Wrexham legend Eddie Niedzwiecki makes a bold claim ahead of the FA Cup clash against Nottingham, favouring the chances of another major upset.
After almost a week-long break from Parky ball, Wrexham fans count down the hours for the upcoming FA Cup clash. As the clash against Nottingham Forest nears, they brew a fresh pot of their underdog potion.
Jokes aside, seriously, Wrexham’s story in the Championship until now has been a fairytale response built on ‘no one believes in us’. Otherwise, relegation-touted Dragons won’t be competing for the playoffs at mid-season now.
Well, what better way to explain this than their last stretch of games? Note how Wrexham floundered an easy Swansea tie, only to win four games back-to-back next.
Against Chris Wilder’s in-form Sheffield side, the club went on a 5-game winless run to set Boxing Day historic records. So much so that Wilder framed a Wrexham shirt in the Blades’ dressing room.
The same was true against a 6th-ranked Preston, a stingy Blackburn defence, and a challenging Derby Tie, out of which Wrexham bagged the maximum possible points.
Up next, Parky’s side faces a Premier League opponent in Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. What’s different this time is that Wrexham play a prepared-underdog role, as their club legend sets the stage for a possible upset.
Eddie Niedzwiecki’s FA Cup claim boosts optimism
FA Cup & Wrexham have had a story that’s quite bigger than many English clubs. While the Welsh club never got their hold on the silverware, they’ve been on the producing end of various massive upsets.
Recently, ahead of the FA Cup tie against Nottingham, club legend Eddie Niedzwiecki sat down with The Athletic, talking about Wrexham’s iconic underdog win over Forest in the 1980s.
If an unbalanced matchup between a First Division Nottingham and a struggling Second Division side, Wrexham, wasn’t enough, the fact that Forest had recently double-peated the European competition made it even more one-sided. Still, the Dragons pulling off a 3-1 win against such odds says how it was clearly one of the biggest upsets ever.
Understandably, while looking back at the memorable win, it made the then Wrexham keeper, Eddie, say, “The FA Cup is in Wrexham’s DNA.”
To note how much this win meant to everyone involved is evident from Eddie Niedzwiecki’s claim. While a year later, the Welshman made a move to Chelsea, this game remains a fond reminiscence for the keeper, who was one of the early ones to complete 100+ appearances in Wrexham’s kit.
Will Wrexham eliminate Nottingham Forest in FA Cup?
If the universe once wrote the ‘Cupset’ script for Wrexham once in 1982, there’s no reason why a sequel isn’t possible. If anything, the Dragons’ optimism could only increase, noting the coincidences involved.
That’s because while the previous Nottingham win still counts as a January opener, Wrexham have pulled quite some recent upsets around the 10th January fixture date.
On 7th January 2023, the Dragons had outplayed the Championship side Coventry in the 3rd FA Cup round in a 7-game thriller. Thanks to goals from known faces in Elliot Lee and Super Paul Mullin, Wrexham advanced to the 4th round as a National League side.
Well, Parky & co wouldn’t stop here as they repeated the feat exactly a year later. Knocking off Shrewsbury Town, the Dragons booked their 4th round slot, though they couldn’t advance further on.
Fingers crossed, it ought to change this time as an in-form Wrexham take on a relegation battling Nottingham Forest. With the Dragons speculating on Kieffer Moore’s comeback and James McClean’s return, it is bound to be an action-packed game at the STōK Racecourse.
Another goal-fest thriller ending in a Wrexham win? Fans won’t say no to it.
