No Wembley trip for Wrexham after losing on penalties to Peterborough

By Canadian Press on February 26, 2025.

WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Wrexham lost a two-goal lead and a chance to play at Wembley Stadium.

The Welsh team with fans around the world lost to Peterborough 4-2 on penalties Wednesday after a 2-2 draw in the semifinal of the Football League Trophy.

Bradley Ihionvien scored the equalizer in stoppage time to force penalties.

Peterborough, the defending champion, will face Birmingham in the final on April 13 at Wembley.

Wrexham led 2-0 on first-half goals by Madou Faal and George Dobson. Malik Mothersille scored in the 72nd minute for Peterborough, setting up Ihionvien’s leveler after sloppy defending.

“We’ve thrown away the chance to go to Wembley,” Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson told Sky Sports. “Two really poor goals (allowed), particularly the second one. All we’ve got to do is head the ball out of the box, deal with it and we’re at Wembley.”

Wrexham is co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The final at Wembley will still have some star power. Birmingham counts NFL great Tom Brady as a minority shareholder.

Wrexham, Birmingham and Peterborough all play in the third division, called League One.

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

The Associated Press

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