To the Premier League? Wrexham climbs into Championship playoff spot after dramatic win

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Wrexham's Ollie Rathbone, left, scores their side's third goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship soccer match between Queens Park Rangers and Wrexham in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Wrexham's Ollie Rathbone, 2nd right, celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship soccer match between Queens Park Rangers and Wrexham in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP) — Wrexham's Ollie Rathbone, left, scores their side's third goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship soccer match between Queens Park Rangers and Wrexham in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Audio By Carbonatix

9:32 AM on Saturday, January 24

By STEVE DOUGLAS

Wrexham's bid for a fourth straight promotion and a place in the Premier League is gaining steam.

A dramatic 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers — courtesy of two stoppage-time goals — lifted Wrexham, the Welsh club co-owned by Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, into sixth place in the second-tier Championship on Saturday.

The top-two finishers secure automatic promotion and the teams who finish third to sixth will qualify for the end-of-season playoffs for the one extra promotion spot.

It's the first time this season that Wrexham has ended a round in the playoff places.

Wrexham has played 29 of its 46 games in its first second-tier campaign since the 1980s following an unprecedented three straight promotions. Its surge up the English soccer pyramid, fueled by the cash injection by Reynolds and McElhenney since buying the club in 2020 and documented in the Emmy-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” TV series, began in 2022 with promotion from the non-league fifth division.

The latest win came after Josh Windass equalized in the third minute of stoppage time and Ollie Rathbone grabbed the winner with a long-range strike a minute later at Loftus Road.

“We smelt blood," Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said. "You can feel that as a team sometimes."

McElhenney reacted to the win with his first post on X since Nov. 1, saying: “Never ever ever give up on anything in Wrexham.”

Windass was one of the 13 players who came to the club as part of an estimated spending spree of around $40 million in the summer transfer window, during which Wrexham repeatedly broke its transfer record.

The money available for transfers has been boosted by Reynolds and McElhenney securing outside financial investment through, among others, the New York-based Allyn family.

Wrexham also is having a good run in the FA Cup, having made it to the last 32 by beating Premier League team Nottingham Forest in a penalty shootout in the third round.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer