Swansea coach Vitor Matos has dropped a Championship claim praising Wrexham which didn’t seem possible at the start of the season.
Tonight is the first of two Welsh Championship derbies scheduled for the 2025/26 season. Wrexham vs Swansea City, meaning the oldest club in Wales is taking on arguably the nation’s most established outfit in English football’s pyramid.
Evidently, it’s the biggest fixture to watch out for in the entire 22nd Championship matchday. Expect players to lose their temper here, argue for the most insignificant of throw ins against the Swans and celebrate a 1-0 Wrexham lead like bagging a promoted ticket to the Premier League.
Well not just players, even boss Phil Parkinson can be excused by the visiting fans for an outpour of emotions. All in all, the word “gentleman” might be the most ignored phrase today for two long and heated halves of football.
In a matter of hours, we will know how ugly it gets on the pitch but surprisingly, Swansea chief Vitor Matos is playing it quite respectfully so far.
He didn’t shy from acknowledging Wrexham’s recent feats which everybody in the Red Dragons fanbase prides upon. Alongside that, Matos shed light on a Championship fact that just shows how far our club has come as a collective.
As quoted by the BBC, Matos pointed out: “If we look back on the last 10 games, they have only lost one. So I think that deserves, like all teams, our respect and deserves a lot of credit.”
Take a moment to deep it, fellow Wrexham fans. Going empty handed with no points only once in a testing run of 10 competitive evenings, well, how many of us thought it could be possible in the English second tier?
To be honest, I didn’t imagine Parkinson steering us in this resolute position when we lost 2 out of 2, way back in August. But here we are, getting claps from local rivals Swansea for being a much more rock solid unit to overcome on our day.
When was Wrexham’s previous Welsh derby?
Nevertheless, Wrexham has a Welsh score to settle today. If Swansea lost tonight, they have a chance for payback at the Racecourse in the reverse league game next year.
However, the Red Dragons have already felt the bitter taste of a derby defeat in the 2025/26 campaign. In the Carabao Cup, there was an unlikely home tie with League One side Cardiff City where the Blue Birds scripted a 2-1 upset of Parky’s men.
Consequently, Cardiff City got to assert their dominance in our backyard and their Cup progress at Wrexham’s expense was just like rubbing salt to the wounds.
Due to those unpleasant memories, Swansea away should end with anything except a defeat. Talking of a draw, it will be acceptable on this outing knowing the issues lying on Parkinson’s table.
He has to shoulder the defensive burden onto the midfield because Issa Kabore and Liberato Cacace’s fitness aren’t doing any favours. As if this wasn’t enough, matchday fatigue has started thinning down Wrexham’s forward ranks.
Confidence and momentum were growing gradually among the frontline but for now, it will miss Ryan Hardie’s helping hands as a backup attacker. No matter how much we lament as fans, injuries in crucial stretches of the division are just the nature of present day football.
On a similar note, Swansea also have a disadvantage that they are chasing Wrexham’s shadows as far as the leaderboard is concerned. In other words, it’s not all smiles or all sorrows, and questions need to be asked if the Swans make a laughing stock out of us with their playstyle.
To conclude, let’s hope Wrexham bow out of the Swansea stadium with a win and possibly a clean sheet. A draw isn’t worth wishing for, as we somehow keep piling them unnecessarily.
