Professional England C edge out battling Wales C in scrappy affair
A battling Wales could not break down as professional England ground out a 1-0 win thanks to Ryan De Havilland’s first stoppage-time goal.
Five minutes of additional time was shown and the Barnet midfielder was able to score on the rebound. Wales had opportunities from Kane Owen and Sam Jones in the first-half, but struggled to get anything on Sam Howes’ goal when play restarted.
The first chance of the match went the way of the visitors in only the third minute of the game. Kayne McLaggon was fouled on the edge of the area after doing well to shift the ball and win the foul. Kane Owen fired the free kick low and hard through the wall, however, it was saved well by Sam Howes in the England net
There was nothing to split the two teams within the first quarter of an hour. Cymru were looking extremely disciplined, pressing England from the front and maintaining their good shape in defence. Clayton Green was leading the game by example. The Pontypridd man was looking strong in the tackle and pressuring the man with the ball extremely well.
The first penalty shout of the game came the way of the home side. Emlyn Lewis seemed to slip in the box and brought down his man, however, the referee chose not to point to the spot on this occasion and the Wales captain was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The conditions were causing havoc with the players, with numerous players requiring treatment early on in the first half. So much so that England were forced into an early change, as Kenton Richardson was replaced by Jesse Debrah.
The second real chance came from a counterattack by Mark Jones’ side. The ball was cleared away by the Cymru defence and the long ball was flicked on McLaggon. Sam Jones burst onto the lose ball and was running at the England defence. He tried to play it back to the Barry man, but the pass was too heavy and into the keepers’ grateful hands. A huge opportunity missed for Cymru.
The rain continued to fall towards the end of the second half, as England continued to threaten. Gus Scott-Morris was putting in some really threatening crosses from the right flank, which Alex Ramsey was relieved to see float over his head and out for a goal kick. Moments later the board was raised by the fourth official which showed there would be five mnutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half.
Cymru’s best chance of the game came in the 46th minute. Ryan Sears won the ball back in the final third for the visitors before sending in a dangerous cross to the back post. Sam Jones was unmarked and his shot was really well saved by Sam Howes in the England net.
England made the most of the additional time, and broke the deadlock late on. Tom Price lost his footing in his own area when trying to pass the ball. This allowed Joe Sbarra to shoot but his effort was well saved by Bala keeper Alex Ramsay. The ball then found its way to De Havilland on the edge of the area who had an effort saved again however the England player had another bite of the cherry and this time lifted the ball over Ramsey and into the net to give England the lead with the last kick of the first half.
The start of the second half saw a change in goal for Cymru, with Ramsay performing well in the first half but now it was Connor Roberts’ chance to shine. However, it was the England goalkeeper who had more to do in the first half, showing that Cymru had their fair few chances in the opening 45. And it was Cymru who looked like the better team in the opening minutes of the second half, enjoying more possession than they had in the first.
It was another Cymru mistake that nearly led to England’s second. Ryan Sears pass backward for keeper Connor Roberts lacked power and the resulting shot was saved by the keeper. The resulting cross was well dealt with by Kane Owen who headed the ball into Roberts’ hands.
As the clock reached the 80 minute mark, England looked set to see the game out with ease as they looked comfortable in possession and a real threat in attack. The defensive duo of Jesse Debrah and captain Tyler Cordner were given too much time on the ball for much of the match, with the two able to control the tempo from the middle. Late Cymru substitutes Lee Jenkins and Ben Ahmun were unable to affect the result with not long left on the clock.
The fourth official held the board up at the end of the second half, indicating there would be four minutes left to play. However, England were able to run the clock down with ease due to small fouls committed by Cymru. This seemed to be a pattern throughout the match. The four minutes came and went, with the visitors unable to affect the score line. Ryan De Havilland’s goal proved to be the difference between the two sides. A spirited Cymru C performance ended in defeat.
England C: Sam Howes, Gus Scott-Morris, Vincent Harper, Kenton Richardson, Tyler Cordner (C), Regan Booty, Josh Lundstram, Ryan De Havilland, Joe Nuttall, Emile Acquah, Joe Sbarra
Bench: Jesse Debrah, Harrison Male, Harry Phipps, James Jennings, Oliver Dyson
Wales C: Alex Ramsay (Connor Roberts, 46), Mael Davies, Kane Owen (Lee Jenkins, 89), Emlyn Lewis (C), Danny Davies, Ryan Sears, Tom Price (Kyle McCarthy, 66), Leo Smith (Josh Williams, 78), Clayton Green, Kayne McLaggon (Ben Ahmun), Sam Jones (Nathan Wood, 61)
Bench: Connor Roberts, Aeron Edwards, Nathan Wood, Ben Ahmun, Josh Williams, Lee Jenkins, Sion Bradley, Gwion Dafydd
