Hollywood darlings suffer at the death in FA Cup replay

For Wrexham’s Hollywood owners, the sequel proved to be a heartbreaker.

The Welsh soccer club owned by celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney lost their FA Cup replay with Sheffield United 3-1 on Tuesday, conceding two goals just as the end credits were starting to roll.

A win for Wrexham, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition, would have set up a last-16 clash with Premier League Tottenham and their star striker, the England captain Harry Kane.

Instead, it was despair for the team from the fifth tier of English soccer which has hit the headlines over the last two years after it was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney for $3.6 million in November 2020.

Sheffield United, who lie second in the Championship, had forced a replay by scoring an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the first game between the teams, which ended 3-3 at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground. 

Reynolds attended that game but was not at Tuesday night’s replay at Bramall Lane, where Billy Sharp and Sander Berge scored the late goals to dash Wrexham’s dreams.

“So proud of these boys,” Reynolds posted to his 21.1 million followers on Twitter. “And the 4000 plus away supporters who gave it all.”

After a goalless first half, Anel Ahmedhodzic put the home side ahead on 50 minutes before Wrexham’s Paul Mullin equalised from the penalty spot nine minutes later. 

With the scores locked at 1-1 in a tense game, Mullin saw a second penalty saved in the 72 minute in what was to prove a costly miss.