Match Commentary and Early Action
6 min: Swansea have started the stronger. Ronald advances down the right again but can’t find Vipotnik in the middle with his cross.
5 min: Reynolds compares Kieffer Moore, missing through injury, to Errol Flynn. You can take the actor out of la-la land, etc.
4 min: Vyner dinks a cross in from the right. “Goal!” shouts Reynolds, an involuntary reaction as the ball is headed clear by the Swansea defence.
2 min: … and now Ronald makes a nuisance of himself down the same channel, but can’t keep the ball in play. Goal kick. Rob Mac has already used the word “purgatory”.
33 secs: “Uh-oh,” worries Ryan Reynolds, as Franco bursts into space down the Swansea inside-right channel. Rob Mac audibly sucks his teeth with anxiety. The commentary unashamedly Wrexham-focussed. Their fears are unfounded as Franco rolls a weak shot towards the bottom right.
Wrexham get the ball rolling. “There’s going to be a lot of goals,” says Rob Mac. The first rule of football commentary, Do Not Tempt Fate, recklessly kicked to touch from the get-go.
Broadcast Team and Match Setup
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac take to the mic on Sky Sports Football. They’ve got regular presenter David Prutton alongside them during the build-up, which seems a bit of a cop out, but presumably he’ll be taking a back seat soon enough. Meanwhile, the teams are out! Wrexham in red, Swansea in white. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
“I wish Snoop Dogg all the best in his investment in Swansea City,” begins Peter Oh. “I hope he’ll simply appreciate the beauty and atmosphere of the game rather than get caught up in statistics and metrics. just wouldn’t be as good as the original.”
Team Changes and Line-ups
Wrexham make two changes to the starting XI after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Hull. Issa Kabore and Ollie Rathbone replace Ryan Longman and Josh Windass, who both drop to the bench.
Swansea also make two changes to their starting line-up, following their 2-1 victory at Portsmouth. Marko Stamenic and Gustavo Nunes replace Jay Fulton and Eom Ji-sung, who are benched.
League Table Context and Historical Records
Here’s what the table looks like going into this game. Wrexham won’t be going anywhere tonight, no matter what happens, though they can of course consolidate their position in the play-off places. Swansea can catapult themselves up to seventh with a win.
Swansea won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in December. Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo won’t have fond memories, spilling the ball at the feet of Adam Idah in the last minute, Idah slotting the winner from a yard out. That was the first time the teams had met in any competition since the 2002-03 season, when Wrexham won this fixture 4-0.
In fact Wrexham’s form in this fixture is outstanding: they’ve hosted the Swans on 15 previous occasions in the Football League, winning ten and drawing four of them. However there is hope for Swansea, as Phil Parkinson has never beaten them as a manager, losing the last four meetings on the bounce. Rob, Ryan, feel free to take all of that if there’s any dead air to fill.
Starting Line-ups
Wrexham: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle, Kabore, Vyner, Rathbone, O’Brien, Thomason, Smith, Broadhead.
Subs: Ward, Brunt, Keillor-Dunn, Windass, Cadamarteri, Rodriguez, Scarr, Barnett, Longman.
Swansea City: Vigouroux, Key, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon, Goncalo Franco, Stamenic, Galbraith, Ronald, Vipotnik, Nunes Gomes.
Subs: Fisher, Fulton, Widell, Yalcouye, Eom, Samuels-Smith, Cullen, Walta, Ward.
Referee: Tom Nield (West Yorkshire)
Pre-match Comments from Managers
Swansea head coach Vitor Matos speaks to Sky.
“It’s been a good process step by step, trying to build something we’ll all be proud of … that’s what we’ll try to show here tonight … concentration is really important … a mix of pretty control with the ball but at the same time mentality and character … we understand that each game is like a final … a good feeling around the club … it is a relentless league … there are still a lot of games to come.”
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson talks to Sky.
“It’s business as usual for us … you have to embrace it [the outside noise] … the emotion of the Chelsea [FA Cup] game obviously takes a bit out of you … this is a huge game tonight … a Welsh derby … a chance to cement ourselves in the top six … tonight is about taking care of our own business.”
Commentary Team Insights
The Wrexham co-chairmen Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds are going to call the plays commentate on this game tonight for Sky Sports. Reynolds is all too aware that this gig differs significantly from the day job:
“One take, that’s all we get.”
Mac adds:
“I am terrified.”
We might as well listen in, but please don’t worry about flitting between such distinct genres and disciplines, gentlemen: you’ve surely got this.
Match Significance and Cultural Context
This is ostensibly an affair between two Welsh concerns: Wrecsam ac Dinas Abertawe. But it’s not just that, is it. It’s Philadelphia versus California. It’s X-Men versus G-funk. It’s versus . It’s versus Chandon. Rob Mac, Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg have changed everything. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. Mae ymlaen!
