As the dust settles on Cymru’s win against Northern Ireland, we look back on the big talking points from the game.
Scoring four goals in a game is a sight rarely seen by Cymru fans in recent times, and it was a solid performance, but what can we take away from the victory against the Green and White Army?
Rachel Rowe doesn’t need to return to left-back
We’ve known this for a while, but it was clear for all to see on Thursday night that Rachel Rowe needs to be playing further forward from now on consistently for Cymru.
She plays further forward for Reading and this season has chipped in with important goals and assists, and we are now seeing that for Cymru, and Gemma Grainger thinks we may not see Rowe in the left-back role that she’s been so used to.
“I hope so, I think Rachel hopes for that as well! She enjoys playing higher up the pitch, but again, with a player like Rachel and many of our players, they’re versatile.”
While Rowe is playing up the field, there are players more than capable of filling in that left-back spot and, as a result, offer something different to the team.
Lily Woodham was a standout player out in the Pinatar Cup, and at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, Esther Morgan returned after a lengthy spell out with injury.
“Esther is another young player who is such a professional, in terms of her preparation, and that’s why she’s able to perform at that level, because she’s ruthless on and off the pitch with her preparation.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen Esther play at left back, the last time being away in France. When you’ve got a player that can perform away in France, then there’s no doubt in my mind that she can step into a Wales shirt whenever required.”
Is our midfield one of the best in the world?
Individually, we’ve known for years just how much quality Angharad James, Jess Fishlock and Sophie Ingle possess, and it was on show again against Northern Ireland.
The second goal of the evening saw all three combine to score a sumptuous goal; from Ingle’s vision to Fishlock’s awareness, to James’ positioning, everything was like clockwork.
It begs the question, where do they rank in the world in terms of a trio in midfield?
In Fishlock, you have a player that has played at the highest level and won countless trophies. In Ingle, you have a mainstay of one of the best teams in Europe whose leadership qualities are on show constantly. In James, you have a player who can play deep or in a role further forward and has over 100 caps before she turns 30, what other midfields have all of those qualities?
“They are world class, and when you see them playing together, some of the play we’ve seen from them tonight is at a real high level that would compete with any team.
“I think about Jess playing two games in the NWSL and for the stage that’s she’s at in her season, her professionalism, and her dedication to come and play here tonight is immense.
“She works at such a high level and that for me is a sign of a world class player on and off the pitch.”
Seamless formation changes
What really struck me is how easily the team changed formations throughout the game.
At times, we played a 4-2-4, with Fishlock being deployed as a left winger. Sometimes it would be a 4-1-2-3, with Ingle staying back in a deeper role, allowing Fishlock and James to push further forward.
Players also interchanged positions. Ceri Holland sometimes dropped into midfield; Hannah Cain would switch from a winger to a number nine.
This versatility will serve us well heading into a difficult set of Nations League fixtures.
“That fluidity is something we focus on. We know we can get goals from different places in the team and it’s great to see two of our midfielders scoring and as well as that having four different goal scorers, and we hope this will continue.
“What we’ve done from day one is have that positional structure but also allowing our players to have that freedom within it.
“What we are seeing now is that we’re building on that game after game in terms of performances and seeing the best out of our players.”
The opposition
There is a caveat to all of this, and that is the opposition we played.
The majority of Northern Ireland’s players are at the beginning of their season and that was easy to see at times in the game on Thursday.
They also have an interim coaching staff running things currently, and again, that was visible.
Obviously, it’s nice to get one over on the Green and White Army after they pipped us to the post and qualify for Euro 2022, but this is not going to be the best opposition we face.
Portugal on Tuesday night will be a big indicator in where we are as a team, but Thursday’s win was certainly a step in the right direction.
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