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To say the opening months of Liberato Cacace’s Wrexham career have been stop-start would be an understatement.
The New Zealand international has suffered three separate injury issues since moving to the Stok Cae Ras from Italian side Empoli in mid-July.
But on his first start in more than two months against Nottingham Forest, the left wing-back kick-started what was to be a memorable night for Phil Parkinson’s side as he struck his first goal for the club in sublime fashion.
The outpour of emotion during his celebration told the whole story.
“I celebrated like crazy because it was all of that seven or eight weeks of stress, it kind of built up,” he said.
“I’ve just had great people around me, a great support team and the ones close, they helped me get through it.”
The 25-year-old has started just five of his side’s 26 Championship fixtures this season due to his time in and out of the treatment room.
But having recovered from his latest setback, the 33-cap international is now bidding to feature prominently over the remaining months of his debut campaign in north Wales.
“It’s been a long road, it’s been frustrating but I’m glad to be back and to help the team and get through,” added Cacace.
“I’m just looking to build on my minutes, get fit, find momentum and continuity because that’s what I’m hoping for now.”
Prior to the contest, Parkinson revealed he showed his players iconic clips of Wrexham’s rich history in the world’s oldest national football competition – which included the famous 2-1 win over Arsenal in 1992.
“Yesterday we saw the games that Wrexham had played in the past,” Cacace said.
“It’s great to add to the history of the FA Cup for Wrexham and I’m glad as well personally that I could score a goal in the FA Cup.”
Ollie Rathbone and Dom Hyam added to Cacace’s 37th minute strike as Wrexham went on to beat Sean Dyche’s outfit 4-3 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw after regular time and extra time.
Their reward for beating Premier League opposition for the first time since 1999 is a home tie with Championship rivals Ipswich Town in round four.
And Cacace was quick to point out how his side showed “fight for the badge, for the players, for their team-mates, for the fans, for everyone” against Forest.
“It’s a magical night. Just a classic FA Cup game. To win against Premier League side, it’s a really, really nice feeling,” said Cacace.
“I guess for the fans, it just had everything and to win on penalties, it’s an even better feeling.”
The Red Dragons – unbeaten in their past 10 league matches at home – sit just one point adrift of the Championship’s play-off places ahead of their return to league action against strugglers Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
They head into that fixture against the Canaries having won four successive league games in the second tier for the first time in the club’s history.
“The gaffer touched on it after the game. We’ve got great momentum heading into the game against Norwich now,” Cacace added.
“We’ve got a good break as well, I think it’s eight days to the Norwich game so I think the boys deserve a rest and I think they’re ready to go again on Saturday.”
