Despite the almost manic efforts of the commentators to talk the game up, Craig Bellamy’s awkward second season continued with a 1-0 win in Lietchtenstein tonight. Frankly, the only good thing about the match was that we managed to beat the side ranked 206th in the world and we now go forward to Tuesday’s match with North Macedonia at Cardiff City Stadium with second place and a home Semi Final in the Play Offs at stake.
Mind you, one of the main reasons I say that there was only one good thing about the night was that yellow cards for goal scorer Jordan James and captain Ethan Ampadu mean that the two of them will be missing against North Macedonia through suspension. It’s hard to believe that the return of Harry Wilson from his one match ban will compensate for the gaping hole in our central midfield.
Ampadu’s booking was unlucky, James’ daft and the fact that it was the latter who was substituted for the closing minutes when it was known he would not be playing on Tuesday, while Ampadu stayed on to then receive his yellow card led to criticism of Bellamy for not protecting his captain by withdrawing him instead of James.
I find it hard to put forward a defence of Bellamy on this- if we were 1-0 up against, say, North Macedonia under the same circumstances, I could understand the desire to keep Ampadu on, but against a team ranked 206th?
The team selection surprised me, it was a 4-4-2 with Mark Harris and Nathan Broadhead leading the attack. I would have preferred one of them making way for someone playing in the Harry Wilson role, someone who could have provided a much needed injection of guile. Actually, considering the opposition, you could have gone with the two strikers plus a David Brooks or even a Rubin Colwill.
To be fair, the 4-4-2 was arguably actually a 3-5-2 as Dylan Lawlor, Joe Rodon and Jay DeSilva were charged with defensive duties and Neco Williams spent more of his time on the right of our midfield – it was he who provided some of the aforementioned guile when he found a pass to unlock the home side’s massed defence to create the goal.
Before the game, there had been optimistic talk of a 6-0 win that would give us a better goal difference than North Macedonia, but, anyone who saw us labour’s to our wins over Kazakhstan and at home to Liechtenstein would surely know that this was the longest of long shots.
A first half spent almost entirely in the home team’s defensive third only re emphasised the Welsh lack of a cutting edge. Broadhead did get the ball in the net when it broke to him after Jordan James had headed a corner “into the mixer”, but VAR’s search for a reason to disallow the goal came up trumps when they found an offside which looked very marginal to me, but I suppose it had to be correct by the letter of the law considering the technology available to them.
That incident apart, Wales were unable to benefit from the multitude of crosses that rained in on the Liechtenstein defence and there was booing from some of the 3,000 traveling Welsh fans when the half time whistle was blown with the game still goalless.
Bellamy decided against any half time changes, but the first ten minutes or so after the break offered little to suggest that a goal was coming.
However, that all changed very quickly as, perhaps, we saw the first signs of the home side tiring. Dan James fired against a post from point blank range (I think VAR may have found another offside mind if it had gone in) as Wales finally showed some urgency and Liechtenstein started to wobble.
The goal came when Williams played a lovely ball inside the full back for Dan James whose low cross was turned in from no more than three yards out by the other James with Broadhead being denied the goal by a foul so obvious that you assume VAR would have spotted it if we hadn’t scored.
The breakthrough brought three substitutions as Brooks and Lewis Koumas came on while the match ended with two City players on the pitch as Rubin Colwill joined Lawlor.
Rubin had a shot turned around the post and there were one or two nice passes from him, but it was a pretty quiet outing from him which was not helped by the fact that Wales gave the impression at times that they were happy with a 1-0 win.As for Lawlor, after starring on his debut, this was a decent performance, no more than that, but, in truth, it wasn’t the sort of game where the centrebacks would be seen to best effect.
In saying that, Liechtenstein did have two chances, one being a good one that was headed over the top from a corner and then a more difficult one that was volleyed wide at the far post in added time.
So, the senior side, albeit an injury and suspension hit one, ground out a 1-0 win against a team containing some part timers, but the under 21s continue to stink the place out in their qualifying campaign as they conceded their fifteenth goal in just their third game as they went down 3-0 to Belarus in a match played in Georgia.
Better news for the under 19s who are taking part in a four team tournament in North Wales. They best Japan 3-2 in their first match which was decided by a great goal from a free kick scored in added time and they followed that up with a 1-1 draw with the USA which was, apparently decided by a penalty shoot out which we won 5-4. Germany are the other team taking part and they were beaten by the Americans in their only game so far- we play them on Tuesday. Jac Thomas and Mannie Barton were both in the starting line up against Japan with Noah Williams being the only City player in the starting eleven against the Americans.
There was also a very good 1-1 draw today for Wales Under 17s against Portugal as City’s youngest ever first team player, Axel Donczew scored a late equaliser.
In local football, Treherbert Boys and Girls Club were beaten 3-1 at home by Morriston Town in the Ardal South West League and Treorchy Boys and Girls Club drew 1-1 at home with St Josephs in the First Division East of the Highadmit South Wales Alliance.
