MK Dons spoil Wrexham's league return with 5-3 win

MK Dons handed Wrexham's Hollywood celebrity owners a reality check on Saturday (Aug 5) with a 5-3 home defeat on the Welsh club's return to the English Football League after a 15-year absence.

An own goal by Eoghan O'Connell put the visitors ahead after six minutes in the League Two (fourth tier) game and they were 4-1 up before a late flurry in the last eight minutes at the Racecourse Ground in north Wales.

"We were frantic at the start and played it as if it was a World Cup final and we didn't settle," Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson told the BBC.

Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman joined the club's A-list co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in a sold-out crowd to watch Wrexham's first league game since they were relegated in 2008.

"Finally snagged an invite. Thanks Wrex," he posted on the messaging site X, formerly known as Twitter.

MK Dons were relegated to League Two last season while Wrexham secured promotion from the National League with a record 111 points.

Reynolds and McElhenney bought the club in 2020 and have elevated Wrexham to cult status with the docu-series Welcome to Wrexham which has been hugely popular with sports fans in North America and beyond.

The club's rise in popularity even saw them play pre-season friendlies against sides representing Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea on a mini-tour of the United States.