A month ago, Wales came up with one of their greatest performances in this era which has to be seen as the best in the nation’s history to beat Croatia 2-1 at Cardiff City Stadium to put qualification in their group in their own hands. Yes, Armenia away and Turkey at home would be a tough climax to the group, but six points and we’d be through.
So, a 1-1 draw in Armenia in the first of the matches has to be seen as a disappointment, but, more than the result, it was the nature of the performance which was not only a surprise, but a real deflating experience as well.
Armenia showed in deservedly winning 4-2 in Cardiff in June that they were far from mugs, and they were definite contenders for a top two finish themselves until a run of disappointing results this autumn. However, they did know that a win today and an unlikely win in Croatia on Tuesday could see them scraping into the runners up spot, so it was hardly as if Wales were facing a side with nothing to play for.
Nevertheless, it was the flat, lethargic and one paced nature of the Welsh performance in the second half in particular that so disappointed. After making a bad start which saw them concede from a set piece in just five minutes, they got back into things with a bizarre own goal in first half injury time and, having improved slowly through the forty five minutes, you had to think that the momentum was with them at half time.
Instead, it was almost as if Wales thought they only needed a draw to qualify such was the lack of enterprise, verve and intensity shown for much of the second period. A penny seemed to drop with about fifteen minutes left and Wales did step up the attacking intent, but all it did in truth was show the paucity of ability, technique and invention in a team which had shown all three of those qualities, and plenty more, in their previous game.
In the end, Wales were distinctly lucky to get the draw as Armenia did everything but score in those closing minutes when their opponent’s limitations were plain to see – I’m afraid it looked very much like nerves got to too many of the Welsh side.
I think it’s inevitable that the pressure will intensify on Rob Page in the days leading up to the game with Turkey on Tuesday. My own view though is that the Croatia win will mean that the manager stays in place until the Play Offs in March at least.
Wales were already making unforced errors before they conceded from a corner on five minutes as Joe Rodon’s header lacked authority and power and merely made it to the edge of the penalty area where Lucas Zelarayan was able to avoid a couple of half hearted challenges and fire an impressive low shot past Danny Ward for his third goal against Wales in two games.
The goal appeared to throw the hosts into a cautious frame of mind as they conceded territory and possession to Wales who did little to make them think they would be handing back their lead any time soon.
David Brooks did fire not too far over the bar straight after the goal, but there was little to suggest an equaliser until Wales produced what was by far their best piece of football in the game as David Brooks’ superb pass opened up the defence for Neco Williams to feed Harry Wilson whose left footer from twenty yards was superbly tipped around the post by goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic. If Wilson’s shot had been a foot higher, I don’t think the keeper would have been able to save it, but as it turned out, it was the Fulham player’s only meaningful contribution after his heroics against Croatia and with Brooks withdrawn after just fifty minutes, the pair who were, arguably, our best players against the Croats had little influence today.
Wales did improve a little from the half an hour mark onwards during the first half, but, although the TV commentary team remained convinced we were bossing the game, I saw little evidence of that and it was a pleasant surprise to see home left wing back Nair Tiknizyan nod Connor Roberts’ long throw into his own net under pressure from Rodon.
Completely mistakenly as it turns out, I thought a fortunate equaliser would lead to a big improvement in our play in the second period, the momentum was now surely with us and, with the Armenians needing to come out and chase a goal again, I thought the situation was made for the speed merchants, and the in form, Nathan Broadhead, to come off the bench and cash in on the open spaces left by the home side.
It just didn’t turn out like that though – I think I’m right in saying that Brennan Johnson is the second most expensive Welsh footballer ever after Gareth Bale, but, increasingly, I’m afraid, I’m coming around to the view that there must be two Brennan Johnson’s, one of whom only plays club football and another who only plays international football for Wales because it’s becoming more and more hard to believe it’s the same player.
Dan James came on for Wilson, but found himself playing wing back when Page brought Broadhead on for Connor Roberts as Wales became more and more anxious. The midfield of Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James, so impressive last time out, were pretty anonymous here, although the latter did get a decent shot away to test Cancarevic again – the keeper had a tendency to beat out shots/headers in front of him, as he did with later efforts by Kieffer Moore and James I think it was, but there was never anyone on hand to take advantage of this weakness.
Ampadu had a decent headed chance late on which he put straight at the keeper, but while we were failing to come up with anything that really endangered the home goal, Armenia were hitting the underside of the bar through Bichakchyan, Ward was making a superb late save to deny sub Edgar Sevikyan and there were numerous examples where just a touch more composure had to result in Armenian goals.
As I write this, Croatia are 2-0 ahead in Latvia at half time and it looks like Wales have lost their chance to finish second. Frustrating though today has been, it must be said that the level of our play throughout the campaign so far marks us down as the third, or maybe even fourth, best side in the section – maybe both team and supporters have become too used to having a Bale or Ramsey to come up with a moment of magic or Joe Allen to knit things together in the middle of the park because, more than anything else, today was a reminder of how much these three greats are missed.
Thursday saw a better result for Wales under 21s who overtook Iceland as qualification group leaders by beating them 1-0 at Rodney Parade. In truth, Wales were somewhat lucky to win against opponents who had an equaliser controversially ruled out for handball, but the way Wales defended with ten men after Swansea striker on loan at Port Vale, Josh Thomas, was rightly sent off was impressive.
Thomas’ dismissal with half an hour left saw Rubin Colwill left to plough a lone, very isolated, furrow up front for twenty minutes as he was reduced to doing only the sort of work off the ball that Erol Bulut wanted to see more of from him. Rubin had not been able to influence what had been a tight affair much when he was playing a number ten type role supporting Thomas, but he did show flashes of his ability in a game where it was the defensive players in red who tended to take the eye.
