
Wrexham: Councillor and Mayor congratulate club on promotion
A goal from Ollie Rathbone and a brace from Sam Smith gave the Reds a convincing 3-0 victory and ensured that they would be playing Championship football next season.
Councillor Mark Pritchard, leader of Wrexham Council, said: 'What the football club has achieved is absolutely incredible, and this is such an important moment for the club, and for the city as a whole.
'Success on the pitch lifts the entire community, and this amazing journey that the club is on continues to give Wrexham renewed confidence.
'I would also like to say good luck to the women's team, who play in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup final today.
'Let's hope it's double success for Wrexham this weekend.'
The Mayor of Wrexham, Councillor Beryl Blackmore added: 'What a fantastic moment!
'Wrexham has been on an incredible journey over the past few years, and I would like to thank the owners Rob and Ryan for their commitment to both the club and our city.
'Their hard work and vision – along with the commitment of the manager, staff, players and fans – has paid off, and to achieve promotion for the third year on the trot is amazing.'
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BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Fine margins: How Norris lost out to Piastri in Belgium
Oscar Piastri's victory in the Belgian Grand Prix underlined the fine margins that will likely decide the world championship battle with his team-mate Lando Australian bounced back after two consecutive victories for Norris on a weekend on which the advantage swung back and forth between the McLaren drivers almost from session to pair arrived at Spa-Francorchamps on the back of two consecutive wins for Norris, one from the front in Austria, one somewhat fortuitous after a penalty for Piastri at took a pole position each in Belgium - one for Piastri for the sprint, and one for Norris for the grand prix. And the race turned on a few key drive was from the top drawer - he took the lead from Norris at the rolling start after a few exploratory laps behind the safety car in the wet by being, by Norris' admission, a little braver through Eau Rouge on the first he managed his position with careful judgement to make his medium-compound tyres last to the end while under pressure from the closing Norris on more durable Norris may look back on a few small errors in which he could have done better. He said he "couldn't have won". He probably could not. But he could have given himself a slither of a chance, despite the difficult position he was in by leading at the start. The start Piastri had demonstrated how difficult it is for the driver on pole to lead by the end of the first lap at Spa by losing the sprint race win to Red Bull's Max Dutchman slipstreamed past Piastri up the hill to Les Combes, and then held the McLaren at bay for 15 laps, while Norris followed closely in the grand prix, it was Norris in front, with Piastri in second and Piastri had been thinking about the opportunity this presented him since losing out on pole the day team boss Andrea Stella said: "This weekend, Oscar, if anything, the only inaccuracy was in qualifying, where his laps weren't perfect."At the same time, we have to say that after the sprint qualifying, he said, 'Yeah, I'm in pole position, but maybe this is not the right place to be in pole position.'"And as a joke, after the qualifying yesterday, he said, 'That was not my best lap in Q3, but perhaps this is the best place not to have the best lap in Q3.'"Sure enough, Piastri took the lead on lap one of the grand prix, just as Verstappen had the day before."I had a good run out of Turn One," he said, "and then tried to be as brave as I could through Eau Rouge and was able to stay pretty close. After that, the slipstream did the rest for me."When I watched the onboard back, it didn't look quite as scary as it felt in the car. I knew that I had to be very committed to pull that off."But Norris could have done a better job. For a start, he failed to build himself a gap over the finish line by arguably going too early at the restart. Then he made a mistake at La Source, which allowed Piastri to be right on his tail approaching Eau Rouge."I didn't have the best Turn One," Norris said. "So it's hard to know how much that played a part. At the same time, Oscar came past me pretty easily. So even if I had a better Turn One, his run and the slipstream probably still would have got me."Stella said: "It would have always been very difficult for Lando to keep the position starting first at the safety car restart. At the same time, I think Lando didn't help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line." The pit stops The next turning point was the stops. Piastri had first choice as leader, and went for mediums with a stop on lap could have pitted Norris at the same time - the so-called double-stack - but went for another lap, and decided for hard tyres, to go to the end. Piastri was planning the same but didn't know whether the mediums would make had been just under two seconds behind when Piastri pitted, and was nine seconds back when he rejoined the seconds of that offset can be accounted for by a slower pit stop, the other five by the extra lap on worn intermediates. A double-stack would have cost less time - but then he'd have been on the mediums, and the race effectively already said: "To catch Oscar from that gap is quite an achievement. I gave it a good shot, but just not close enough."Piastri said: "It was quite a late decision to pit on the lap we did, but there's risks either way. If I was in Lando's position, I probably would have done the same thing. At that point, it seemed like the safest thing to do was go on the medium, because the hard is two steps harder here."Stella said: "We did consider double stacking. At the same