Supersub Woodburn ignites the Welsh bid TEENAGER DOES IT AGAIN BY SETTING UP OPENER
World Cup Special :
GARETh BAlE had tried to take the spotlight off Ben Woodburn after the prodigious 17-year-old’s Wales debut to remember. ‘Put the pressure on me,’ he pleaded.
Dispelling the huge excitement about Woodburn becomes even trickier now after another cameo from the bench that reinforced the belief he is a very special player. having delivered when his country him needed against Austria five days ago, Woodburn did it again last night in Moldova.
Wales looked like being held to an excruciating draw by the 159th best national side when the liverpool forward took matters into his own hands with 11 minutes to go.
he picked up the ball on the left, ran hard past a defender and cut back a cross with his weaker foot that hal Robson-Kanu stooped to head home. It was a good finish, but the goal owed more to Woodburn. Four minutes later, he nearly made victory certain, dancing into space in the box and hitting a shot that Ilie Cebanu needed to be strong to save.
Victory here moved Wales above the Republic of Ireland into second place in Group D and a big step closer to a play-off place. Without Woodburn, their prospects would be dust.
‘This was harder for Ben, a long way from home in a game of this magnitude,’ said Coleman. ‘he needs another huge pat on the back for someone so young. But if you’re good, you’re good.’
Moldova may not have won a competitive fixture for four years, but they have a habit of resisting teams.
It took Austria 75 minutes to break them down in Vienna in March and, here, the hosts were adept at sniffing danger when Wales entered the final third.
Wales’s best first-half chance came from a slick counter-attack started when Joe Allen released Robson-Kanu, who, in turn, fed a sprinting Aaron Ramsey.
The Arsenal midfielder played in Bale, whose firm shot was only spilled by Cebanu. The Moldova goalkeeper recovered to block Ramsey’s follow-up, then Alexandru Epureanu cleared off the line from Robson-Kanu.
In the second period, Bale found the target, but his low drive was weak. Then Robson-Kanu turned on the edge of the area, but failed to put enough whip on his shot.
Coleman sent on Woodburn, but anxiety continued to grow until Wales’s new sensation intervened. The relief when Robson-Kanu nodded in was immense.
The closing minutes were nervy and Wayne hennessey had to produce a marvellous save to deny Andrei Cojocari, before Wales clinched victory when Ramsey scored via a deflection in the third minute of stoppage time. WALES (4-2-3-1): Hennessey; Gunter, Chester, Williams, Davies; Allen, King (Vokes 67); Bale, Ramsey, Lawrence (Woodburn 60); Robson-Kanu (Edwards 88). Booked: King, Robson-Kanu. Man of the match: Ben Woodburn. Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland). Attendance: 10,411.