Two of them combined for the decisive goal on the half an hour mark when City’s Tom Davies, who has been getting some game time on loan at Kilmarnock this season, put over a lovely first time cross that just demanded to be headed in and Joe Low did the necessary with a firm nod of his head from about eight yards range.
Sadly,there was no appearance for Cian Ashford after his great injury time equaliser in the Czech Republic last month, but that was understandable given how the match panned out. Eli King did come on for the last quarter of an hour or so though and was able to play a full part in the Welsh defensive effort.
Wales now play number one seeds Denmark at the same venue on Tuesday I think it is – I’d say their two most recent performances make a win unlikely, but, if it could be done, they would be in a strong position to finish top of the group and qualify for the Finas as of right.
It was 1-0 as well for Wales’ under 17 team as they beat Belgium to take charge of a group which has lost one of the original four teams meant to contest i. Israel had to drop out for obvious reasons and so, with Belgium having already beaten them 4-0, we only need a point against Gibraltar to top the group – the ninety first minute goal we scored to beat the Belgians is shaping up to be the decisive one in the group.
Buongiorno, Paul,
Your comments are ‘spot-on’ as ever. I basically endorse almost every word… so I will save my breath to cool my porridge, and not repeat what you have just said.
However one thing screams out at me though: like you, I reckon if Brennan Johnson is worth the £50 million Spurs paid for him, then Cliffie Jones was worth Two Hundred mill…!!
But allow me my own – perhaps contentious – take on ‘non footballing’ reasons why we lost.
When the rugby team imploded against Argentina in the RWC quarter final, after having led with that Biggar try, I attributed it to the amazing spectacle of numbers starting to hang off – then totally fall off – the backs of Welsh players.
In their subconscious, this must have seemed to the players like their whole team were in disarray… after all, the word is often used not just as a synonym for confusion, but also to refer to ‘clothing’. (I recall as a boy, when leaving the gents loo on Porth railway station, one saw a GWR sign which read.. ‘Please ensure before leaving that your clothes are not in disarray’… this was code for ‘please do up your fly buttons’.)
It staggered me that none of our seasoned rugby writers linked the ‘numbers debacle’ to the desperately disappointing performance.
And likewise, I think I can put my finger on an additional reason why things went wrong yesterday.
Look, Robert Page, you can call the team ‘Cymru’ till the cows come home, you can feed them Dafydd Iwan till it comes out their ears… but if you cannot get the singing of our anthem right, what hope is there for anything else?
No, I am not talking about the fact that some Welsh players obviously cannot carry a tune (even in a suitcase)… because it seems to me that a prerequisite for ALL international soccer teams is that half the players be the antithesis of ‘pitch perfect’.
No… I refer to the shambolic lack of TIMING when it comes to starting singing the anthem at away grounds. Every time they start singing too late. And we then take this ‘slow start’ off into our football too.
Mr Page, instead of teaching some of them to sing Yma O Hyd phonetically, try getting them to listen to that instrumental intro of our anthem that always accompanies your team on away matches, and get them to (in the immortal words of Linford Christie) ‘go on the B of the bang’. And the travelling fans are in another time signature zone altogether… and the overall effect is chaos.
‘Land of song’? … Eh? Thou canst not be serious?
Did you listen to the Armenian anthem? Players and crowd in perfect unison with the music. Gee, we cannot even emulate that at CCS… our Brains inspired ‘red wall’ cannot be trusted to follow a conductor’s baton to sing to a musical accompaniment. So half of them join the bilingual spectators in their rendition of the anthem, though I fear that their phonetics are often closer to the lyrics of the late Nigel Jenkins…
My hen laid a haddock on top of a tree
Glad farts and centurions throw dogs in the sea
I could stew a hare here, and brandish Don’s flan.
Don’s ruddy bog’s blocked up with sand.
Dad! Dad! Why don’t you oil Aunty Glad?
When whores appear on beer bottle pies,
Oh butter the hens as they fly.
Dad! Dad! Why don’t you oil Aunty Glad?
When whores appear on beer bottle pies,
Oh butter the hens as they fly.
Right, back to the cricket. What a World Cup FINAL so far…!! Just saw a catch from Travis Head that replicated a catch I once saw a very young Peter Walker make –back then a fielder in the deep – in the days when we played at The Arms Park.
TTFN,
Dai.
Hello Dai, I love the Welsh national anthem and am all in favour of the way supporters tend to give a rousing version of it around the seventy five minute mark of games, I don’t think my view that this is enough and that the practice of singing anthems before the start of games should be abandoned will be a popular or common one, but that’s what I’d do. To be honest, I wouldn’t need too much persuasion to be won around to keeping the pre match anthems, but I’d prefer they just got on with the game. Your mention of cricket takes me on to the thing which probably tipped me over the edge on this subject – the playing of Jerusalem before every day’s play.
I had the cricket on, but was distracted when Head took his catch and so only heard the ranting commentators going on about how brilliant it was and it’s indicative of how great the fielding and catching is these days that I was a little disappointed when I saw a replay of it – for me, it was a very good catch, but not a great one. That said, further reflection has me changing my mind somewhat because of who it was Head caught – another half an hour of Rohit playing like he was might have changed the whole context of the Indian innings. Head was excellent in the Semi Final and even better in the Final, yet I can remember having a summer with Sussex three or four years ago when he was struggling to get into double figures. As you are a fellow anyone but Manchester United man in football, I’m an anyone but Australia man in cricket, but you have to credit them for what they achieved on Sunday (and for that truly amazing Maxwell double century) even though there was almost an inevitability to their win in the Final, given the current India team’s serial inability to deliver on the really big occasions.