England show class to book World Cup spot
In the end it was easy for England, by the end Wales had been crushed, but victory that secured qualification for next year’s World Cup was neither simple nor straightforward. For that Phil Neville’s side should be proud, but so too should Wales and their highly impressive manager Jayne Ludlow.
England were, for all the talk of potential shocks, the better team with a fully professional squad, playing against a smaller country who still rely on some part-time players. Ultimately, this can only be a small step in a far grander mission. England are expected to qualify for World Cups, Wales are not. A defeat would have been catastrophic. “All week I was saying to my players, it might be billed as a big game, but I thought this was important rather than massive,” said Neville. “When I came in, I said I wanted to win World Cups, not qualify for them.
“We started to play really well in the second half. We played like one of the best teams in the world. We looked like a team that was enjoying playing football and this is an important step for me. We came through a tough night.”
Wales held on valiantly, frustrating England just as they had done in the goalless draw in Southampton, but when the visitors picked up the pace of their play after half-time, they stretched Wales.
The crucial first goal came just before the hour. Jodie Taylor’s initial effort was well saved, but the ball broke to Fran Kirby, she attracted the opposition and moved the ball wider to Toni Duggan. The Barcelona forward did the rest.
The second brought comfort, a brilliant looping header from Jill Scott. Wales knew the fun was over and Nikita Parris added a third as their legs tired, goalkeeper Laura O’sullivan dropping a cross in the build-up. This was a step too far at the end of an excellent campaign, though they still stand a chance of making the tournament in France.
“We are hoping to get a play-off place,” said Ludlow. “But we are proud to have woken the Welsh nation up to women’s football. People talked about this as a grudge match, but the reason women’s football has grown in Wales is because of what is happening across the bridge. What we have done in this campaign, though, we have done for ourselves.”
The Football Association of Wales could have played this game at Cardiff City’s stadium, but the decision to stage it at the more compact home of Newport County was designed to create the conditions for an upset.
Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Newport here in the FA Cup last season and, while an opportunity for a bigger crowd was wasted, in football terms, it made sense. What the atmosphere lacked in numbers, it made up for in noise.
England almost made a great start when Parris turned the ball into the net after Alex Greenwood’s deflected shot had hit the bar. There are late offside flags and then there are those which belong in a different time zone. Parris was well into her celebration, while Neville was halfway down the touchline with arms outstretched.
At least he could laugh about it afterwards, even though replays showed Parris was onside when Greenwood hit her shot.
Wales were far from pinned down. There were half-chances for Kylie Nolan and Helen Ward but Karen Bardsley did not have much to do in the England goal. She was, however, fortunate not to give away a penalty, diving at the feet of Kayleigh Green, her fingers just getting to the ball ahead of the striker.
In many ways, Wales would have been happier at the way the game was going at half-time, but that was as good as it got for them. England were a class above in the second.