Record breaker Bellamy shuffles his pack and stretches his unbeaten run to four.

Posted on October 15, 2024 by The other Bob Wilson

 It’s a bit of a nod to the sort of team Wales have been down the years that Craig Bellamy’s three game unbeaten introduction to the Wales manager’s job is the most successful start in the post in our history.

Well, now he’s stretched it to four with a hard fought, but deserved, win over Montenegro at Cardiff City Stadium tonight in their latest Nations League game. In many ways, it was like Bellamy’s first three matches in charge as a generally impressive first half was followed by a second period that was more of a struggle, but the most encouraging part of the night for me was that this was a long way short of the best team Wales can field and yet they were definitely the better of the two sides because for all of the increased share in the game that Montenegro enjoyed after the break, I can’t remember Karl Darlow in the  Welsh goal having a save to make.

Darlow for Danny Ward was one of a slew of changes Bellamy made, some were forced, but most weren’t as the motivation in these early fixtures almost seems to as much about seeing as many of his squad in action as he can as it does about getting enough points to see us restored to the top tier of the Nations League with all of the benefits that can bring.

In defence, Ben Davies moved to left back with Ben Cabango coming in, while in a very makeshift midfield as Jordan James missed out with suspension, Josh Sheehan came into the team as its only specialist central midfielder. Only Harry Wilson survived out of the forward players from the draw in Iceland as David Brooks, Liam Cullen, Wes Burns and Mark Harris were all introduced with the last named being the lone striker.

It looked a strange mix on paper, but it provided a bit more evidence for those who argue that formations are, if not a thing of the past, a little outmoded today as it’s all about rotations and movement these days.

If you asked me to name the system we played, I’d say it was a kind of 4-1-4-1 with Sheehan the defensive midfielder and Brooks and Burns wide on the flanks, but captain Ben Davies often played a bit further forward to take him out of a flat back four and the nominal right back Neco Williams was often further forward than the dictates of orthodox full back play allow.

Although there were plenty in tonight’s starting line up who wouldn’t be there if Bellamy was selecting what he recognises as our strongest team, one advantage was that the likes of Sheehan, Cullen, Harris and Cabango have been playing most weeks this season for their clubs, so, although the second half decline was there tonight to a degree, it was not as pronounced as it had been in our two away games we’ve played so far.

Although I agreed with the nomination of Sheehan as Man of the Match on S4C, Wales’ best moments of the first half tended to come when Brooks and Wilson combined down the right with the latter being the most influential attacking player on the pitch. 

Wilson’s driven cross was just missed by Harris and Burns arriving on the far post couldn’t direct his header on target. The Fulham man then sent Cullen in on goal with a delightful through ball in the inside right channel only for the Swansea player, who always scores against City, to lob just over.

Brooks tested Montenegro goalkeeper Igor Nikic with a couple of long range efforts that he was equal to, but he wasn’t reaching Wilson’s low shot from twenty yards if it had been about a yard to the left. 

It was no real surprise that a penalty turned out be the way the deadlock was broken given Wales’ inability to cash in on the number of opportunities they had in the first half in particular. 

The goal arrived around the thirty five minute mark after Wilson was brought down by Vladimir Jovovic. I say brought down, there was the lightest of contacts, but that’s all a forward needs to fall over these days and it was enough to persuade the ref Filip Glova to point to the spot.

Wilson himself took the penalty which easily found the net with a he aimed right and Nikic dived left and Montenegro were on their way to their sixth straight defeat.

The only time Wales looked in serious danger after that of losing their lead was when sub Andrija Radulovic cut in and hit a shot from twenty yards that flew back off the crossbar.

However, Montenegro didn’t build on this and, although they were able to have more possession and territory in the second period, it was still Wales who were having, and missing, the better chances.

Hopes had risen through the first half with news that Turkey had fallen a goal behind in Iceland, but, they were to fight back in impressive style to record a 4-2 win. Wales therefore look long shots to win the group, but they will go to Turkey next month knowing that if they could win their last two matches they would finish first.

At age group level, pride of place over the week of international fixtures has to go to the under 19s who followed up a 3-3 draw with Italy  with a 4-3 victory in the second match between the teams – City’s Luey Giles captained the  side and Ewan Griffiths started in goal, while Roman Kpakio, Dakari Mafico and Trey George all were on the subs bench.

At under 16 level, Wales ended as runners up to the Republic of Ireland in the Victory Shield after a lone goal (again coming from the penalty spot) proved enough to beat hosts Scotland.

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Admin blunder costs under 21s on a deflating day for Welsh football.

Posted on October 12, 2024 by The other Bob Wilson

I’d been looking forward to today’s two Wales games all week, but this was an occasion where the anticipation was so much better than the actuality. In fact, at the end of it all, deflation is the overriding emotion.

There are two reasons for this. In the first instance, Wales under 21s were on the cusp of a top two finish in their qualifying group for the Euros knowing they had a good chance of qualifying automatically even with a second place finish if they could beat Czechia at Rodney Parade.

However, in a manner that makes you question whether the FAW have really moved on from their bad old days of no training kits and, what was it, an eleven seater aeroplane which the Committee promptly purloined, an “admin error” meant that six members of their squad could not take part in the game!

