
Wrexham begin first second-tier campaign in 43 years with trip to Southampton
Wrexham met Eastleigh on the opening day of the Vanarama National League season in August 2022, but are now set to play grander Hampshire opposition three years on.
St Mary's will be the venue for Wrexham's Championship bow as Will Still takes charge of relegated Southampton for the first time in a 12.30pm kick-off.
Wrexham's first home game on August 16 will be West Brom, and Sheffield Wednesday will also visit SToK Racecourse before the Red Dragons travel to Millwall ahead of the September international break.
September brings home games with QPR and Derby and trips to Norwich and Leicester, while October starts with the so-called 'Hollywood derby' against Birmingham.
The two clubs were rivals in League One last season – Birmingham winning the title and Wrexham finishing runners-up – with the Blues also having a celebrity part-owner in NFL quarterback great Tom Brady.
Wrexham will entertain Birmingham on October 4 before making the short trip to Stoke two weeks later after the second international break of the season.
Frank Lampard's Coventry visit north Wales on November 1 and there are trips to Portsmouth, Ipswich and Preston before Christmas.
The first Welsh derby of the season against Swansea is an away fixture on December 20.
Wrexham host Sheffield United on Boxing Day and travel to Blackburn on New Year's Day.
Leicester at home on January 20 is the pick of the early 2026 fixtures, with away games at QPR and Sheffield Wednesday before the month is out.
Millwall, Ipswich and Portsmouth all visit in February and manager Phil Parkinson has a Racecourse reunion with former club Hull on March 10, four days before Swansea head north.
Wrexham head to West Brom for a Good Friday clash on April 3, with Southampton their Easter Monday visitors.
The return fixture with Birmingham takes places on April 11 and Wrexham finish the season at home to Middlesbrough on May 2.
The 46-game Championship season will consist of 33 weekend rounds, nine midweek rounds and four bank holiday rounds.
Goalkeeper Mark Howard, part of Wrexham's three promotion-winning squads, called the Southampton opener a 'dream' fixture and backed owners Reynolds and McElhenney to maintain the feelgood factor in the Championship.
'It is the dream. They (Wrexham players) all want to test themselves against the best players and the best opposition,' Howard told Sky Sports.
'No better opportunity than the opening kick-off at 12.30pm against one of the teams that have come down from the Premier League.
'It really has been a Hollywood movie, every part of it over the last three years. The back-to-back-to-back promotions have been incredible and the owners have brought along some very famous faces to the football club.
'To say you've had a laugh in the dressing room with Will Ferrell and Channing Tatum is beyond belief really.
'The owners live and breathe it. They are with you for every win, every loss, and reach out to you after every game.
'They are fully invested in it in what the lads are doing as people and players. You get that sense off them whether they're at a game or watching from America, Canada or wherever.'
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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Dublin boss Niall Ó Ceallacháin hails Cork hammering as ‘the best hurling performance this year'
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Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tipperary unhinge Kilkenny full back line to book All-Ireland date with Cork
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Buoyed by recent All-Ireland titles at minor and under-20 level, the Tipperary juggernaut is rolling again, steered by the redoubtable Noel McGrath - a triple Celtic Cross winner - and a raft of lads with two medals to their name. Yesterday, they had heros all over the park as they toughed it out to set up an All-Ireland decider date with Cork in a fortnight - the first time the sides will ever meet in the final showdown of the season. It looked though like Tipp's lack of big game experience at Croke Park, when the air is at its thinnest and the stakes at their highest, might cost them as they trailed 0-8 to 1-0 after 14 minutes. Eight scores to one and Tipp were scrambling to find any sort of foothold. They'd also had four wides, but tellingly two of them were half goal chances. A portent of what was to follow. And so they pawed away at each other for 58 minutes until Darragh McCarthy was red carded, as James Owens pulled out a second yellow for a slap on the hand of Kilkenny goalie Eoin Murphy. Kilkenny were one point up at the time. A minute later Tipp carved out a one on one for Jake Morris, exactly the man they would have wanted in such a scenario with his electric pace. When he elected to point rather than go at his man, it didn't seem like the right call and you wondered if Tipp would get another chance. It was then that heroes in blue and gold stood up all over the park. Jason Forde nailed three more pressure frees out of three, as well as landing a sensational point from play