Southampton thrash Wrexham 5-1; Tonda Eckert’s handshake with Phil Parkinson goes viral

Southampton thrash Wrexham 5-1 and Tonda Eckert’s handshake with Phil Parkinson before the game goes viral across social media.

A huge victory which sees the Saints up to sixth in the Championship table, leapfrogging Wrexham, and taking control of their fate in the play-off race with a game in hand. The incredible run goes on for Southampton, sixteen matches unbeaten in all competitions, winning 13, five wins in a row in all competitions, scoring 12 goals, six wins in their last seven Championship matches, into the FA Cup semi-finals, back in the top six.

The fake smile when greeting, love this guy 🤣 #saintsfc pic.twitter.com/orSPPPC5O3

— Ames (@ameslou23) April 7, 2026

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, per BBC Sport:

“We haven’t had many games like that since I’ve been here.

“You can’t give a good team opportunities like we gave them tonight. They’re a good side and they punished us.”

Parkinson, per Sky Sports:

“We’ve got to use this as a lesson, even at this late stage of the season. We knew coming into this game the importance of it, and it hurts a lot that we haven’t put in a competitive performance.

“It shows if your levels drop you can get punished. We got cruelly punished in that first 20 minutes. We were nowhere near it in many aspects of the game.

“But there’s still all to play for. I’ll look at it closely and make sure we’re ready for the weekend.”

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert:

“I think it helped us a lot that we had some freshness in the team today.

“We knew that we needed to take control early on, and we did this, especially in the first 20-25 minutes.

“Overall I thought we had good control. We knew that if we stayed and worked in our structure, we would get some moments in the second half and I thought we did that well.”

Eckert, per Sky Sports:

“I think the team is so focused at the very moment, there’s not much that I need to say. My job is just to make sure that I prepare them in the best way possible for the games coming up.

“To kick off Championship football again – it’s been some time since the last game. It feels like forever. We just needed to make sure that we kick-started again and I think the boys did that very well.

“We play Saturday-Tuesday now until the end of the season but I think the rhythm is good. Now we need to finish off games quickly, stay humble, and always keep working.”

Here’s how fans reacted after Southampton thrash Wrexham 5-1, and Tonda Eckert’s handshake with Phil Parkinson goes viral across social media…

@xemma79x: Well done Southampton, totally outplayed us from the start, deserved the win

@Shaunsaint1976: FA cup semi and a huge win in the league. Sports Republic gonna get some praise for a change? 😜😇😇 Hands up if this season is more fun that the last two Premier League ones!!🕺

@capaled: Best side that we have faced at home this season, when we met earlier in the season definitely thought you had quality, just needed a decent manager now you have I can definitely see you going up. Would have got auto’s if you appointed him sooner.

@onefortheroad22: You gave us a pasting. Could have been more. Impressive

@dezroberts1: 11h
Fair play, you’ve got a side that’s littered with quality. Definitely be getting promoted come end of season. Best side ive seen this season, comfortably too.

@WHaslum: Fair play to you lot and your fans who were loud for a lot of the game. You outplayed us and looked a whole different level to us

@Craigydlyd: Different class that. Sounds obvious with the scoreline but the best team to come to the Racecourse this season (includig Forest and Chelsea)

@jlwstag:
On behalf of everyone thank you
Always loved Southampton me
What a week for you guys

@KaiserBCFC_: This should put you back in your fucking box. Coming up, talking about back to back promotions and trying to buy the league. Know your place.

@PlayzytStyle: Cheers lads, let me know when the documentarie’s out and what episode both games are on 👍🏻

@wxm_afc: Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit you got absolutely hammered by a much better team.

@wrex1980: All the glory hunter Wrexham so called fans leaving early. The ones who started “supporting” Wrexham when Rob and Ryan took over. Stay and support the team until the end, through thick and thin.

@AlexF1BCL: Like a Hollywood script this

@pintio97: Dream of promotion is over but reality check very much needed for what I’m sure will be lots of head loss. Top half of the championship, play off battle this late in the season and beaten by an ex prem team? More than happy with this season. Bring on next year

@Joe_sfc01: What happens when you play a proper club lads x

@Lijoh1: Southampton were far better than us tonight & deserved the win. Thought we were gonna get back in it at 2-1 but fell apart after the 3rd goal. Can’t be dilly dallying at this level, got to be more creative & clinical. Still, been a cracking season so far & it’s not over yet.

@dezroberts1: The difference in quality was absolutely stark, but saying that we can’t start games like the last two and expect to do anything against sides like these. We’ve been piss poor. Few players are way to passive, need upgrading in summer. The team ain’t good enough for play offs