Paul Mullin propels Wrexham to comeback and return to the Football League after 15 years

With two goals from their star striker Paul Mullin, Wrexham ended a 15-year exile from the Football League on Saturday by sealing the fifth division title with a 3-1 win over Boreham, much to the delight of the players. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Hollywood duo who brought the club into the spotlight with investments and a successful documentary.

The jump to League Two, the last division of the entity that manages the three steps of the pyramid below the Premier League, is usually important, and Wrexham hit the post last season, the first under the management of the eternal Deadpool.

It was six points away from direct promotion and needed to play in the playoffs. In the semifinal against Grimsby Town, they opened 1-0, took the turn, turned to 3-2, took the turn to 4-3, drew 4-4 and, in extra time, were defeated and had to face another year in fifth division.

The Welsh club did not lose momentum, however, and had an even greater contribution from Mullin. The main reinforcement of this new era, hired soon after scoring 32 goals in Cambridge United’s promotion to the third division, rose from 26 goals in his first year with Wrexham to 37 in 44 National League games – in addition to eight in the Cup of England, in which, against two Championship opponents, the Welsh beat Coventry City and forced Sheffield United to play a replay.

Promotion, with a game to spare, could have been sealed before Wrexham entered the field, but Notts County beat Maidstone 5-2. Boreham even opened the scoring in the first minute, with Lee Ndlovu covering the experienced goalkeeper Ben Foster, who left the goal after a failure of the defense. Wrexham equalized 15 minutes later with an Elliot Lee header in the goalmouth.

Mullin, 28, showed what he can do at the start of the final leg. He took the ball on the left end, put it in front, left the marker behind and hit hard in the other corner to turn the game around. Tranquility only came with the scorer’s second goal, in the 26th minute, starting one-on-one from the midfielder until he finalized with a firm cross kick from above.

The crowd invaded the pitch to celebrate the return to the Football League after 15 years in minor divisions. Since being relegated from Division Two in 1982, Wrexham have hovered between England’s third and fourth tier before falling to fifth in 2007/08. This is the second title of the club that won the Third in 1977/78.

Owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham returned to the professional leagues 15 years later, securing the 5th Division championship.pic.twitter.com/QgxeJJjF4N

— Fork Spor (@forkspor) April 22, 2023