from under the Hogan Stand. to take his tally to 1-5, with 1-1 coming from play. Then fearless powerhouse novice Oisin O'Donoghue crashed home a late goal on an advantage to put Tipperary three points clear in a gamebreaking play. Next-up was Noel McGrath, the veteran winning a last gasp relieving free and giving it the full fist bump. Deservedly so too. It was ferocious stuff and it wasn't over yet. How many times have we seen it before, a last gasp Kilkenny goal. They've left opposition bodies strewn across pitches in utter devastation for a couple of decades now, and they were agonisingly close here to doing it again. Bryan O'Mara made an important tackle. Still, Kilkenny were relentlessly coming. But this time round, John Donnelly's blasted effort for the goal that would have won the game was blocked on the line by Robert Doyle have beaten Tipp goalie Rhys Shelly. The four minutes of stoppage time must have felt like an entire game for 14 man Tipperary as Kilkenny threw everything at it. At the time the Cats were unaware that the scoreboard was wrong and might well have elected to pop over a point on a couple of occasions rather than try to work a goal. They can certainly feel hard done by here. Kilkenny had just one wide in the entire second half from 16 shots for points, with coolness personified Rhys Shelly pulling a crucial Jordan Molloy point effort down late on and Richie Reid having a miss. Every play in the final 10 minutes was massive. One chink in the armour and it was all over for Tipp. One ball they didn't compete for. One man they didn't track properly, as Kilkenny ramped it up. Shelly was magnificent late on, and despite Tipp being down to 14 men he refused to launch the puck out long at Kilkenny's spare man and instead kept working the ball. They call it sticking to the process, but Derek Lyng might wonder why his players didn't stop the short puck outs, particularly late on when they had an extra man. Tipp also survived a bit of a freetaking meltdown with McCarthy missing twice and Eoghan Connolly, who shot three points from play and set up a couple more, also missing one in the second half. With TJ Reid a perfect nine from nine from placed balls, it looked as if free taking might have been the difference in the end. McCarthy, who was also sent off at the start of the Munster Championship game against Cork, will be a relieved man that it wasn't and neither was the red card. Tipp boss Liam Cahill said: 'It's misfortune, the second yellow. By the rule book it's there as a second yellow. We had no complaints with it at all. Just disappointed for Darragh. He commits to everything. I suppose just before that we probably had discussed getting Oisín. 'Lo and behold, Darragh was coming off alright but we can't get Oisín in to replace him. It was a bit of a blow at the time but look, I think it really ignited the rest of the players on the field. Again, the impact of our bench coming in had a big bearing. 'I really thought they gave us huge energy. (Alan) Tynan in particular was superb when he came on. Obviously Oisín, and Noel as usual giving us that calming influence. Just happy that the job is done now. 'We try and turn the page as quickly as we can and look forward to two weeks' time.' Another huge factor in Tipp's win was the way they exposed an unlikely weakness under the high ball in the Kilkenny full back line. They were able to land it deep inside the Kilkenny defence thanks to the bravery of their goalie and defenders in taking short puck outs to the corners and between the lines of a zonal defence and working the ball further up the field. The wily John McGrath caused Huw Lawlor all sorts of bother in hitting 1-2 in the first half. He grabbed the first goal off a high ball on eight minutes, slamming to the net to lay down a real marker of intent and unsettling Kilkenny's last line. If they could do it once….. The second goal arrived on 22 minutes and came from another well worked Tipp puck out. This one was pinged to Bryan O'Mara, who delivered it inside and when Shane Murphy went up with team mate Mikey Butler, McCarthy stole inside. His shot was parried by Eoin Murphy but trickled across the line. The third goal came on 25 minutes, a lovely lob to the net by Forde off a McCarthy hand pass to send Tipperary four points clear after Butler had over committed. Conor Stakelum and Jake Morris, who finished with three and four points respectively, were right in the game at this stage, with Eoghan Connolly enjoying an outrageous first half, with three points from play out of defence. But Kilkenny looked to have seized back control of affairs with Martin Keogan building a six point haul from play and with Cian Kenny powering into it at midfield, shooting two second half points to go with midfield partner Molloy's four. Crucially though, Tipperary didn't concede a goal and barely gave up a goal chance, defending heroically to just about see another classic with Kilkenny.


Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Farrell names eight Ireland players in Lions team as he opts for strong side
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