WREXHAM suffered a heartbreaking end to their fantastic FA Cup run at The Racecourse last night.
Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion eventually won the third round replay 5-4 on penalties after the sides finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes and then extra-time.
It was cruel on Wrexham who easily had the best chances throughout the 120 minutes and once again gave a fantastic account of themselves in a thrilling cup tie.
Wrexham were looking to reach the fourth round for the first time in 12 years and few would disagree it was they who deserved to progress to a home tie against Premier League giants Newcastle United following their excellent performance.
In the end, the first penalty of the shoot-out which was missed by skipper Dean Keates proved costly. Although Joe Clarke, Johnny Hunt, Neil Ashton and Glen Little all put theirs away, Ashley Barnes, Matt Sparrow, Liam Bridcutt, Inigo Calderon and Craig Mackail-Smith converted to send Brighton through.
But Wrexham, who earned a replay after drawing 1-1 at The Amex Stadium 11 days earlier, can be proud of how they acquitted themselves over the two games and the way they flew the Conference flag.
Brighton might have enjoyed most of the possession like they did in the first game but didn’t really hurt Wrexham.
That was due to a fantastic all-round defensive display from Wrexham who kept their shape, worked hard and put the tackles in to prevent Brighton creating clear cut chances.
In fact, it was Wrexham who created the best opportunities and they rewarded with a stunning goal from Morrell after 23 minutes which sent the the Reds fans delirious.
Wrexham continued to test Brighton with their impressive attacking play as the returning Danny Wright in particular caused plenty of problems.
There were no complaints about the way Wrexham went about their job and they were good value for their lead at the interval following an excellent display.
But the Reds were dealt a massive blow when the influential Wright left the field on a stretcher after dislocating an elbow with just over half an hour remaining.
The effort Wrexham were putting in, both in attack and defence, was immense and it was the Reds who carved out the better chances as they continued to go at the Seagulls whenever possible.
Brighton hadn’t looked like scoring but grabbed an equaliser after 77 minutes as they finally found a way past Wrexham’s stubborn back-line.
It was harsh on Wrexham as it was Brighton’s first shot on target, but to their credit the Reds did not let their heads drop and came closest to a winner in normal time.
Extra-time was the least Wrexham deserved and the action swung from end to end with both sides coming close to taking the lead, though Wrexham were once again leading the way in chances created.
In the end, Wrexham didn’t get the finish they wanted in the penalty shoot and the cup adventure came to an end.
But there are now bigger fish to fry and if Wrexham continue to play like this for the rest of the season, promotion back to the Football League is on the cards.
Morrell was forced into one change from the side that beat Tamworth on Saturday as leading scorer Jake Speight failed to overcome a hamstring problem so Wright took over in attack.
Although Brighton boss Poyet was without a number of players because of injury and suspension, he still named the strongest side he could possibly select – a sign of how seriously he was taking the tie.
Midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey failed to recover from injury sustained in the weekend win over Bristol City but key strikers Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Hoskins were both passed fit.
Brighton saw plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges and Matt Sparrow went close with a low drive, but Wrexham immediately earned their first corner from which Nat Knight-Percival headed wide of the far post.
Wrexham grew in confidence and created the best chance in the 19th minute when Neil Ashton’s free-kick into the area dropped to Morrell whose shot was blocked by keeper Peter Brezovan, and Jamie Tolley’s follow-up cleared the bar.
There was no let up from Wrexham who continued to press and the Reds were rewarded with the opening goal four minutes later.
Wright cut in from the left flank and beat two defenders before picking out Morrell whose curling shot from the edge of the area found the top corner of the net.
Will Buckley was too high from an acute angle as Brighton responded but the visitors were not getting any joy out of Wrexham’s solid defence.
Another excellent move led to the lively Wright breaking forward and although he was thwarted in the box, the ball fell for Jay Harris and his low drive was saved by Brezovan.
Wrexham continued where they left off at the start of the second half with Adrian Cieslewicz playing in Curtis Obeng who was thwarted by Brezovan.
But Wrexham suffered a huge blow in the 57th minute when Wright was stretchered off after falling awkwardly, and the striker was replaced by Glen Little.
Attempting to put the loss of Wright behind them, a flowing Wrexham move led to Morrell laying the ball off to Little and the substitute fired just over the bar.
Cieslewicz brought a save out of Brezovan after he was teed up by Harris but Brighton equalised in the 77th minute.
Torbjorn Agdestein played in Sparrow who centred from the by-line and substitute Barnes planted his header beyond keeper Joslain Mayebi.
Wrexham did not let it get to them and a Harris header was just too high while Clarke also planted a header over the bar from Ashton’s corner in added time.
Cieslewicz fired over the bar as the first period of extra-time got under way after Tolley’s initial shot was blocked, and Mark Creighton’s header from Tolley’s corner was brilliantly tipped around the post by Brezovan.
Back came Brighton and sub Agdestein was put through on goal but Mayebi produced a fantastic save while Clarke picked out Little with a superb pass at the other end but his shot fell inches wide of the far post.
Obeng fired wide at the start of the second period after being set up by Cieslewicz and the right-back also had a penalty shout turned down while Brezovan somehow tipped Harris’s header onto the bar after he met Little’s delivery with the last chance of extra-time.
Then it came down to keeping your nerve from the penalty spot and that’s where Wrexham’s dream came to an end.