Wrexham were beaten on penalties by Peterborough in the EFL Trophy semi-finals, and Bradley Ihionvien couldn’t resist a dig at the Welsh club in a now-deleted video
A Peterborough United star has taken a playful jab at Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds after knocking his team out of the EFL Trophy.
Wrexham led by two goals at the break during Wednesday night’s semi-final clash against the Posh, with Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney supporting them from across the Atlantic. However, Phil Parkinson’s side let their advantage slip and missed out on a Wembley appearance.
Peterborough striker Bradley Ihionvien played a crucial role, scoring a last-minute equaliser to level the game 2-2 at the Racecourse Ground, pushing the match into penalties where Peterborough won 4-2. Wrexham seemed in command after Modou Faal and George Dobson gave them a solid lead by the 38th minute, but Malik Mothersille initiated Peterborough’s comeback by converting a penalty in the 72nd minute.
As the game was drawing to a close, Ihionvien seized on a defensive error to score. Posh goalie Jed Steer blocked key penalties from Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee, paving the way for Hector Kyprianou to confirm Peterborough’s Wembley spot.
After the victory, Ihionvien posted a now-removed video on social media where he and a teammate were seen dancing to NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’. Ihionvien couldn’t resist a bit of cheeky gloating as he sang: “Bye bye bye, bye Wrexham, bye Wrexham, sorry not sorry. Bye Wrexham, sorry not sorry. Have fun, watch us in Wembley!”.
His video shenanigans appeared to mimic the opening scenes of last year’s box office hit Deadpool & Wolverine where Reynolds’ character dances to the same tune. To rub it in just a bit more, the Peterborough player slapped a Deadpool sticker on his Instagram story.
Meanwhile, Posh owner Darragh MacAnthony didn’t hold back on social media with his triumphant words after the clash. The straight-talking Irish entrepreneur said: “We f***ing deserved that. Dominated that game. Our fans deserved that. @wembleystadium we shall see you soon @theposh. Apologies for flipping the script written. Not sorry.”
Wrexham’s dream of a Wembley tie against Birmingham City, partly owned by NFL legend Tom Brady, evaporated into thin air. Instead, Peterborough will be playing the underdog role for the final showdown amidst their scrap to avoid relegation.
After the missed opportunity, Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson told Sky Sports: “We’ve thrown away the chance to go to Wembley. Two really poor goals (conceded), 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.”
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“From a game which looked so comfortable for us, to end up not going to Wembley is very difficult to take for us all, but we’ve got no one else to blame but ourselves.”
However, all hope is not lost for Wrexham – they’re in a strong position for another promotion bid, sitting third in League One before their next match against Parkinson’s old team, Bolton. He added: “We’ve said before every round that the league is our number one priority, and it always has been, but when you get so close, we want to finish the job off.
“We’ve done well in this tournament throughout this season, but now we’ve got to focus on the league and learn from tonight.”
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