Wrexham stunned by Southampton late show on Championship return

Wrexham was denied a Hollywood-style ending on their return to English soccer's second tier on Saturday when relegated Premier League team Southampton struck twice in the final minutes to grab a 2-1 win.

Josh Windass put Wrexham ahead on their return to the second tier of English football after a 43-year absence, converting a 22nd-minute penalty when fellow summer recruit Kieffer Moore was fouled.

Southampton -- two divisions higher than Wrexham last season -- pushed furiously throughout for reward, but they were fast running out of time when substitute Ryan Manning dispatched a superb 90th-minute free kick.

Saints were not done, though, as Manning burst down the left in the sixth minute of added time to deliver a cross that Jack Stephens lashed in off the crossbar at the back post to floor the club owned by Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Wrexham missed numerous chances to build on its lead. Ryan Hardie might have sealed the win in the 87th, but goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu tipped the Scottish forward's left-footed shot just wide.

"It hurts because the lads have given us a lot today," Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson told Sky Sports. "We had a chance to kill the game off. To be fair to Ryan, the keeper has made a brilliant save."

This was the first league meeting between the two sides for 65 years and a tale of two very different managers.

Southampton boss Will Still -- the youngest manager in the Championship at 32 -- was in charge of his first game in English football after working in Belgium and France.

Wrexham manager Parkinson, who began his career at Southampton before being released without making a single appearance, is the oldest manager in the division and has over 1,000 games under his belt and three successive promotions on his CV.

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Parkinson noted that Southampton, which won just two games in the Premier League last season, have "a multimillion-pound bench to throw on" as substitutes.

"I was very proud today, stood out there watching the team run out in front of our supporters," he added. "It was one of those moments where you kind of reflect back a little bit because of where we've come from, and for me to be stood here and be really disappointed we haven't got something out of the game says a lot for the squad."

There was no Tyler Dibling in the Southampton squad, with the teenage winger linked to Premier League clubs as Parkinson handed debuts to six of his eight summer signings.

Windass and Conor Coady had shooting opportunities inside the opening 10 minutes after Ryan Fraser had home fans off their seats inside 45 seconds by curling wide.

Chances came thick and fast as Saints wing back Welington fired into the side netting and Windass clattered the crossbar from 25 yards after being set free by Moore.

Wrexham went ahead after 22 minutes as Moore broke through before being blatantly pushed in the back by Ronnie Edwards.

Parkinson might have wondered why there was no red card to accompany the spot kick, but Windass coolly converted the penalty.

Lewis Brunt spurned a free header to double the lead, and a pulsating contest saw Parkinson join his defender Max Cleworth in referee James Bell's notebook.

Saints finished the half strongly, and Wrexham were fortunate to stay ahead as Adam Armstrong's shot on the turn went straight at Danny Ward.

The Wales goalkeeper's shoulder kept out Fraser, and the increasingly influential Jay Robinson stretched to turn the ball against the far post, with Coady twice denying Armstrong profiting from the rebound.

Saints maintained the pressure at the start of the second half, and Cleworth escaped sanction after his outstretched arm blocked Shea Charles' effort in the penalty area.

Wrexham lost Moore after he was injured in the act of shooting, and Saints continued to press, with substitute Mateus Fernandes' shot lacking the power to trouble Ward.

The Red Dragons wanted a second penalty when Lewis O'Brien went down after Stephens placed an arm on his shoulder, and Hardie's failure to beat Saints goalkeeper Bazunu one-on-one proved costly.

Information from PA Sport and The Associated Press was used in this report.