With the spotlight firmly fixed on their Hollywood-infused opposition, it would be easy to forget that West Brom’s Ryan Mason is just lighting the touchpaper on what he hopes will be a lengthy and fruitful managerial career. Mason will already know that substitutions may provide the pivot between failing and thriving, and so a lunchtime double switch that instantly earned three precious Championship points against Wrexham will have, whether he needed it or not, provided a nice little boost.
Jed Wallace had been on the pitch just 28 seconds when he beat Danny Ward. Setting him up was Mikey Johnston who had entered at the same time. Moments earlier there would doubtless have been away end grumblings as Tom Fellows, who set up Isaac Price’s opener and had been as lively as a child given unlimited Haribo supplies, departed for Wallace. That disappointment soon dissipated and was replaced by unrestrained joy when seven minutes later Johnston provided Price the cross from which he headed in his second.
Mason could have taken the easy option and remained at Tottenham. His affiliation there spans more than two decades, and he almost certainly would have had a role under Thomas Frank. But having just tasted Europa League glory, he wanted to push himself and informed Ange Postecoglou that he was departing before Postecoglou himself was removed. Two wins from two league games is a lovely little start.
“It’s nice because I’m sure there’ll be scenarios this year where I’ll make subs and get criticised for it,” Mason said. “Most importantly for me, though, is that the players arrive on the pitch present and ready to help the team. We certainly had that today.”
Wrexham’s bench was full of angst by the end, with Lewis O’Brien’s first-half equaliser and Sam Smith’s stoppage-time consolation proving moot. Phil Parkinson’s side made home a fortress during their triple promotion, suffering only six defeats here across their last 92 league games. However, as they are learning, Championship opponents will not simply cower in the corner.
“We’ve got to find a tenacity and a desire to defend our box better than we’ve done today,” said Parkinson. “If teams beat us and score against us, they’ve got to have really earned it. I don’t think they had to earn it enough today.”
And so, the first second-tier game here for 15,799 days ended in red rage, and Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s homebound flights may well be melancholy. Instead, a small blue-and-white pocket went boing boing in the sunshine almost from the moment their No 21 struck in the 21st minute.
Fellows danced down the right in front of them before finding Price with a smart, precise, low cross. The same three adjectives can be used to describe the finish. West Brom’s two outstanding young talents were continual nuisances. The worry for supporters? Given the club’s continuing battle with profitability and sustainability rules, one or other may depart in the next fortnight, should the price be right.
So scared were Wrexham of Fellows that the central defender Lewis Brunt was booked after grappling him far closer to West Brom’s box than his own. The Championship, as one home fan observed, was already proving “completely relentless. You don’t get time to catch breath.”
However, even in defeat, Kieffer Moore showed just how crucial he is. For most modern footballing success stories, Moore would simply be a plan B forward. For Parkinson he is the man around whom a campaign will be built.
Early on, Moore – who occupies that Darren Huckerby zone, his talent at a level between the top two divisions – won a large handful of headers and may as well have laughed at Nat Phillips when the defender tried to outmuscle him. Yet Wrexham’s only attacking moment of note until half-time neared was losing Josh Windass to injury. Record-signing Nathan Broadhead replaced him.
For the leveller, Moore found himself in acres on the right and in turn found James McLean in the box. McLean’s touch accidentally teed up O’Brien, the finish bringing a visceral Welsh roar.
Shortly after the restart, Broadhead fluffed his lines, but Wrexham’s belief grew. Then came Mason’s killer change. The home side have written the script so many times over the past four years, yet here Mason occupied the director’s seat. 2-1. 3-1. Game done.
Even Smith’s late intervention did not prevent West Brom sealing a first away league win since last November. “Early results are important,” Mason added. “We are seven weeks into this new journey we are on together. Winning games accelerates belief.”
