Wrexham ‘should have beaten billionaire Chelsea’ – Parkinson
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson believes his side should have defeated “billion-pound team” Chelsea during their pre-season tour of North America.
The newly promoted League One club nearly surprised their Premier League opponents in a 2-2 draw, witnessed by 32,724 fans at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Jack Marriott and Luke Bolton’s second-half goals put Wrexham ahead after Christopher Nkunku’s first-half strike, but Lesley Ugochukwu’s 82nd-minute equalizer secured a draw for new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
Parkinson is impressed by the progress being made by his side, saying: “I am absolutely delighted.
“You’ve got to put it into context. We’ve played a billion-pound team, they’ve spent so much money, and two years ago we were playing in the National League.
“To go toe-to-toe with Chelsea tonight, you can understand what an effort that was from the lads and we could and should have won the game.
“We are disappointed [Sam] Dalby got fouled that the linesman is flagging frantically, and the ref didn’t know and the ball is in the back of our net.
“The new players have come in and slotted in really well for us so far. We are not going to moan too much. It was a proper shift from our boys and we played with belief in the second period and really took the game to them.”
Parkinson has previously called on the Hollywood ownership group, led by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, to continue supporting the team with new transfers.
However, he believes the performance against Chelsea demonstrated that the current players at the north Wales club are eager to prove themselves.
“We are all totally aligned on where we feel the squad needs to be,” Parkinson said. “We have a good squad as it stands, and it is about players emerging in pre-season. People want to be part of it and are showing an appetite to play.”
Parkinson also confirmed that striker Steven Fletcher missed the match due to a groin problem, while defender Eoghan O’Connell sat out with a “niggle.”
Wrexham will now travel north to Canada to conclude their tour with a match against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place in Vancouver on 28 July.
The Dragons begin their League One campaign on 10 August at home against Wycombe Wanderers.