Italy 1-0 Wales: Brave Wales defeated in Monza in Nations League opener

A brave Wales side were defeated 1-0 away against Italy in their first game of their Nations League campaign.

Barbara Bonansea’s header five minutes in proved to be the difference on the night, but this Wales side impressed and restricted Itay from playing their trademark free-flowing football for large parts of the game.

Rhian Wilkinson made three changes from the side that qualified for the European Championships in Dublin last time out. Mayzee Davies was handed her first start, while there were returns for Ceri Holland and Carrie Jones.

Hayley Ladd captained the side on the occasion of her 100^th cap, becoming the tenth Welsh player, and the seventh female Welsh player, to reach the milestone.

Italy, on the other hand, made six changes from their last game: a win over Germany in a friendly. Amongst the names to return were Juventus trio Sofia Cantore, Barbara Bonansea, and captain Christiana Girelli, who all started in the front line.

The Italians started the quicker of the two teams and had an early flurry of corners which went close. But their pressure paid off and they turned one of those corners into a goal, with Bonansea guiding her header expertly past Olivia Clark.

Wales were now on the ropes, but they saw Italy miss a couple of glorious chances. Clark had to be alert to make a double save to deny Girelli and then Cantore, before the Italy captain found herself free at a corner, but her header struck the crossbar.

After weathering the storm, Wales did begin to come out of their shell and began to control possession. The best chance of the half for Rhian Wilkinson’s side came via Angharad James, but her audacious lobbed strike hit the outside of the crossbar.

Back came Italy who once again created chances but kept fluffing their lines at the crucial moment. Cantore failed to convert from Bonansea’s cutback, while fullback Lucia Di Guglielmo missed an open goal.

Wales had half chances towards the end of the half, but both Jess Fishlock and Carrie Jones were unable to test Laura Giuliani in the Italy goal.

While it did look a little nervy at times, especially in the opening ten minutes, Wales were showing a good level of composure and were certainly still in the contest.

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Picking up from where they left off in the first half, Wales looked sharp and the likelier team to score. Lily Woodham saw the ball flash past the post with a shot from distance, as Wilkinson’s side looked to get back on level terms.

This is an Italy side who defeated both the Netherlands and Norway in their last qualifying campaign, but they were being made to make plenty of unforced errors. However, they did show glimpses of what they could do, and a well worked corner almost saw Elena Linari head in from close range, but the defender couldn’t quite stretch far enough to reach the ball.

Italy tried to change the tide with a raft of substitutions, and it was one of them who almost doubled the lead. Martina Piemonte thought she scored with a header from close range, but Clark made a spectacular stop to keep Wales in the tie.

Another substitute, Michela Cambiaghi, managed to race through one-on-one with Clark, but despite having all the time in the world, the striker dragged her shot well wide of the mark.

Italy could have had two or three goals in the final five minutes, but whatever they tried, the ball was not going to go in.

At the other end, Cymru were unable to test Giuliani, but overall, this was a performance Wilkinson’s side could take a lot of pride from.

Wales return to home soil on Tuesday night, as they welcome Sweden to Wrexham. Kick-off will be at 19:15.

Player of the Match: Mayzee Davies

It’s quite hard to believe that Davies is only 18, because tonight, she played like a player beyond her years. She was so composed and always seemed to be in the right place. Even with pacey Italian forwards around her, Davies was bossing them. She has certainly put her hand up to be considered a starter going forward in this Nations League campaign.

Italy

Laura Giuliani, Lucia Di Guglielmo, Martina Lenzini, Elena Linari, Elisabetta Oliviero (Annamaria Senturini 85’), Manuela Giugliano, Ariana Caruso, Giada Greggi (Giulia Dragoni 63’), Sofia Cantore (Martina Piemonte 78’), Cristiana Girelli © (Michela Cambiaghi 63’), Barbara Bonanesa (Beatrice Merlo 78’)

Unused subs: Francesca Durante, Rachele Baldi, Emma Severini, Valentina Giacinti, Chiara Beccari, Lisa Boattin, Julie Piga

Goals: Barbara Bonansea (5’)

Yellows: Christiana Girelli (55’)

Wales

Olivia Clark, Mayzee Davies, Hayley Ladd ©, Gemma Evans, Rhiannon Roberts (Josie Green 86’), Angharad James, Jess Fishlock (Lois Joel 69’), Lily Woodham, Ceri Holland (Mared Griffiths 69’), Hannah Cain (Charlie Estcourt 86’), Carrie Jones (Ffion Morgan 46’)

Unused subs: Laura O’Sullivan-Jones, Safia Middleton-Patel, Kayleigh Barton, Ellen Jones, Elise Hughes, Ella Powell, Alice Griffiths

Yellows: Carrie Jones (37’), Gemma Evans (90’)

(Featured Image: Ashley Crowden/FAW)