Cardiff City mauve and yellow army.

Robert Page described tonight’s friendly against South Korea at Cardiff City Stadium as a game he didn’t want, but the current rules seemingly state that when you’re only playing one competitive game during an international break, you must also play a friendly so you do not get an advantage in terms of fitness over a side that is playing twice in a few days.

Little wonder really then that a match between two out of form teams that at least one of them didn’t want ended up as a goalless draw with not much to commend it.

That said, I find that the usual way international friendlies tend to pan out is that the game can be quite competitive and interesting for maybe an hour, but then you get what seems to be a never ending stream of substitutions and the game meanders to a quiet finale which quite often sees no goals scored.

This time though, the match became more lively following the raft of substitutions with its fourth quarter seeing most of what goalmouth action there was.

Robert Page said after the game that Wales had looked more like what I’m sure he sees as their normal selves, he made a point of mentioning that his team had been better without the ball. It’s true to say that apart from a cross which flashed dangerously across the Welsh goal and a couple of long range efforts by Son (who, surprisingly, stayed on for the whole ninety minutes – there was no added time played at the end of the match!) that were easily dealt with by Danny Ward, South Korea had little to offer going forward and generally looked like a side that has not won in six matches now since the World Cup.

Wales were hardly full of menace themselves, but I think most would agree that they would have been declared winners if football contests were decided on a boxing style points system.

Going in with a selection that contained more senior players than I was expecting, Wales were unable to record what would have been only their second victory in thirteen matches, but this was an improvement on what was seen in that calamitous season ending pair of comfortable defeats by Armenia and Turkey which has left us needing a win in Latvia on Monday to maintain what will only be a very faint chance of qualification through the group phase even if we were to get the three points.

Harry Wilson was Wales’ most dangerous attacker in the first half with keeper Kim forced into a good early save from the ex City loanee after he had been neatly set up by Nathan Broadhead and then the South Korean number one made an easier save from Wilson just before the break.

Kieffer Moore and Joe Morrell, both suspended for Monday, replaced Brennan Johnson and Ethan Ampadu at half time, but it was the introduction of Wes Burns, Josh Sheehan and Aaron Ramsey for Jordan James (who was perhaps our best player in the first half in what was his first start for his country), Wilson and Neco Williams that led to Wales’ slight upping of the attacking intent.

Moore came closest to breaking the deadlock when Chris Mepham did very well to get to the bye line and then picked out a fine cross which the target man reached with a looping header from six yards which came back off the upright with Ramsey unable to knock in the rebound as the ball hit his arm.

Kim made saves of varying difficulty from Joe Rodon and Ben Davies, while Broadhead saw his well struck effort from the edge of the penalty area deflected just wide and the reality is that this game will not be remembered long, it’s Monday’s visit to Latvia that will shape Wales, and possibly their manager’s, destiny.