Away Days 24/25: Lights, Cameras, Action? Wrexham

 

An international away day awaited Cambridge United, who remained in the bottom four of League 1. Down but not out, The U’s headed to Wales to face highflying Wrexham, A.KA Hollywood FC, who are  more famous for a documentary about them than the football team itself. With celebrities you’ve probably heard of in attendance, players you’ve definitely heard of and a near perfect home record, could Gary Monk’s United create a Hollywood ending or a box office flop? 

We departed Cambridge at around 8am and stopped at Rugby Services, which I have to say were a brilliant services. Modern, clean and home to a Greggs and a KFC. The only fault with Rugby Services is that there’s a Costa, I hate Costa, and a Burger King instead of a McDonalds. Overall much better than some of the woeful places we stop at.

Back on the road, we arrived at Wrexham in good time. We had been told that Wrexham weren’t selling beer for away fans. 

Beer acquired from the away end! Wrexham Lager was the sole option, though you could get a Carling inside the ground, and it was actually alright. A better option than the usual rubbish massive brands. 

The away end itself is oddly laid out. As you make your way through the turnstile, the food counter and toilets are all next to each other and on the same side, leading to queues, confusion and congestion. You then have to walk the length of the away to find the stairs, which lead to your seat. 

The dragon didn’t look as happy post match

Wrexham had only dropped points once at home going into this match. A massive performance was needed from The U’s, and that’s exactly what we got! Great play from Shayne Lavery allowed him to swing an inviting ball into the box, where Elias Kachunga was waiting to smash the ball home! Wrexham equalised shortly afterwards and took the lead in the second half. Time was running out, but The U’s did not give up! Jordan Cousins was immense in midfield and was my man of the match. In the final moments, Sullay KaiKai ran into the Wrexham box and was brought down, penalty United! Dan Nlundulu stepped up, kept his cool and sent the away end into bedlam! 

It was a truly fantastic performance from The U’s, who deserved at least a point out of the game. Wrexham clearly have quality in their team, but didn’t look anything overly special. Clearly the celebrity ownership and subsequent documentary attracts a certain kind of fans. I was under the impression that Wrexham had a famous atmosphere, but the Wrexham fans were like sims. Some didn’t look like they had a clue what was going or any interested in the game. Most of their fans spent the whole game sitting down in silence, then erupted when the goals went in and sat down again. 

Leaving Wrexham, we stopped at Rugby again, before arriving back in Cambridge at around 21:30. That meant we had plenty of time to go to The Live! 

Lovely beers to end a brilliant away day! The U’s were superb and thoroughly deserved their point. How’s that for a story, Hollywood? 

Thanks for reading.