Cymru 2 – 4 Armenia
16th June 2023
Stephen (@StephenJBaker) looks at the issues writ large at the opening game of the June internationals.
Just before kick off I turned to my nephew Tomos and said ‘At least it’s not as hot as it was earlier’. I tell you this because I wanted to write something slightly positive in this match report and the cooling temperature was about the highlight of the evening.
The first ten minutes of the match and Cymru attacked Armenia down both wings sending decent crosses into Kieffer Moore. Despite being head and shoulders taller than the Armenian defence, he never really effectively connected with any. His chance following a cross from the right hand side should really have been buried given the contact he got on the ball, but it sailed wide of the upright.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt seemed to matter little, as playing out from the back, the Armenian left back misplaced a pass which was intercepted by the outstretched leg of Harry Wilson. The ball fell at the feet of Barseghyan who easily skipped past Joe Rodon. For reasons known only to himself, the Armenian decided to fall to floor, not fooling anyone that he was fouled. Connor Roberts realised that the referee waved play on, and recycled the ball back to Rodon just inside the Cymru half. Taking the ball into Armenian territory, the tall centre half moved the ball to Ampadu whose pass found Johnson completely unmarked on the right hand side of the box. The newly blonde youngster, following a few unchallenged steps, whipped a superb ball skimming across the turf towards the far post and Daniel James. The Leeds man fired home from three yards and sparked celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnfortunately, that goal only seem to wake up the Armenian players and send ours to sleep. Their passes became crisper, ours too short or wayward. They looked to drive forward and attack whenever they had the ball at their feet, whilst Cymru’s players looked sideways or backwards on the increasingly rare occasions we got the ball.
In the 18th minute what we had been fearing for the previous five minutes happened. After Harry Wilson ran into a dead end at the edge of their penalty area, Armenia regained the ball and in only three passes the ball was in the Cymru box. Roberts was caught out of position and in the space left behind, the Armenians could cross the ball. Despite there being seven Cymru players back, Zelarayan remained unmarked and was duly picked out by his team mate. The youngster was able to fire the ball over Danny Ward’s right shoulder into the top corner. It was a sumptuous first time finish to give the boy credit, but the time and space he was given was unbelievable given the number of red shirts back. Armenia got the goal their response deserved. 1–1.
Twelve minutes on, after an inexplicable run into a dead end, this time by Joe Rodon, Wales lost the ball in a dangerous position. Passes were on for the former Swansea man and he chose none of the options available. Armenia quickly fed the ball to the right hand corner of the box, where Spertsyan put in a great cross. Rodon in the meantime showed no real urgency to recover, and his absence seemed to create confusion between his teammates. The cross found Ranos who had strolled into the box between Roberts and Mepham. The Welsh pair seemed to be still following Social Distancing rules and stood six feet either side of him, leaving him what must have been the easiest headed opportunity of his young international career. Ranos headed past Ward and took the Armenians into a shock 2-1 lead.
Half time came and went with no changes, despite the glaringly obvious wide open spaces in midfield. The second half began and brought no further positive change.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter having Bobby Gould era flashbacks for the first 20 minutes of the second half, fans at the Cardiff City Stadium watched on in horror has the Armenian players, who were probably just as surprised themselves with the amount of space they were given, utilized the space. It was actually so easy for them to press and harry the Cymru players. Armenia moved forward and a one touch lobbed pass from Zelarayn, sent Ranos forward after a very clever dummy and instant darting run. Ranos struck the ball on the half volley and sent it passed the diving Danny Ward. 3-1 and utter delirium in the small pocket of Armenia fans in the corner. It must be said here that whilst they had too much space, it was a very well worked goal. I can’t help feeling however than Danny Ward may watch that back and think he could do better. As good a finish as it was, he shouldn’t be being beaten at his near post for my money.
Embed from Getty ImagesBetween all the doom and gloom, I must mention here that a few minutes after the goal there was the great sight of David Brooks coming on as a replacement for Brennan Johnson. A moment the youngster later described as special, putting on the Wales shirt and getting on the pitch after recovering from cancer. It was great to see him back.
With twenty minutes to go, a lifeline. A long throw from Connor Roberts was flicked on by Ben Davies to the feet of Kieffer Moore, who tapped it into the path of Harry Wilson to score from five yards out to make it 3-2.
Embed from Getty ImagesWas the come back on? Simply put, no. Remember the Bobby Gould era flashbacks I mentioned? Well, three minutes later they played out in real life. Morrell, who was given no options after a poor pass from Ben Davies, lost the ball to Iwu who in turn found the completely unmarked Zelarayan. He found the back of the net for his second goal on the night, again beating Ward at his near post and again, the Leicester man was rooted to the spot. 4-2.
When it couldn’t get any worse, there was the red card for Moore. Despite the pathetic antics by the keeper who rolled over at least five times, Moore did petulantly kick out at him, giving the ref no choice but to give a red card. Overall the ref had a good game and let play go well. Let’s not allow the narrative that this decision, or any the ref made, impacted the outcome.
Embed from Getty ImagesThankfully there were no more goals and Cymru lost 4-2 in one of the worst displays in many a year despite a late flurry of attacking intent. Clueless, directionless on and off the pitch and I’m not sure where we can go from here. Nothing in the performances of the last year gives us any hope of things changing as Wales slump to one win in 11. We now move on to Türkiye on Monday, which becomes a must win and for that to happen a lot of things need to change, otherwise we are looking down the barrel of another hammering. Will Rob Page be able to finally come up with a Plan B or perhaps work out what his best Plan A actually is?
Embed from Getty ImagesThis appears to be the straw that broke the camels proverbial back in regards to Page. Many fans were willing to give him time and patience having taken us to a World Cup. But this performance wreaks of someone who seemed out of their depth and couldn’t react to the situation in the moment. Simply, this was unacceptable and Page’s post match comments of this being a wake up call are as frustrating as the outcome itself. The wake up call was the World Cup where Ampadu was exposed in midfield on his own. But no lessons were learned it seems and the manager should have taken responsibility for that. Whilst he can’t account for some individual errors on the night, the space and tactically naivety shown, rests squarely on his shoulders.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs the team travel to Samsun, a result is needed. As much for Page as the rest of us.