalized for the visitors in the 75th minute, but Lee struck three minutes later to put Wrexham on course for victory.
That was before Eoghan O’Connell was adjudged to handle in the penalty area and County had the chance to level the score once again from the penalty spot, but Foster, who only stepped out of retirement last month to join Wrexham on a short-term deal, proved the hero with his last-gasp save.
“I’m used to working under extreme pressure I think, but usually I have some kind of say in it,” Reynolds said. “I have control over it. I have nothing here. All I can do is watch and hope like everybody else.”
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
RSS