Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrate after Wrexham beat ...

Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrated in the stands as Wrexham moved closer to promotion from the National League in dramatic fashion today.

The Welsh club have shot to international fame through the reality television series 'Welcome to Wrexham', which charts the fortunes of the team since their 2020 sale to Reynolds and McElhenney.

Wrexham have played in the fifth-tier National League for the last 15 years, but, revitalised by their celebrity owners, they are on the verge of a return to the professional ranks in League Two.

Reynolds and McElhenney were in attendance to witness a tense 3-2 win over promotion rivals Notts County at the Racecourse Ground. And fittingly there was a plot twist ripped straight from a feelgood Hollywood movie as former England goalkeeper Ben Foster saved a stoppage-time penalty to preserve Wrexham's vital victory.

After receiving the freedom of the borough at a civic ceremony earlier in the day, Reynolds and McElhenney watched John Bostock's stunning free-kick put Notts County ahead late in the first half.

Paul Mullin and Jacob Mendy struck to give Wrexham a 2-1 lead before Kyle Cameron equalised 15 minutes from time. But Elliot Lee quickly restored Wrexham's advantage and the 40-year-old Foster, who came out of retirement last month after regular 'keeper Rob Lainton was injured, saved Cedwyn Scott's last-gasp penalty to spark wild celebrations from the club's famous owners.

Locals at the Red Lion pub in Marford also dubbed the boozer 'Red Ryan' as tribute to the Candian actor. 

Aled Howells, 51, said: 'Ryan and Rob have turned the club around. I'm so glad Ryan is moving to Marford, we'd love to have a pint with him.' 

Aled's brother Marc Howells, 50, said: 'I feel like I've had about three heart attacks watching that. They should have a defibrillator outside the pub. But there's a real feel good factor about the town, the area and the club at the moment and it's down to the owners.'

Dai Jones, 54 and Mark Slater, 52, watched the match with Aled and Marc.

Mr Jones said: 'It's such a good story, Ryan and Rob have put the town on the map. It's brilliant.'

Mr Slater added: 'I haven't seen a game like that for ages- end to end stuff. We're now in the driving seat for promotion and I hope we can cling on.'

Proudly wearing her Wrexham shirt, Bethany Williams, 27, said: 'Ryan will be welcomed with open arms in this village and this pub... which we've renamed The Red Ryan in his honour! 

'It's so exciting being a Wrexham fan at the moment.'

It comes after Reynolds joined McElhenney at a crunch promotion clash this afternoon – after the pair were awarded the freedom of the borough in a low-key ceremony.

Deadpool actor Reynolds, 46, who it emerged today has bought a £1.5million house in a village close to the Welsh town, and McElhenney received the honour after pumping in £10million as the club bids to return to the Football League.

However the ceremony – attended by invited councillors and other local dignitaries - took place behind closed doors, with only a film crew understood to be part of the team behind Disney Plus documentary series Welcome to Wrexham documenting the event.

Speaking at today's ceremony, Reynolds recalled his first encounter with the Wrexham supporters club over Zoom while the pair were attempting to launch their takeover in 2020. Wearing a Wrexham AFC jacket, he told dignitaries he didn't think 'I've ever been as nervy as I was in that exact moment'.

To laughter, he continued: 'And I realised I was wrong, and that was second only to going into a game with Notts County tied on 100 points!

'So I've not slept in a couple of days just in anticipation of this.'

Reynolds added that he was 'so touched that I get to be a part of this story'.

'I know that we're here so that you guys can thank us, for some reason. But I feel like it's the other way around and we want to thank you.

'What you've given us is something that I could never… words are too clumsy to quantify what it means to me, what it means to Rob…'

The award comes after civic leaders praised the duo for helping give the town 'global promotion'.

Council leader Mark Pritchard said: 'Football is the beating heart of our community and there's always been incredible passion and support for the club.

'We have an amazing story here in Wrexham, along with a unique character and identity that is winning fans all over the world.

'These two Hollywood actors have had an incredible impact on both the football club and the community and have helped catapult Wrexham onto the world stage.

'You couldn't wish to meet two nicer people - they really are two wonderful guys.'

After being nominated for the honour last year, McElhenney and Reynolds said in a statement that it 'recognises that we have begun to achieve what it was that we set out to deliver, off the pitch'.

'This isn't about us, we created an opportunity that the community firstly embraced and is now taking forward,' they added.

But the granting of Wrexham's highest award was opposed by two Conservative councillors after Reynolds liked an Instagram post by club striker Paul Mullin which contained the words 'f*** the Tories'.

Speaking last December, group leader Hugh Jones said the 'timing, the values and the priorities' of the honour were 'wrong'.

'We're awarding the freedom at a time when one of their star players has engaged in a message of hate to a section of our community, and one of the owners has liked an Instagram post containing that same message of hate,' he said.

Wrexham AFC has said the club takes a 'neutral position' on politics.

Afterwards Reynolds and McElhenney were pictured at Wrexham's Racecourse ground ahead of the side's 3pm Easter Monday kick-off.

The Red Dragons suffered their first defeat in 27 National League matches at the hands of Halifax on Good Friday, ceding top spot to Notts County, with both sides on 100 points with five games to go.

Last week Reynolds posted on Instagram: 'A big few weeks ahead for Wrexham FC. Nervy as hell.'

On the eve of the match it emerged that Reynolds had bought a house in the quiet nearby village of Marford for a reported £1.5million.

A local told the Sun: 'The most famous person from Marford is Tim Vincent from Blue Peter, so a Hollywood star is a step up!

'It might not be the Big Apple but the red carpet will be rolled out when Ryan comes to town.'

The four bed property – which is five miles from Wrexham's ground - is nevertheless a step down compared to the £4.3million home in New York where he lives with wife Blake Lively, 35, and their children.

Reynolds , along with co-chairman Rob McElhenney, have helped transform Welsh team Wrexham FC, and have had huge success documenting their progress in season one of their documentary series, 'Welcome to Wrexham'. 

In August last year Reynolds revealed his wife was not particularly happy when he told her the he had bought the Welsh team with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor McElhenney.

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he said: 'I remember seeing Blake, saying, 'I have bad news and I have really bad news. I slipped into someone's DMs again. The really bad news is that I might have bought half of a fifth-tier national football league in Wales.'' 

However, Ms Lively has been snapped cheering on Reynold's club. In May last year the couple watched Wrexham take on Bromley during the Buildbase FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium in London.