Jack Muldoon's header dumped Wrexham out of the FA Cup as League Two Harrogate Town earned a hard-fought 1-0 first-round win at The Exercise Stadium.
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Wrexham lose 1-0 to HarrogateMuldoon grabs headed winnerOut of FA Cup in round oneFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE
Wrexham started the game brightly and perhaps should have gone ahead in the opening salvos – either through Ollie Palmer or Paul Mullin. But against the run of play, veteran striker Muldoon gave the home side the lead with a beautifully guided header in the 24th minute.
George Dobson then spurned a glorious chance from a rapid counter-attack but once again, goalkeeper James Belshaw was equal to the task. The Harrogate stopper then made a reaction save to keep out Jon Dadi Bodvarsson's acrobatic strike from close range.
The League One side looked to have grabbed a late equaliser through substitute Modou Faal but the big striker was offside when he nodded home. Despite piling on the pressure, the Welsh side – who made it to round four for the past two seasons – fell at the first hurdle in the famous competition on Sunday.
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James Belshaw did his best impression of a brick wall as he kept Wrexham at bay time and time again. No matter who fired a shot at his goal, the Harrogate keeper would not be denied in his quest for a clean sheet.
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Dobson did not have his best game in a Wrexham shirt. The midfielder fluffed a glorious chance in the second half when he bore down on Harrogate's goal, the 26-year-old went into the book for a cynical foul and his fluffed clearance nearly led to a penalty for the hosts.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Wrexham return to League One action next Saturday when they take on fellow newly-promoted side Mansfield Town at Stok Cae Ras. They then travel to Port Vale in the EFL Trophy three days later.
