'It was all about them!' - Wrexham's former nemesis speaks out after cup-winning goal left Ryan Reynolds & Rob Mac 'stunned'

Since Reynolds and Mac took over Wrexham in 2021, they have enjoyed so much success. In the last three years, they have risen from the National League to the Championship and are now within touching distance of the play-offs. While they eye a Premier League promotion, back in May 2022, Wrexham were setting their sights on their first bit of silverware in the FA Trophy. The Red Dragons were the favourites to beat fellow non-league side Bromley at Wembley but Michael Cheek scored the only goal of the game in the second half to upset the odds. Now, the 34-year-old has reflected on that moment.

Cheek said that all the pressure was on Wrexham heading into the final, and Bromley allowed the Stok Cae Ras side to come onto them, before hitting them on the counter.

"There was no pressure on us to win," he told The Times. "It was all about them. It was never about Bromley. And it even goes down to the way we played that day. It was all about Wrexham. So, let them have the ball. We’ll sit back, and we’ll do our thing on the counter. And that’s exactly what the goal came from. I think it stunned them."

The forward added that when Reynolds came on the pitch after the game, Cheek was too shy to talk to him.

While this cup final loss was a blow to Wrexham, Bromley CEO Mark Hammond revealed last year how graciously the Hollywood owners took that defeat. Hammond singled out praise for Reynolds, who was flanked by actor Will Ferrell and David Beckham that day at Wembley. 

He said on The Business of Sport podcast: "We were the underdog against Wrexham, with Ryan Reynolds, but Andy [Woodman, Bromley head coach] and the team, they did it, they beat Wrexham 1-0. That moment put us on the map as 'we're coming'. We were already on the journey, but that really cemented that we're part of something, we're onto something, and we've just beaten Wrexham with Ryan Reynolds and Rob. But I have to say, at the start of the game, there was the entourage, and you had David Beckham and Will Ferrell. The mark of the man though is that after the game, 15 minutes after everybody had gone, Ryan Reynolds walked out and he shook the owner's hand and my hand. He stood with us for 15 minutes congratulating and talking normally, just a real human being, and I thought that was class because he could have gone home."

While some A-Listers may come across as arrogant and entitled, Hammond said Reynolds was the complete opposite and pure class.

He said: "He had Netflix and Disney and Rolls-Royces and all of the grandiose stuff that comes with being an A-lister, but he took the time to come down and shake our hand and wish us all the best. I'll never forget that, and it was a moment of class, and I've taken that that's how you need to act and be humble in defeat. The irony is, I don't think it's an act. Although they're actors, it's not an act, they are good people."

Wrexham, who sit ninth in the Championship, are next in action on Saturday away to Queens Park Rangers in the English second-tier. The Welsh team drew with Leicester City last time out and lost to Norwich City the game before that, so a win in London would boost their play-off chances.