Apparently, the members of the squad (including full internationals Rubin Colwill and Owen Beck) that had not been involved in the win in Iceland last month had not been registered to play this time – I’d say it was amateur hour stuff, but that’s being unfair to the hundreds of volunteers who do the admin work for all sorts of clubs in local football every weekend.

So, Wales had to play their most important game at this level for more than a decade while feeling the effects of an entirely self inflicted wound and the result was completely predictable as they went down 2-1 leaving them relying on bottom of the table Lithuania avoiding defeat in Czechia on Tuesday to maintain our interest in the tournament.

I’ll return to the under 21s briefly later on, but the second reason for my deflation was that the senior side, after playing so well to go in at half time 2-0 up in their Nations League match in Iceland, ended it lucky to escape with a point in a 2-2 draw and with eleven men still on the pitch as they fell away in abject, sloppy and indisciplined fashion to see two of the first choice team, Brennan Johnson and Jordan James, miss the Montenegro game because of a suspension for two bookings.

Just as in their win in Montenegro last month, Wales made a fast start. Neco Williams, a clear man of the match as he was, for me, our best player in both halves, had already played a lovely left to right cross field pass when he tried another long ball on ten minutes as Harry Wilson got beyond his marker and was put clean through on goal. Hakon Valdimarsson in the home goal half blocked Wilson’s shot and the ball rolled slowly towards the net only for the keeper to claw it clear a foot or so from the line, but all this did was leave the in form Johnson with a tap in from less than a yard out.

Iceland’s defence was struggling to cope with Wales’ runs from deep and with Keiffer Moore dominant, further goals were on the cards – Moore’s close range effort flew straight at the keeper and Wilson had a shot deflected onto an upright, but Wales were not to be denied and another spectacular pass by Williams picked out Wilson again as this time the Fulham man confidently took the ball down and netted from fifteen yards.

Wilson found Sorba Thomas with a similar type of pass to leave him in on goal, but Valdimarsson was able to save this time and with Williams completing his perfect first half with a last ditch clearance off the line, I’m sure I wasn’t the only Welsh fan expecting more of the same in the second half.

Instead, all we got was almost one way traffic towards the Welsh goal. Wales, with Wes Burns on for Johnson, looked complacent and careless right from the start of the second period. Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Eidur, hit the crossbar, but this warning wasn’t heeded as Wales, now shaken out of their complacency, but still giving the ball away so carelessly at times rode their luck to survive until the sixty ninth minute when Iceland were allowed to work a corner routine which gave Logi Tomasson the time to fire a good low twenty yard shot past Danny Ward. Three minutes later, the home side were level when Tomasson dribbled past a labouring Connor Roberts (I’m still trying to figure out what Joe Rodon was doing while this was happening) to the bye line from where his stabbed pull back hit Ward and rolled over the line for an own goal by the keeper.

By now James was fortunate to still be on the pitch following a lunging tackle which I think would have been punished by a red rather than yellow card if it had happened in a club game in the UK and I don’t feel we would have survived for the draw if we’d been a man short for the last twenty odd minutes.

As it was, Iceland, who attacked fluently and with verve in the second half, looked to lose a little of their attacking fervour once they’d got level. However, they had one more quality effort which came off the same post Wilson had hit earlier by Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson with about two minutes left.

Wales held on after that, but Turkey, who beat Montenegro 1-0 at home tonight are now in charge of the group with seven points to our five, while Iceland have four and Montenegro none, but, with our squad suffering from injuries and suspensions, even the pointless Montenegrins will be fancying their chances at Cardiff City Stadium on Monday unless we improve markedly on the second half tonight, as well as the last hour or so in Montenegro.

The under 21s, with Eli King, Joel Colwill and Tom Davies starting, began confidently against a Czechia team that had lost 5-0 in Denmark in their last game. Joel Cotterill, the hero of the win in Iceland, struck the post with a free kick and Colwill then crossed to King whose far post header was well saved by the keeper, but the game turned just before the half hour mark when Matt Baker diverted a Matej Jurassic shot that looked to be going just wide into his own net. 

After that, the visitors got on top and Wales could have few complaints about the outcome, but who knows what would have happened were it not for the blundering by the administrators.

Czech captain Vaclav Sejk made it two early in the second half and it was only in the last few minutes that Wales got up a head of steam which tested the visitors defensively – Luca Hoole’s lovely finish with just two minutes of added time left came too late to see any sort of meaningful fight back and so Wales are left hoping for a result from Czechia in four days time which would not be classed as a miracle, but it would be a big surprise.

Just to finish with other age group scores, the Under 19s claimed a creditable 3-3 draw in the first of two games they’re playing away in Italy during the international break, the under 17s were beaten 3-1 by France today after an earlier 1-1 draw with Portugal, while the under 16s have been let down by dodgy defending in the Victory Shield. They scored very late on to secure a 3-3 draw with Northern Ireland on Tuesday before winning the penalty shoot out for an extra bonus point and they scored twice in the closing minutes against the Republic of Ireland yesterday, but that couldn’t prevent them going down 3-2.

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