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Welcome to Wrexham, Ryan Hardie! Debutant helps dismantle Melbourne Victory in pre-season opener as Red Dragons kickstart Championship preparations with resounding win

Club Friendlies

Sydney FC

Wrexham

Australia Cup

Olympic Kingsway

Melbourne Victory

Wrexham have been on an unbelievable run over the last three years as they have managed to grab three straight promotions to go from the National League all the way to the second tier of English football, the Championship. The Red Dragons have been rather quiet through the summer as they have only made two signings so far in the form of Ryan Hardie and Danny Ward.The Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney-owned Welsh side have now set their sights towards doing the improbable by grabbing their fourth-straight promotion, this time to the Premier League, and their preparations for the upcoming season in the Championship begins with a tour of Australia, where they began their campaign with a clash against the Melbourne Victory at Marvel Stadium.The A-League runners-up started the game in fine fashion as they drew highly-rated goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo into an early save and managed to dominate the proceedings through the opening twenty minutes. The second chance also fell to the Melbourne Victory, but they were yet again denied by the former Arsenal youth team goalkeeper.Wrexham's first major chance fell to centre-back Dan Scarr, whose strong header needed a spectacular save by Victory's Jack Duncan. The second fell to Scarr's centre-back partner Max Cleworth, who pulled out an outrageous bicycle kick by yet another superb save from Duncan. However, it wasn't long before the Red Dragons finally managed to get their first goal through their third central defender, Thomas O'Connor, who managed to pounce on a poor punch-out and placed it into the bottom right corner.The second half saw Phil Parkinson alter the entire playing eleven and hand debuts to his newest signings. The game saw the first 15 minutes of the second half played very tentatively before Hardie pounced on a wonderful ball by Ryan Barnett and doubled Wrexham's lead. It was veteran midfielder George Evans who got the third goal of the night after his long-range shot was spilt by the A-League side's substitute goalkeeper Daniel Graskoski into his own goal.The game ended in a 3-0 victory for the Championship side against the A-League runners-up as they prepare to get ready for an important season in the second tier of English football.

TELL ME MORE

Cleworth played the first half for Phil Parkinson's side, and the 22-year-old was on superb form through the opening 45 minutes, managing to control Wrexham's backline wonderfully. However, his standout moment came in the Melbourne Victory's box as he managed to adjust his body to an awkwardly bouncing ball and pulled out a wonderful bicycle kick, which was only saved by a similarly spectacular save.

THE MVP

Wrexham have only made two signings this summer, and both of the new faces took to the field in the second half of the clash. Danny Ward took Okonkwo's spot in the net, while Ryan Hardie took over for Ollie Palmer. Ward, who came up through the ranks at Wrexham before journeying across England and returning to the Red Dragons, did not have much to do through the second half as Melbourne Victory were kept fairly quiet. Hardie, on the other hand, had a spectacular first game for Wrexham as he managed to show off his striker's instinct with a wonderful goal a few minutes into his debut.

NEW FACES

Harry Ashfield and Aaron James were the only two youngsters to play in the second half of the game for Wrexham, and both players had a very impressive showing. However, it was Ashfield who really impressed a lot as he almost got onto the scoresheet just before the hour mark when he rattled the crossbar with a lopping header that left Duncan rooted to his spot.

ONES TO WATCH

Wrexham will now travel to the state of New South Wales to take on Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, July 15. They will then make the trip to New Zealand to take on the Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, July 19, after which they will travel back to the United Kingdom for the start of the Championship.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

PERFORMANCE LEVEL (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to Wrexham, Ryan Hardie! Debutant helps dismantle Melbourne Victory in pre-season opener as Red Dragons kickstart Championship preparations with resounding win | Goal.com

Wrexham have kicked off their pre-season tour of Australia with a massive 3-0 win over A-League runners-up Melbourne Victory.

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