Now go and make history, roars Page

THiS was the first of five Wales games in the space of 14 days, although only one of them really matters. And after watching his second string cruelly beaten by Poland in this Nations League clash in Wroclaw, manager Rob Page urged his team to make history on Sunday. Wales face Ukraine in their World Cup play-off final in Cardiff and with only 90 minutes standing between them and a first World Cup appearance since 1958, Page rested his star men for this meeting with Robert Lewandowski’s Poland. Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ben Davies were all left out on the day Bale confirmed his departure from Real Madrid. Without Bale and Co, Wales’s fringe players were impressive before being undone by two strikes from substitutes. ‘i’ve said, “Let’s go and make history”. it’s frustrating and nobody likes losing, but we’ll pick ourselves up,’ said Page as he turned his attentions to Ukraine. ‘That was Poland’s best Xi and we’ve gone toe to toe with them, taken the lead, and were absolutely good for a point. it’s a cruel game.’ Jonny Williams gave Wales the lead with a fine strike from the edge of the box at the start of the second half. Late Poland goals from Jakub Kaminski and Karol Swiderski brought defeat, but Page’s men will return home full of confidence. Just as importantly, they are without any serious injuries and it promises to be some occasion in the capital on Sunday. ‘There are so many positives that outweigh the negatives,’ said Page. ‘We hate losing but if you’re going to lose, lose in that manner. i’m really proud of the players and there is nobody moping around. ‘i’ve made sure of that and we’re ready to go again.’