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Wrexham’s Elliot Lee takes aim at Shrewsbury’s Tom Flanagan over ‘semi-pro’ dig

Wrexham’s Elliot Lee takes aim at Shrewsbury’s Tom Flanagan over making a ‘semi-pro’ dig before the two sides’ FA Cup clash on Sunday.

The League Two promotion chasers came away with a 1-0 victory at the Croud Meadow to advance through to the Fourth Round.

Elliot Lee couldn’t help however speak about the pre-match comments coming from Shrewsbury defender Tom Flanagan, who had said Wrexham were “semi-professional players last season” as they won promotion from the National League.

“I’m big on the respect thing between football clubs, but let’s make it known, they’re a League Two team; they’re coming here as a League Two team,” Flanagan told BBC Radio Shropshire’s Salopcast. “Other League Two teams have come here, and we’ve beaten them.

“So the expectation is that we beat them, whether it’s a local derby or not, they’re a League Two team. Who owns them, what they wear, who they are has absolutely no bearing on the game whatsoever.

“I’ve seen a few things, and it’s like we’ve drawn a Premier League team, it’s certainly not the case, they were semi-professional footballers last season.”

Elliot Lee told S4C’s Sgorio: “We knew as a team the importance of the game.

“They’re a big physical team and, being a local rivalry, it was always going to be a great game and I thought the boys were outstanding.

“It was a great performance and I’d like to dedicate that to one of their players, Tom Flanagan, who said that we were full of semi-pro players last year.

“So that one’s for you, mate!”

Flanagan didn’t play in the game, as he currently has a long-term injury.

As mentioned, Wrexham were the happier of the two sides, with thanks to Tom O’Connor’s deflected strike in the second half.

“It’s so important to us and the gaffer drives that into us every day, how important the cup is and the history the club has in it,” Lee added.

“We want to go out there and do the best we can for the fans. The following out there today [Sunday] was incredible.

“For them to come here and have the bragging rights it means a lot, so we are delighted to be in the next round and in the draw.

“We’re hoping for a great draw and another great result.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson said: “First of all, it was a day for our supporters today – I said that to the lads after the game, it’s a day they deserved,” Parkinson said.

“Obviously 15 years ago, when we lost our league status, we lost a game here against Shrewsbury that was very damaging and it’s great for our supporters to go home happy today – not just the ones who are here, but the ones watching on TV.

“It was a tough game and it was always going to be. They had a great win against Fleetwood Town on New Year’s Day and I thought they played very well.

“At times, in the first half, we gave ourselves our own problems – we were a little slow playing out from the back and we invited that press onto us – but I felt as the game wore on we got stronger, and we always felt the sting and energy of that press would die to a certain degree and we’d get more control of the game.

“The game was more or less how we thought it would be, but we probably didn’t make the right decisions in that first 10-15 minutes. We got better in the first half, just mixed our game up, and we started to bring the control and the performance and I thought in the second half we stepped it up brilliantly.

“The FA Cup is a bonus for us, we know that, but we represent a Club that has a great tradition in this competition and every time we go into a game I remind the lads of that. We’ve sent the supporters home pleased today, and the lads should be very proud of the performance.

“That was a hard game, a really hard game – these are a powerful League One outfit. It was a great test for us, and I thought we stood up to it really well.

“I can only reiterate what I said leading up to the game – I don’t think Shrewsbury are necessarily the best footballing team in League One, but they are a powerful team.

“As you go up the leagues, players get more powerful – they’re quicker, they’re sharper in everything they do – and it was interesting to see if we could cope with that. For the first 10-15 minutes, it looked as if it caught us out a little bit. As the game wore on, physically we got stronger, and technically we improved as well.

“George put in an outstanding performance today, in all aspects – headers, tackles, regains – but obviously passing the ball and switching the play, we work on it a lot in training and he is instrumental in that. He was really good today,” Parkinson exclaimed.

“Tommy is a good finisher. He hasn’t got the goals this year, but he will. The ball has a habit of dropping to him in the box.

“ It was a nice touch of calmness from Sam as well, just laying the ball back to him, and if you hit the target it’s always got a chance. Yes it got deflected, but it’s Tommy’s goal.”

Shrewsbury: Marosi, Feeney (Pierre 90), Dunkley, Anderson (Sraha 78), Benning (Idowu 68), Bennett, Kenneh, Perry, Sobowale (Bayliss 68), Shipley, Bowman (Mata 78).

Subs not used: Burgoyne, Winchester, Loughran, Whitney.

Wrexham: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Tozer, O’Connor, Forde (Barnett 68), Cannon (Jones 77′), Evans, Lee (J. Davies 90), McClean, Fletcher (Dalby 68), Mullin.

Subs not used: McNicholas, Boyle, McFadzean, Young, Bickerstaff.

Referee: Andrew Kitchen

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor said: “It’s a tough one. You can’t dominate a game of football in the way that we did and then be stood here having not won the game.

“Look, the margins in any game are so fine and I thought we got a performance today from our players. The energy was excellent, they pressed, they had a real verve about them in the first 15-20 minutes.

“And we get that really big chance in the first half and we don’t take it. Marko hasn’t had a save to make and he’s picked the ball out of his net once.

“I would imagine when I look back and I look at the statistics of the game, the big chances and the big moments fell to us and we’ve not taken them.

“I think I’ve got to, as you do when you do this job, come out and own the facts and look at what has happened, today we got a really dominant performance.

“I thought for spells in that game we were better than Wrexham but I’m stood here talking about a loss.

“The margins are fine, but you can’t come away from the fact that we’ve missed two glorious opportunities inside their six-yard box.

“That wasn’t the case six days ago and that shows you just how important goals are.

“I think we’ve spent a lot of time this season talking about goals and the lack of them. But it was about the fact we weren’t creating chances. Now we’re creating chances and not finishing them, it’s just not good enough from my perspective and I know the players feel the same.”

This is how fans reacted after Wrexham’s Elliot Lee takes aim at Shrewsbury’s Tom Flanagan over his ‘semi-pro’ dig…

@IanReay9: Brilliant 😂

@JadeLWilliams86: No one will convince me otherwise that Elliot Lee has got Wrexham in his blood nowadays 😂

@beardywxm: Imagine how good we will be when we go pro! 😂

@Owen08Johnathan: my midfielder right there ❤️

@stevetudorjame1: love this club 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 get in

@adpeers: What a lad

@andydavies80: 🤣 love this @Wrexham_AFC #WxmAFC

@agwilliams86: My fucking hero!!! You rrrrreeeeeeeddddsdssssss!!!!!! 🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

@nicksfoodblog: He goes by the name of Elliot Lee, Elliot Lee 🎶

@GazEvans23: I absolutely love this! 😂😂

@davekeighley80: This man is @Wrexham_AFC big love @ElliotLee9 😂

@BurkeyShark: I’ll say it yet again: I fucking love Elliot Lee!!

@AdamDavies17: Beautifully put @ElliotLee9 🔴⚪️

@sherryspeaks: Cheeky fella here! Love it!!

@Fplwinner1: 😅😅😅 Superbly said Mr Lee.. Upthetown. On to the 4th round..

@WrexhamTexans: Got even more respect for this guy now. 👏👏

@Ed9Baker: 🚬🚬we’ll give it a go in the 4th round

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