time, it was possible for Lando to deviate. He opted to deviate, which would have given him the possibility to go on hard tyres, which is what he decided to do."Actually, I thought at some stage that that would have been a very good move, but I have to say that Oscar managed a very solid and strong stint on the medium tyres. Even if Lando was, on average, a little bit faster, that was not enough to attack Oscar at the end." The chase Norris now had to try to chase Piastri down. He got to within 3.4 seconds by the end of the race, but he probably lost a little more than that with three errors during his ran wide at the fast Pouhon double left-hander on lap 26, costing himself 1.3 seconds, then had lock-ups at La Source on laps 33 and 43, costing a total of just under three a perfect race might have given him a shot at Piastri on the last lap or two. But given how difficult overtaking proved at Spa in both races, the chances of him actually getting by must be considered slim in the said: "Yes, Lando had a couple of lock-ups in corner one and also a little oversteer in corner nine that cost him time. I think this, overall, prevented us from having an interesting battle, possibly, at the end."But, in fairness, even Oscar had a couple of times in corner one a little bit of a time loss."It's very difficult when you push so much in these conditions. It's very difficult to always drive within the limit of the grip, and also it's not easy to always keep the car on the racing line when you have the maximum grip, considering that, away from that, you can lose it very rapidly because of the track being still a little damp." The lessons Piastri's sixth win in 13 races extends his lead in the see-sawing battle to 15 points before the next race in Hungary this weekend, scene last year of Piastri's maiden victory, in somewhat controversial circumstances. Stella called Piastri's drive "very, very, very high quality", but added: "We have two drivers which to the standards that even myself in my career have been close to, driving with multiple World Champions, I think Lando and Oscar are operating at that level, at the level of deservedly being in contention for the drivers' world championship."This is quite the compliment considering Stella engineered both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso during his Ferrari years earlier this said: "The difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, the quality of the execution."The execution is what is going to make the main difference. We, as a team, we will try and make sure that from a reliability point of view, from a team operation point of view, we are as good as possible, such that it will be the drivers deciding their own outcome in terms of competing for the drivers' championship." Should the race have started earlier? The other main talking point at Spa was whether the race should have started earlier - either at the original start time, or a few minutes before it eventually Hamilton and Max Verstappen were of the view that it should have and that officials had been too said the decision "didn't make sense". He said that at the scheduled start time "it was not even raining" and added: "Of course between Turn One and five there was quite a bit of water, but two or three laps behind the safety car it would have been a lot more clear. And the rest of the track was anyway ready to go. It's a bit of a shame."Hamilton added: "I kept shouting, like, it's ready to go, it's ready to go. And they kept going around and around and around."However, both acknowledged that the decisions were made after the drivers had urged officials following the last race at Silverstone - in which one car rammed another unsighted at a restart in the rain - not to go too Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc both pointed out the extreme dangers of Spa, and referenced the two fatalities that have happened there in junior categories in recent said: "For that reason, I'd rather be safe than too early. It's a constant discussion, and we'll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything."Piastri added: "The past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything. I think that's what we did today."If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No."


Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘My phone exploded' – Alloa boss reacts to dream Rangers Premier Sports Cup draw as he eyes stunning Ibrox upset
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ALLOA boss Andy Graham's convinced the Wasps can sting Rangers again in the Premier Sports Cup. His League One side stormed into the last 16 draw with four wins from four to top Group C, including the scalps of Premiership Dundee and Championship Airdrie. 2 Alloa boss Andy Graham Credit: Michael Schofield 2 He's already pulled off an upset against Premiership side Dundee this season Credit: Michael Schofield And they've been rewarded with a glittering tie and big pay-day for the club against Russell Martin's team at Ibrox. Holders Celtic have got a home tie against newly promoted Falkirk. Incredibly, part-time Alloa are unbeaten in their last two meetings against the Gers, including a draw at Ibrox in the Championship in April, 2016. Indeed, over nine previous matches the little club from Clackmannanshire have only lost three times, with a sensational 3-2 victory in the League Challenge Cup in 2014. Graham - over 250 games as an Alloa player and boss since 2023 - told SunSport: 'I didn't see the draw because I was out with my family. 'But my phone exploded, so I knew immediately who we'd got! 'It's a fantastic game - the players will be really excited while I'm sure the club will also be happy. 'It's the kind of game you want, a big team and a great stadium. 'It's a really good draw and one the players deserve for the way they qualified from the group. 