It’s not quite time for “Paul Mullin, the movie” but it could happen if the Wrexham striker keeps claiming the spotlight.
Mullin was the goalscoring hero who scored 38 times for the club last season as they secured promotion back to the Football League by winning the National League title.
And he was at it again at the weekend, scoring for Wrexham in their first win on their pre-season tour of the United States.
Wrexham are already big news in the USA thanks to their Hollywood owners and the series, “Welcome to Wrexham” but now some of their new fans have seen them in the flesh.
The tour began with a heavy 5-0 defeat to Chelsea, but at the weekend they celebrated a famous win.
Fans sporting red Wrexham shirts outnumbered those backing MLS reserve team LA Galaxy II at the friendly in Carson, which was won 4-0 by the boys from the Racecourse Ground.
Mullin was once again the key man – providing two assists and a goal of his own.
Wrexham face Manchester United on Tuesday in San Diego before wrapping up their tour with a visit to Chester, Pennsylvania for a match against Bethlehem Steel on Saturday.
Season two of “Welcome to Wrexham” is set to begin streaming in the U.S. on Sept. 12.
Cardiff City were also involved in a pre-season game with a 4-0 scoreline – although this one was a defeat.
The Bluebirds were beaten by Porto in the Algarve, where Aaron Ramsey made his first appearance in club colours since the Wales captain rejoined the club where he began his career.
Cardiff manager Erol Bulut said: “The last game he played was three-and-a-half weeks ago [for Wales] against Turkey.
“He played two [international] games and then had three weeks off. He hasn’t lost much of his physical condition. It was a good 45 minutes, so we have to build on it.”
Swansea City also lost in their latest pre-season game at the weekend – going down 1-0 away to Oxford United.
Marcus Browne struck the only goal of the game in the seventh minute.
New Swans head coach Michael Duff said: “I thought we were sloppy at times in possession, which I hope is not going to be like us as the one thing we can do is pass the ball.
“But this is about minutes, and being asked some questions we had not faced so far in pre-season. That’s good because it is something to work on.”
The rugby season in Wales has yet to start, but we have seen the first coaching departure.
Cardiff Rugby’s director of rugby Dai Young has left the Arms Park by mutual consent, even though he was exonerated after an investigation into bullying allegations.
Cardiff issued a statement, saying that despite being cleared of the allegations through insufficient evidence, the process had put a strain on the relationship between the coach and his employers.
His departure leaves Cardiff without a head figure in their coaching team, with Matt Sherratt and Richie Rees currently holding the reins with the players back in pre-season training.
A Cardiff statement said: “Following a thorough process, the barrister concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations and that no further action should be taken in relation to them.
“Unfortunately, this process has caused strain on the working relationship between Cardiff Rugby and Dai Young.”
Former rugby player Gerwyn Price had no joy at the World Matchplay Darts, but his Wales teammate Jonny Clayton emerged with much pride and more admirers after finishing runner-up in the final on Sunday night.
“The Ferret” was denied in the final by a brilliant performance from Nathan Aspinall, who romped away to an 18-6 victory.
Clayton – who, like Aspinall, was featuring in his maiden World Matchplay final – performed magnificently in his run to the last game, which was fueled by his desire to triumph for his ill father.
The Carmarthenshire thrower had only claimed a solitary win at the Winter Gardens prior to this year’s tournament, and he was full of praise for the inspired Aspinall.
“I came out of the blocks well but then Nathan just turned up,” conceded the 48-year-old, who pocketed the £100,000 runner-up prize.
“I cannot argue with the result. I was beaten by the better player, and what a fantastic guy he is.”
It was a notable weekend for Melissa Courtney-Bryant, who smashed a second Welsh athletics record inside a week.
Five days after breaking the Welsh women’s 1500m mark with a new sub-four minute run of 3:58.01, the Wales Commonwealth Games star broke the mile record at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday night.
In, arguably, the greatest female mile race in history – a race in which the world record was shattered by almost five seconds – Courtney-Bryant finished seventh in a Welsh record time of 4:16.38.
That broke the old Welsh record of 4:19.41 set by Kirsty McDermott in Oslo back in 1985.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon ripped apart the world record when she completed the race in four minutes, 7.64 seconds to smash Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan’s 2019 mark of 4:12.33.
