Wrexham star gets his own back on club who trolled him by scoring huge winner
Several years after ex-employers Crawley made a jibe at the expense of their former forward, Wrexham frontman Ollie Palmer came back to haunt his old side while leading Wrexham to victory
Good things come to those who wait, and Ollie Palmer’s patience paid off in a major way on Saturday.
The Wrexham striker has played a big role in the club’s rise back to League Two after joining their ranks in January 2022. And Palmer was on hand to provide the winner away to Crawley Town on Saturday when he converted with a deft flick to earn Phil Parkinson’s men all three points.
Victory was that much sweeter considering Wrexham played the final half-hour with only 10 men, but it was particularly poignant for Palmer himself. That’s after the 6’5″ frontman was once baited by former employers Crawley after leaving them for AFC Wimbledon in 2020.
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It was only a few months after Palmer’s departure from Broadfield Stadium that he faced off against his old club in that season’s FA Cup. The Dons suffered a second-round exit after losing 2-1 at home to Crawley, who mocked their old charge with a post suggesting former defender Tom Dallison had pocketed his old team-mate.
Almost three years later, Wrexham’s social media team showed they have long memories with a post reminding the Red Devils of their past comments. Last season’s National League champions attached a clip of Palmer’s plump finish, along with the caption: “Ollie Palmer never forgets. . .”
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The journeyman’s winner marked his third goal from his last 10 appearances this term, with the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney- owned outfit well in the hunt for back-to-back promotions. Despite starting the season with a nightmarish 5-3 loss to MK Dons, Wrexham have suffered just one more defeat in their last 11 outings and sit seventh in the standings.
As fate would have it, victory at Broadfield was enough to pull the club level on points with Crawley. And another of Palmer’s former clubs, AFC Wimbledon, sits just one point above the pair in fourth as things stand.
Needless to say Crawley might think twice regarding whom they mock in future, particularly when it’s a player who scored 30 goals across two campaigns in their colours. It appears there were some sour grapes between the two parties after Palmer supposedly turned down a new contract at Crawley, but an act of spite came back to bite the promotion hopefuls.
There’s no let-up in competition for Wrexham, either, as they prepare to host an in-form Salford side next Saturday. Meanwhile, Crawley are hoping to recover from back-to-back losses and all of a sudden find themselves outside the play-off places.
