Up the town — again! Back-to-back promotions see Wrexham secure League One spot

It is often the case that the sequel rarely lives up to the hype. Wrexham, however, would disagree.

The Welsh team co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny clinched its second promotion in as many seasons thanks to a 6-0 win over relegation candidates Forest Green on Saturday.

It is now just two tiers away from the Premier League.

“This is the ride of our lives,” Reynolds wrote on X, after the game.

Before the match, Wrexham’s fans were breaking out the calculators to work out what was needed to secure automatic promotion with two rounds to go. All Wrexham had to do was to beat Forest Green and hope that MK Dons and Barrow dropped points.

Wrexham’s win was never in doubt as the team stormed to an emphatic 4-0 halftime lead. MK Dons wasted an early lead to lose at home to Mansfield 4-1, while Barrow lost to Gillingham 3-0. That sparked jubilant scenes at the SToK Cae Ras, as Wrexham fans poured onto the field at the final whistle — despite the club urging them not to.

Wrexham is second in League Two, four points behind leader Stockport County, which also clinched promotion on Saturday. The top three teams are automatically promoted to League One, and fourth-placed MK Dons can no longer catch Wrexham.

Reynolds and McElhenney bought the club for $2.5 million in 2021.

Last season, they won the National League title in historic fashion to return to the English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — for the first time in 15 years.

This is the first time in the club’s 159year history that it has earned promotion in two consecutive seasons.

“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney,” Reynolds wrote in his social media post. “Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town!”

The team’s journey has been chronicled in the TV show Welcome to Wrexham, the third season of which is set to premiere in May.

AP Wrexham's Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee celebrate promotion to League One after beating Forest Green 6-0 in a Sky Bet League Two match at the SToK Cae Ras, Wrexham, on Saturday.