06 August 2023 , 17:29
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Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds appeared to take Wrexham's opening day defeat in typically good humour and extended his thanks to Hugh Jackman after he lent his support.
The Red Dragons chairman was joined by his "Deadpool" co-star at the Racecourse Ground as they took in what was a historic day for the North Wales club. The Australian actor has made no secret of his love and admiration for the National League champions and posed for pictures with the team's owners Reynolds and Rob McElhenney before the game.
Despite the moral support from the terraces Wrexham were on the receiving end of a 5-3 drubbing in a tricky opening-day clash versus MK Dons. Their opponents are among the favourites to achieve promotion from the fourth tier this term, having been relegated from League One last season.
In truth, the visitors always looked in the driving seat during what turned out to be a disappointing start to the campaign for the Dragons. They took a two-goal lead within ten minutes before Wrexham rallied to get one back before half time but this would be to little avail for the promoted team.
The Dons regained control of the game following the interval and scored twice more to seemingly put the result beyond doubt. Wrexham would respond with another strike after this but their opponents finished them off with a goal late into injury time, before conceding a consolation goal.
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The team had enjoyed a whistlestop tour of the US during a memorable summer that included blockbuster clashes with Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United. However, it was a case of Phil Parkinson's men being brought right back down to earth in their first fixture back in the EFL in some 15 years.
Despite this, A-Lister Reynolds appeared to be in a buoyant mood following the defeat, even making a quip about the appearance of Jackman at the game. The Canadian is known for his dry sense of humour and he proved that he can still see the funny side of things in the face of adversity with an amusing one-liner.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman proved a hit with Wrexham supporters as they took their seats for the game (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)Taking to Twitter, he said: "Epic opening day at Wrexham AFC. The MK Dons played like heroes. Big thanks to Hugh Jackman for stepping in as “ Admiral Vice Football Operations Ombudsman ” but I just found out you made that f***ing title up."
Head coach Parkinson also appeared to be taking the loss in good taste and explained that the club's owners had also accepted the defeat with good grace. He explained: "I had a good chat with them. The thing is with Rob and Ryan, they are the first people to come in and sit down and have a beer with me after the game.
"When we win, we have enjoyed the good times but as a manager, player and owner of a football club, it is taking the knocks and today is a knock for us. It is not a season-defining defeat but I had a great chat with them afterwards and we will have a good sit down this week.
"We are looking to add a couple more players before the window closes and if we do that, I am confident we have got a very strong squad. If we don't, we have still got quality more than we showed today in terms of the ability on the football pitch."