'I think we're the only team from out-with the top two divisions to get through, so we have to be proud of that. Rangers transfer special assesses whether Conor Coady deal is OFF, if Hamza Igamane will leave and when the Gers can expect more incomings 'It's a game for us to enjoy - but we must also go to Ibrox and BELIEVE. 'I remember going to Parkhead, when Jack Ross was manager, nine years ago and Celtic were flying. We'd also had a good start to the season. 'We pushed them all the way. 'We lost a goal in the 83rd minute to James Forrest and then Moussa Dembele later made it 2-0. 'But we gave it a really good go that night. 'Of course Rangers will be heavy favourites - but you have to go there and believe you can cause an upset. 'The players have been fantastic in the Cup group stage and their confidence levels are high. Premier Sports Cup draw Celtic v Falkirk Kilmarnock v Dundee United Rangers v Alloa Livingston v Hibs St Johnstone v Motherwell Morton v Aberdeen Partick Thistle v Ayr United St Mirren v Hearts. 'We've got very important games before that in the league, starting with the opener at Stenhousemuir on Saturday. 'But the Rangers tie is a big one to look forward to. It's what you play football for, the players will want to test themselves against the quality they've got.' On Alloa's remarkable recent stats against Rangers, Graham said: 'It's incredible. There aren't many clubs in Scotland who'd have that record. 'We'll go to Ibrox and I'll want the players to showcase their talent, show just how good they are.' Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen go to Morton while St Mirren host Hearts, Dundee United visit Kilmarnock and Hibs travel to Livingston. Ties will be played weekend August 16-17. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page


Times
9 hours ago
- Times
The football wasn't flawless but for true grit you can't fault us
I played in an Olympic Games or two. Have I mentioned it before? And, frankly, I melted, in the second one in Sydney. Melted in the heat, wilted, shrivelled, ground down by the pressure, the occasion and, oh yes, the heat. But Chloe Kelly. Wonderful, emollient, self-possessed, bullet-proof Chloe. Was there anyone in the stadium, in Switzerland, in the world, cooler than this sublime footballer as she scored the championship-winning goal; anyone who could have conveyed such confidence; anyone who could have pulled it off with such swagger, just as when she scored the winner in the last Euros, taking off her shirt and waving it around her head as she wheeled away from goal, a moment of thrilling iconography, not least for my 12-year-old daughter, who ran eight times around the house. This time it was a penalty kick (yes, England won a major final on penalties!), hit hard and true, after an absorbing, nerve-racking, utterly immersive game of knockout football of the kind we have come to expect from this group of players, led by a lionhearted general in Sarina Wiegman. The England coach, who some over-excited pundits were calling to be sacked after England lost to France in the opening match, has injected belief into this squad, motivating them, rousing them, getting them to understand that liberating (but hard to learn) truth that pressure isn't something to fear but to embrace. Throughout this tournament England haven't always played flawlessly but that grit, that iron resolve, has never been absent. I mean, wasn't it lovely to see the determination of Michelle Agyemang in her role as an impact substitute, the solidity of Hannah Hampton, the goalkeeper, the leadership of Leah Williamson, who has perhaps never looked more formidable? This victory was more about derring-do than four four two; more about psychology than formation; more about what's written in hearts and minds than those rather elaborate arrow-laden whiteboards you see in dressing rooms. And while I don't like turning sportspeople into role models (frankly, it isn't their job, is it?), perhaps I might say this. I wouldn't my mind my daughter (or my 11-year-old son, come to that) taking a leaf or three out of the book of this squad. I think of the work ethic (and turn of pace) of Lauren Hemp, who grew up in North Walsham, Norfolk, where she played as a teenager in the Boys' Elite Player Development Centre in Norwich because she was good enough to hold her own and grafted as hard as any of them. I think of Lucy Bronze, who grew up painfully shy, found her voice on the football pitch, battling with her brother during her years at secondary school, before going to university, working at a Domino's Pizza to make ends meet, and then becoming perhaps the most indomitable player in the team. There were times in the final when she seemed more like a piece of granite than a human being, not least after hobbling off the pitch with cramp, and then hobbling back on, before making another last ditch, potentially goal-stopping challenge. And let me mention Agyemang again, a teenager with the widest of smiles, who scored 41 seconds into her debut for England (against Belgium) and then knocked in two equalisers during the knockout stages of the Euros. There was a lovely interview with a teacher at Southend High School for Girls called April Smith, who spotted her potential during lunchtime kickarounds. 'There was just something really special about her, not just from a playing perspective, but a mentality perspective. She always wanted to do more, always worked really hard,' she told the BBC. Always wanted to do more. Always worked really hard. If you had to pick out two statements to capture this England team, these don't do a bad job. This has been yet another evocation of solidarity, of spirit, of a group of players becoming so much more than the sum of their parts. I've enjoyed every minute. And judging by my neighbours dancing jigs in their gardens as that last penalty went in, so did most of the nation.