Wrexham v Reading
Sky Bet League One
Stok Cae Ras
Stok Cae Ras
Saturday 24th August 2024
3pm
Journey Time to the ground: 1 hours 25 minutes. Living in the middle of nowhere in South Shropshire, this was one of the closest away games of the season. We left home at 1pm and drove the scenic route up to Wrexham. We parked up at Stansty Park, a local football ground located on Summerhill Road just off the A483, for the cost of £4. From here it was about a ten minute walk to the ground.
Ticket Price: £22
Programme Price: £3.50
Attendance: 13,322 with 1,261 Reading fans.
Now living not too far from Wrexham I feared I was to be disappointed in my quest for tickets as the away end had sold out before I had reached the required criteria to purchase. I'd almost given up on being able to make the game when, as luck would have it, seating was released in the home end the day before the game. It was a fairly simple process to register for a free membership (thank you SY postcode) and to buy a couple of tickets in the Fourth Wall Temporary Kop Stand. This is a temporary all-seater stand that has been erected on the previously unused Kop End due to Wrexham's recent success and will be in place until a permanent stand is build at this end. We were seated behind the goal at the side of the stand next to the Macron Stand and although temporary in nature being made of scaffolding, the view and leg-room was good. This stand is uncovered and we were very fortunate that despite some dark clouds we stayed dry the whole game, unusual in this part of the world!
To the left of the Fourth Wall Temporary Kop Stand is the Macron Stand. This is a single-tiered all-seater stand which houses executive boxes at it's rear. Opposite the Fourth Wall Temporary Kop Stand is the Stok Cold Brew Coffee Stand. This is a two-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Wrexham fans seemed to congregate. To the right of the Fourth Wall Temporary Kop Stand is the Wrexham Lager Stand. This is another single-tiered all-seater stand and is the main stand at Cae Ras housing the team dug-outs at its front. Away fans are housed in this stand, allocated around a third of the stand towards the Stok Cold Brew Coffee Stand.
Both teams came into this game unbeaten with four points from the first two games of the new season. The game started pretty evenly with both teams playing some good football, however Wrexham took the lead in the 23rd minute when Ollie Palmer rose highest to head Ryan Barnett's right-wing cross past Joel Pereira. The lead was doubled ten minutes later when another Barnett right-wing cross caused chaos in the Reading box with James McClean hitting the post and Jack Marriott drawing a point blank save from Pereira before Elliot Lee blasted home from close range. Reading almost grabbed a goal back instantly with Tyler Bindon's header hitting the top of the crossbar from Lewis Wing's right-sided free-kick but the half finished with the Red Dragons two up.
The game was over as a contest four minutes into the second-half when Lee picked out Andy Cannon in the middle of the Reading half and the winger struck a low effort into the bottom left-hand corner from 25-yards. The Royals had chances to grab a consolation with Jeriel Dorsett forcing Arthur Okonkwo into a point blank save and Tivonge Rushesha hitting the underside of the bar from Basil Tuma's right-wing pull back. The ball appeared to have crossed the line but with no goal-line technology in League One, Reading drew a blank for the first time in 25 league games and the game finished 3-0.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was a little disappointing. The Wrexham fans in the Stok Cold Brew Coffee Stand made some noise around the goals and the Reading fans were quite loud in parts. I'm not sure if it was where we were sat in quite an open environment so the sound dissipated but I was expecting the crowd to be louder throughout the game.
Journey Time home: 2 hours 15 minutes. We got back to the car just after 5:15pm and drove into the town via a petrol station to look for some food. We decided against eating in Wrexham and instead drove to Oswestry and went to the Wetherspoons for dinner before doing some shopping at B&M. We arrived back at home at 9:40pm.
Overall the trip to Wrexham was ok. It's never nice sitting with the home fans when your team is losing and it was frustrating as I felt the scoreline flattered Wrexham slightly. They were worth the win but probably not by a three goal margin. Wrexham are obviously a team on the up, with increased interest in the club, however there is a danger that game days become something of a day-trip experience for new converts with fewer long suffering Wrexham fans able to attend games. Things like the FanZone at the back of the Fourth Wall Temporary Kop Stand charging separately for entrance don't really sit well with me.
