It was slipshod, scrappy and, in the end, lucky, but at least Wales got the three points as they edged to a 1-0 win in Estonia tonight while the Czech Republic were winning their match in Belarus 2-0 which means that the advantage they enjoyed in goal difference and goals scored beforehand has stretched slightly.
We now finish next month with home games against Belarus and Belgium and, with the first named looking like the weakest team in the group, perhaps the goal difference can be improved enough to mean that combined with Estonia, hopefully, proving to be as difficult a nut to crack for the Czechs as they have been for us, we may have the edge going into what will be a very tough encounter with the Belgians.
However, given that we don’t win big these days, the far more realistic scenario has to be that we’re going to have to avoid defeat against the Belgians to take second place and, given our general level of performance in this qualifying campaign, that seems too tall an order to me.
Granted, we’ve done well against the Belgians in home qualifying ties down the years and there is certainly evidence that Belgium’s golden generation is getting towards the end of the line, but, unlike Wales teams during the second half of the previous decade, we’ve become a side with a big mistake in us and this together with our poor scoring record makes me think it’ll be a third placed finish for us.
The good news for Wales and Cardiff City is that Keiffer Moore got himself on the scoresheet. The old line is about how an out of form striker can get back in the groove by the ball hitting him on the backside and rebounding into the net, well, it wasn’t quite like that tonight with Keiffer, but his goal certainly wasn’t a thing of beauty.
It came in the twelfth minute and, in truth, Wales offered little going forward after that. Before the goal, Harry Wilson had sent a free kick narrowly over the bar and Connor Roberts had seen a twenty yard left footed effort turned around the post by Estonia’s impressive young goalkeeper Karl Hein.
From the resultant corner, Chris Mepham got in a. header which Moore got a touch to and the clearance which followed was nodded on by Aaron Ramsey only for a defender to knock the ball off the line into the path of Moore, who took a touch before stabbing home unconvincingly from about a yard out.
Soon afterwards, Moore had a near post flick from a Roberts cross which was probably going wide even though Hein dived on the ball and was left with a bloody nose and eye injury, which eventually forced him off, in the second half when, in a bizarre incident, the Swiss referee Sandro Scharer penalised Moore, yet booked home defender Kuusk when his arm made contact with the striker’s face in the Estonian penalty area.
I wasn’t convinced that it was a penalty, but then Scharer saw fit to yellow card Moore later on, thereby ruling him out of the Belarus match because of a suspension, for a “foul” that was nowhere near as bad as Kuusk’s. The booking was yet another example of why Moore would have found it impossible to have had any sort of successful career on mainland Europe because the officials on the continent are completely intolerant of how he plays.
That apart, I thought the ref was poor overall. As the saying goes, Estonia we’re not taking any prisoners in the early stages with a series of blatant fouls that Mr Scharer decided did not merit a caution, yet once he did show a first yellow card, six more followed, many for offences that weren’t as serious as the home side’s early clogging.
The home side were dirtier than Wales, yet only had three men booked to our four, but, in fairness, I must add that they were worth at least a draw on the night
In a game where so many Welsh players were a long way from their best, the villain of the piece on Friday, Danny Ward, was one of not many at all who could feel satisfied with his display. Ward was called into action inside a minute as he dived to keep out a Teniste effort from the corner of the penalty.
That incident was an early example of Welsh defensive slackness and it was soon followed by a dreadful error by Harry Wilson who passed straight to Zenjov who was presented with an open goal, but Rodon was able to get back to clear the resultant shot off the line.
The second half began very poorly and sloppily for Wales with Sorja being one of two home players left completely unmarked from a free kick and he should certainly have done better than head narrowly over.
Rodon and Mepham going for the same punt forward by Hein was another example of how what started off as all out attack according to Rob Page gradually turned into a case of hanging on to a narrow lead. Kail sent the chance created by the centrebacks’ blunder straight at Ward, but the keeper later made a great save to deny sub Siniyaskiy as he curled his shot towards the corner of the net.
As I mentioned before, Ward was one of very few Welshmen to play well. I thought Sorba Thomas, making his first start, did pretty well at left wing back, Joe Allen did okay and, that one mistake apart, Rodon was pretty solid, but the attacking vibrancy of Prague was missing and captain Ramsey was, understandably given how little football he’s played this season, quiet.
Meanwhile, the Under 19s came a cropper in their mini tournament in Norway on Sunday I’m afraid as they were beaten 5-0 by the hosts following their goalless draw against Georgia in their opening game. Taylor Jones and Caleb Hughes both started the game for a Welsh side which conceded four times in the second half.
Since our opening defeat against Belgium it’s has always been more likely that we’re playing for second and as things currently stand both us and Czech Republic – no matter where each finishes – will go into play-offs expecting an away tie.
Negatives are clear to see: players short of form or match-fitness due to lack of action and/or injury and element of naivety from management got us two points in Prague when should have been three and a very nervy evening last night. Refs are targeting Moore and he’d do well to have a word with the rugby lot about how to play a ref who thinks your constantly the issue.
Positives? A little more difficult to find but Estonia have scored twice in four of their six games and zero against us which suggests some defensive resilience even though it’s probably more luck than design (bend but don’t break as they say in the NFL?) and this group is clearly different from teams of the past who always struggled playing away in Europe. Going all the way to Baku might have been a nightmare but what is a short-hop to Prague or even Talin these days in comparison? Hopefully good experience if we end up travelling to “central Europe” for games against Poland, Turkey or Russia who were projected to have a home tie as of the 8th of October.
Referees do not know football. They are prima Donna’s who should be sacked for making the game their stage.
Thanks Paul.
Bright start, but agree we were hanging on for a large part of the second half. Some tired challenges and inevitable bookings given the way the ref was waving cards around.
Glad Moore dribbled that one over the line and hope that’s the boost to his confidence he needs – both for Wales and the City.
Definitely not as dynamic as the previous game – but not to underestimate the challenge of 2 tough away games in a short space of time.
Like you I fear we may fall short in that last game against Belgium and may well have to settle for 3rd place. Likely that the dropped points at home to Estonia last month will have proved the decisive factor. Just hope I am wrong!
Morning everyone and thanks for your replies. DJ, you’ve got me to consider the possibilities when it comes to Play Off draws and, at first, I was incredulous that we might have to travel to Turkey, but then started to look up the tables and it all began to make sense and, let’s be honest, Wales 0 Estonia 0 rather knocks any Welsh feelings of superiority on the head doesn’t it.
Pr, I find your criticisms hard to argue with when I apply them to Monday’s ref – he was hopeless and the one on Friday wasn’t up to much either.
Huw, I think you’re probably going to be right about the Estonia game – in many ways our place in the World’s top 20 for the past six years I think it is now is fully deserved, but we our inability to put the lesser lights of the game to the sword when we play them at home has been a pretty consistent weakness during that time.