Wrexham's Premier League dream on hold after missing out on playoffs. Ipswich secures promotion
Wrexham's Premier League dream on hold after missing out on playoffs. Ipswich secures promotion
STEVE DOUGLAS Sat, May 2, 2026 at 2:47 PM UTC
0
1 / 0Britain EFL Championship SoccerWrexham's Josh Windass reacts at the end of the EFL Championship soccer match between Wrexham and Middlesbrough, in Wrexham, Wales, Saturday May 2, 2026. (Cody Froggatt/PA via AP) ()
Wrexham's dream of reaching the Premier League is over, for this season anyway.
The Welsh club owned by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac missed out on a place in the playoffs in the second-tier Championship after drawing 2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season on Saturday.
That allowed Hull to jump ahead of Wrexham and into sixth place — the fourth and final spot in the playoffs — courtesy of a 2-1 win over Norwich in a match played at the same time. The winning goal for Hull, by Oli McBurnie in the 67th, appeared to be scored from an offside position but there are no video reviews in the English Football League.
It ends Wrexham's unprecedented run of three straight promotions under its famous owners — a streak that began by getting out of the fifth tier in the 2022-23 season and has been documented in the globally popular, Emmy Award-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” series.
Elsewhere, Ipswich secured the second automatic promotion spot behind champion Coventry — and an immediate return to the Premier League — by beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0.
Ipswich is owned by U.S. investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited and counts pop star Ed Sheeran as a minority shareholder.
Joining Hull in the playoffs, which begin next week and are over two legs, are Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough.
Millwall will face Hull, and Southampton will meet Middlesbrough.
Advertisement
Best-ever finish by Wrexham
Despite the last-day disappointment, it was still a memorable campaign by Wrexham in its first season in the second tier since the 1980s.
Seventh place marked the club's highest finish in its 162-year history, bettering 15th position in the second tier in the 1978–79 season.
Still, the short-term pain will be acute, and Wrexham's players sat on the ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle — even though the Hull-Norwich match hadn't finished.
Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and conceded in the fourth minute to Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead by the 41st.
Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.
In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
