A quarter of the game had elapsed by the time Ollie Palmer broke the deadlock with a header from just outside the six-yard box. Fans then didn’t have to wait very long for the second, although it needed a few bites of the cherry after Jack Marriott’s initial effort was saved and James McClean hit the post, Elliot Lee was the one who successfully gobbled up the rebound to create daylight.

Soon after the break it was a case of ‘Cannon by name, cannon by nature’, as midfielder Andy Cannon made it 3-0 with a thunderbolt from outside the penalty area. Wrexham were up and cruising by then, ceding control of possession to Reading but carving out chances here and there, all the while limiting the wasteful Royals to just a single shot on target. There was also the welcome sight of Paul Mullin off the bench after minor spinal surgery in summer meant he hadn’t played since April.

• Since the start of last season, Wrexham have scored more home goals than any other team in the top four divisions of English football and that wasn’t about to change at SToK Cae Ras in this one.

  Wing-back Ryan Barnett was the architect of Wrexham’s ultimately decisive first half goals, both made and scored courtesy of his crosses into the box. He only got assist credit for the first, mind, headed in by Palmer, due to the second from Lee being the rebound from a rebound.

  • It’s a very long way from Berkshire to north Wales and Reading fans who made the trip won’t have been impressed by their team’s attempted finishing. Wrexham score a lot of goals, but they are capable of conceding them in numbers too and had they managed any more than one out of 12 shots on target (Wrexham had seven of 12 on target), this one might have been slightly closer.

    • Wrexham went into this game having seen rivals Stockport County win earlier in the day to maintain a perfect 100% winning start. Despite dropping points against Bolton in gameweek two, the Red Dragons are still within touching distance and will hope to close the gap with upcoming League One fixtures against Peterbrough and Shrewsbury over the next fortnight.