Wrexham 3-1 Boreham Wood: Red Dragons seal EFL return after 15 years away

Wrexham finally earnt promotion back to the Football League following a long fifteen years away, winning the Vanarama National League with a game still to spare.

Boreham Wood shaped up to be difficult opponents, boasting the best defence in the division, and they sprung a big shock upon their hosts just forty seconds in, as Lee Ndlovu took advantage of a defensive mistake and lobbed home.

That lead lasted only fourteen minutes though - Elliot Lee found himself unmarked in the box to nod home a well-placed Ryan Barnett cross and level things up.

It all came down to the second half to decide whether the title would be settled on Saturday evening, and it began to look that way once top scorer Paul Mullin curled one magnificently into the far corner seven minutes on from the break.

But the striker wasn't done there, capping off a great display in the 71st minute, smashing home to put Wrexham out of sight and moments away from being labelled 2023 National League Champions.

• Story of the match

Every player would dream of gifting their team promotion, but only eleven can be chosen to start, and Phil Parkinson opted for a single change following victory over Yeovil - Jacob Mendy replaced Anthony Forde.

From the visitors' point of view, it was a second straight unchanged lineup from manager Luke Garrard, after last week's narrow win against Wealdstone.

Right from the off, all eyes were firmly fixated on Wrexham and how many goals they would manage to knock in on a historic day, but playoff hopefuls Boreham Wood and their mean defence had other ideas, or more so their attacking prowess in this case.

No one would ever have expected the league leaders to fall behind in a game of such stature, especially within the opening minute.

The visitors quickly launched into their first attack as Jack Payne perfected a lofted pass over the top, finding Lee Ndlovu through on goal after Red Dragons' captain Ben Tozer's misjudgment allowed the striker to get in behind and put a spanner in the works of Wrexham's celebrations, coolly dinking it over a helpless Ben Foster before the clock had even ticked past 45 seconds.

But that didn't hold back the hosts in the slightest, as they went on to equalize only fourteen minutes later - Boreham Wood were slow to close their opponents down and a long period of possession eventually resulted in the leveler, Ryan Barnett's inviting cross from the right locating a completely unmarked Elliot Lee, who raced in to head home past Nathan Ashmore with ease.

Having just one team taken a point off Wrexham at the Racecourse this season, there were to be no complaints about the 219-strong Wood Army still reminiscing about their opener, as a draw would be a very favourable result for them in their bid to protect their top-seven spot.

In fact, they could well have been dreaming of a Zak Brunt wondergoal later that night, but unfortunately, the long-range strike had just a bit too much height on it.

Shortly after the half-hour mark came another great chance for the Wood, this time through Femi Ilesanmi who almost caught Wrexham out with a header at the back stick, but was just unable to guide it the right side of the post.

With owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in attendance and nervously hoping to see their club earn promotion on Saturday night, the pressure was very much on and the hosts received their warning sign loud and clear from a couple of decent Boreham Wood chances.

Turning up the heat ever so slightly, prolific scorer Paul Mullin found space in the area and looked to shoot though his effort was ultimately a comfortable low save for the 'keeper, ten minutes shy of the break before Foster was forced into a similar stop moments later down the opposite end.

Luke Garrard's game plan to try and frustrate the title favourites was going pretty well heading towards the break, and it continued with a marvelous tackle by George Broadbent to deny Sam Dalby a clear goalscoring opportunity.

On returning from the dressing rooms, Wrexham began where they left off, applying countless pressure to their opponents and coming ever so close early in the half with a Tom O'Connor header drifting just over the bar.

And then came the almighty blow from Mullin. A man who oozes absolute class was no doubt going to get on the scoresheet in this match, but the question was when.

With 53 minutes played, it seemed about the right time for the hosts to edge in front, and in some style they did. Chasing a ball down the left-hand side, he used his skill to turn away from his marker and cut inside to the edge of the area. From there on, it was just a simple matter of curling it into the top corner as the home faithful burst out of their seats - they knew how much this goal meant to the club and the town.

A rare second-half chance arrived for the Wood ten minutes later, experienced goalkeeper Ben Foster suffering a scare, dropping an Erico Sousa cross before claiming at the second attempt to deny the away side any sniff of another goal.

The game seemed to be slowly slipping out of their grasp, and Mullin soon gained his 45th of the campaign with less than twenty minutes to play.

Poor defending from Boreham Wood made it especially easy for the forward to break through and into the box, finishing the move with an inevitable rocket into the back of the net, out of the reach of Ashmore.

At this point, it was fair to say that the promotion party was well and truly underway, and the agonizingly long wait for the final whistle was stretched even further by an additional five minutes on top of that.

But once the designated stoppage time was up, the referee was able to signal what every Wrexham fan wanted to hear - 'The Red Dragons are going up.'

They well and truly are this time - there is no catch, no more Hollywood drama, Wrexham are a Football League side after a long fifteen years away.

• Player of the match - Paul Mullin

What more can be said about this man? He may not be this season's divisional top scorer, but he takes just about every chance he gets, and without Mullin, Wrexham would be far from promotion.

There is no better-suited player to confirm the promotion.