- Wrexham much the better side in first-half
- Unable to find breakthrough despite efforts
- Penalties needed to decide tie
TELL ME MORE: Wrexham's first Carabao Cup outing since a 5-0 defeat to Aston Villa in 2007 ended in a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Wigan. The much-changed hosts started well as Sam Tickle flapped at a Ben Tozer long-throw four minutes in, presenting Jake Bickerstaff with a great chance to open the scoring but he couldn't hook it home from close range. Neither side really came close to breaking the deadlock until Wrexham's marauding wing-back Callum McFadzean inexplicably missed an open goal after Tickle had parried away a James Jones longshot 11 minutes before the break. That miss would see the game goalless at the interval.
Wrexham started the second-half as they ended the first, on the front foot. Tickle was called into action six minutes after the restart, making a magnificent double-save to deny Bickerstaff from range and then Jordan Davies' follow-up effort. Although the Latics created precious little throughout, they came a couple of yards away from netting a late winner, but second-half substitute Charlie Wyke was unable to divert his header on target.
Penalties were needed to decide things and, after five perfect spot kicks, Wigan's Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard blinked, blazing their efforts over the crossbar and sealing a famous Wrexham win.
THE MVP: The inexperienced Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle, who had only played a handful of first-team games for the Latics prior to Tuesday, had a solid outing. Despite having a couple of nervy moments throughout and being let off by wayward Wrexham finishing, the 19-year-old was impressive as he was able to put those small errors to the back of his mind and keep Wrexham at bay. The highlight was the double-save at the beginning of the second-half. He looked more than comfortable with the ball at his feet and provided a solid base for Shaun Maloney's side.
THE BIG LOSER: Wrexham had the best chances by far throughout the game, none better than Callum McFadzean's in the first-half. If he had been able to simply poke the ball home into a gaping goal then the whole drama of a penalty shootout could have been avoided. If anything, he was in Ollie Palmer's way as the left wing-back found himself on the edge of the six-yard box, taking the chance away from Wrexham's number nine. Luckily, it didn't end up costing his side as they won the lottery of penalties.
MATCH IN TWO PHOTOS:
![Stephen Humphrys Eoghan O'Connell Wigan Wrexham 2023-24](https://assets.goal.com/images/v3/blt1e0756b103670ac3/GettyImages-1601524113.jpg?format=pjpg&auto=webp&width=3840&quality=60)
![Wrexham 2023 Elliot Lee](https://assets.goal.com/images/v3/blt3e96427af8865328/GOAL_-_Blank_WEB_-_Facebook_-_2023-08-04T131753.031.png?format=pjpg&auto=webp&width=3840&quality=60)
WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM? They'll be looking to build on this result and get their first League Two win of the season as they face Wimbledon away from home on August 12.
MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