After playing in front of over 50,000 fans at Chapel Hill, against two-time Champions League winners Chelsea, Wrexham AFC manager Phil Parkinson reflected on the past few days since landing in the USA.
The Red Dragons gave a strong account of themselves in front of a sell-out crowd, before three late goals from Mauricio Pochettino’s side put the game to bed.
It was a stern test against the Blues, with big-money signings Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku making their debuts for the London side since joining earlier this summer.
“It was a really enjoyable day,” Parkinson explained. “You always want to keep the score lower than it ended up, but in terms of the performance there was lots of positives for us.
“I thought we worked very hard, and we had to, because Chelsea have got so many technical players. We played against a very good team, and I thought we had chances but just weren’t clinical enough in the final third.
“There was a real honesty about our performance, and we looked as though we could create something going the other way. it was just that final moment that didn’t go for us tonight, and when you get beat 5-0 against anyone there’s always a tinge of disappointment.”
Following the conclusion of the match at Chapel Hill, the squad’s focus shifts to their next leg of the US tour, as they take on LA Galaxy II on Saturday night.
The manager went on to explain the importance of the tour and emphasised that he was pleased with the showing against the Blues – even if there were some lessons to be learned from the experience.
“Getting everybody together on a preseason trip is always great to bond the group, they’re already a tight-knit group after the experiences that we have had.
“It is a great lesson for us, and the lads can take a lot of positives from it but can also look at areas which we can improve.
“In general, we are pleased with how we have worked tonight, and it is a great progression going into the next game in Los Angeles.”
Since landing stateside, there has been an outpouring of support for the Red Dragons at the opening stage of their US Tour.
Parkinson was full of praise for all the supporters who came to see the team, both at Chapel Hill last night and also those who attended the open training session on Tuesday.
“The open training session was fantastic, it was a great chance to try and engage with all the supporters, both the Wrexham supporters and Chelsea ones too.
“It’s important to spread the word that it (football) is a great game and can be entertaining and it can be a fantastic spectacle.
“Being in the town over the last few days, the amount of people with Wrexham shirts or Wrexham caps has blown us all away and it’s great to see.
“We hope that all of our supporters over here can continue following us in this journey next season.”