Ukraine vs. Wales preview: Hayley Ladd named as captain

Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson has named Hayley Ladd as her captain ahead of their next European qualifier away to Ukraine in Poznan.

Wilkinson is continuing the trend of naming a different captain for every game as she keeps searching for a permanent successor to Sophie Ingle, and Ladd is next in line to wear the armband.

Throughout her tenure so far, the Canadian has said she is in no rush to appoint a new captain and is quite happy to rotate the captaincy, for now. As a result, it’s Ladd who gets the nod ahead of the game on Tuesday night, a decision that was an easy one to make, according to Wilkinson.

“There’s a group that I feel all have leadership qualities and I want to give them the opportunities to bring that to the fore.

“Hayley has been consistently a strong performer for us, she connects with different parts of the team and is very good at making everyone feel comfortable.

“I like her attitude, she does not play in the backline for her club, but when she comes in for Wales there’s no questions, she does the job that’s needed.

“She definitely leads with her voice and her actions on the field, and I look forward to seeing her enjoy the opportunity to wear the armband.”

Ladd has captained Manchester United before and Wales age group teams, but this will be the first time she will lead the senior team out for a game, an honour she is very much excited by.

“It’s a really proud moment, whenever you lead a team out, especially for your country, it’s a huge honour.

“Rhian has taken the time to get to know us a little bit more before making a permanent decision, so I’m grateful to be given the opportunity. I know what I’m like as a player and a person, I know what I can deliver for the team.

“I’m probably not a hugely vocal person but I speak up when it matters and hopefully, I can lead in different ways and add a different voice to the leadership frame.”

The versatile Ladd has been a consistent starter for Wales for many years, but for Manchester United, the same can’t be said.

Having been a mainstay last season in a team that finished second in the WSL, Ladd has only played half of their league games this season (11), four of those coming off the bench.

The Wales captain admits it’s been a frustrating season but is hopeful this will spur her on for next season.

“It’s been a huge challenge for me this season to be honest. I’ve perhaps now got a different role within the team, and I have to work out how I keep my levels consistent within that so when I come to Wales, I can still deliver the best performance possible.

“It’s been a challenge, but it’s one plenty of players have faced and its part and parcel of the game. Hopefully, it will bring out the best in me this challenge.”

Building blocks

Wales head into Tuesday’s game off the back of a tough encounter with Ukraine in Llanelli on Friday.

Having gone behind in the third minute, Kayleigh Barton’s penalty meant they departed west Wales with a point.

It was a gritty performance that didn’t live up to the ones we saw last month against Croatia and Kosovo, but Wilkinson was pleased with some aspects of the performance.

“There was a lot on Friday I actually liked. I did not like our first half. I don’t think we performed to our standard, but I loved how we performed in the second half.

“The staff comes in, we make changes, we show them where they think they could be better, and the second half team dominated the ball, but that’s not what the game is.

“You can have all the possession you want, but if you’re not putting it in the back of the net, you’re not winning games. I did think after we scored the penalty that we would get the winner.

“We pressed well, we created chances, but not enough top-quality ones, and that’s definitely an area we’ve been looking at, and I expect them to be in and around the area getting more chances on goal tomorrow.”

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There are some corners of the Red Wall that believe Wales didn’t take the threat of the Ukraine team seriously.

However, Wilkinson has dismissed this notion, but says the game was a reminder to her players that nothing in international football is a given.

“I don’t think there’s any way that you can say the game wasn’t a wake-up call. I don’t think my players walked into that game disrespecting Ukraine. There’s only two places separating us in the FIFA rankings, so they’re a very good team.

“We also can’t look past the fact that Ukraine is wearing a badge and a flag that means so much. They’re in a war, they’re full of pride, and they left everything out there on Friday night and I thought they were excellent.

“We have huge respect for them, and for our players, it was a realisation that games aren’t gifted to you. You have to work for everything.”

Lessons learned

Four days on from the fixture at Parc y Scarlets, Wales have a chance to show what lessons they learned against Ukraine, this time in Poland.

Ladd and the team are in a far better position now than they were before heading into the last game in Llanelli, and she says the team have learned a lot in just a short amount of time.

“We definitely feel more equipped for tomorrow than we were on Friday. You better understand their patterns of play and how they want to press us. We know that they want to make us feel uncomfortable and they were really committed in the way they wanted to do that.

“There’s added motivation for us to, because we want to go out and show we’ve learned and to go and pick up those three points this time around and put in a complete performance.”

That doesn’t mean things are necessarily going to be easier for Wales out in Poznan.

Ukraine head coach Volodymyr Pyatenko showed a lot of tactical nous on Friday with his mix of high pressing and low blocks.

Wilkinson admits she isn’t sure on which style Pyatenko will implement tomorrow but says Wales will be ready for all of them.

“Ukraine started on a high press and then they scored, and that gives them a lot of energy. As a result, they probably pressed for a little longer than they would have thought they would, but then they sat back.

“Huge respect to their coach, because I can’t guess what he’s going to do. I would have a plan for them as a coach, but he thinks differently. He might decide to press us again, but equally, he might think I think he’ll do that and change it up once again.

“We have to make sure all of our bases are covered, but it will be interesting to see what he does.”

(Featured Image: John Smith/FAW)