Sorry Sonny, you'll have to wait a bit longer to meet the Wrexham boys

Football

Published: 08 Feb. 2023, 16:02 Updated: 09 Feb. 2023, 08:51

Sorry Sonny, you'll have to wait a bit longer to meet the Wrexham boys

Paul Mullin of Wrexham, center, prepares to take a penalty during a fourth round FA Cup replay against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in Sheffiled, England on Tuesday in a photo uploaded on Wrexham's official Twitter account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Wrexham lost 3-1 to Sheffield United in a bitter fourth round FA Cup replay held at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England on Tuesday, sending Sheffield through to face Tottenham Hotspur in the next round and robbing Son Heung-min of a chance to meet his favorite fifth-tier team.

Wrexham, a Welsh team playing in the fifth-tier National League — unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales does not run its own league — held the higher-ranked club to a 1-1 draw until injury time, when they conceded two goals in two minutes, ultimately getting knocked out of the FA Cup.

Tuesday’s match was a replay of the 3-3 draw on Jan. 29, when Wrexham also fell foul of an injury time goal. In the FA Cup, when a match is a draw, a replay match is conducted within 10 days of the initial game to decide a winner.

Having shown that the Welsh side were competitive enough to draw against the second-tier team in the last fixture, they once again proved that they are not an easy team to beat until they slipped in the injury time.

Paul Mullin of Wrexham scored a penalty in the 59th minute to make it 1-1, nine minutes after they conceded the opening goal to Anel Ahmedhodzic.

Neither side could find that breakthrough until the end of the 90th minute, but Sheffield's Billy Sharp managed to score in the 94th minute and Sander Berge sealed a victory after scoring a third goal in the 96th minute.

With the loss, the Welsh side lose the chance to face Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round next month.

The loss might come as upsetting news to Son Heung-min, who is reportedly a "massive fan" of the Welsh side.

Son is said to have become a fan of Wrexham after watching the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary, which chronicles the efforts of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to take control of the third-oldest football club in the world after purchasing it in 2020. The takeover proved successful, with Reynolds and McElhenney proving willing to invest the money to hugely improve both the Wrexham squad and facilities.

Son apparently enjoyed the documentary so much he discussed it with teammate and friend Ben Davies, who mentioned it to Luton Town center-back Tom Lockyer while they were both on international duty with Wales. Lockyer passed the message on to his former Luton Town teammate Elliot Lee, now a midfielder at Wrexham, and word quickly spread around the dressing room.

"My friend Tom Lockyer plays for Wales and he was with Ben Davies the other day and Ben Davies said that Sonny for Tottenham is a massive Wrexham fan now," Lee told reporters after the opening game. "So he asked if we could send him a message in the week, so we sent him a message during the week and did his celebration after we scored."

Being aware of Son’s interest in Wrexham, the Welsh side’s players celebrated with the Korean football star’s iconic camera celebration during the fourth round of the FA Cup against Sheffield United last month, when they scored against the EFL Championship team.

The fifth round FA Cup match between Sheffield United and Tottenham will be played on March 1.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN AND JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]