It finally happened, the day all us fans of the Cymru Women’s Football team has been waiting 30+ years for. The long wait is finally over, and we are going to watch Cymru Women in their first ever tournament, Euro 2025.
Embed from Getty ImagesAn emotional night in Dublin will live long in the memory of all those watching in ground and those of us having to watch at home on TV. A night that started with nerves burning a hole deep in the pit of our collective stomach and ended with the longest, most painful 8 minutes of our lives. Has Rhian Wilkinson said in a pitch side interview with the BBC at the end of the match ‘I’ve got a new ulcer’.
Before I talk more about Tuesday’s heroics, I must mention the giants whose shoulders the current team are standing on. Laura McAllister, Michelle Adams and Karen Jones who in 1992 met with the then FAW Secretary General Alun Evans to put forward the need for a women’s national team. Those three ladies started the story that we are all currently enjoying.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere are the managers that came before Rhian Wilkinson that all played their part from Jarmo Matikainen to Jayne Ludlow and Gemma Grainger. Players who are now legends of Welsh football such has Helen Ward, Loren Dykes and Gwennan Harries (who is now one of the best commentators in both the English and Welsh language). Players like these played their hearts out for our country in hand-me-down kits from the men’s team, in front of one man and his horse! Yes! That really did happen at home against Germany in 2007. These are just some of the people who played their part in bringing glory to Cymru.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow back to Tuesday, the night that heroes became legends, whether they played on the night or are part of the squad, they all deserve a mention. Olivia Clark, Laura O’Sullivan-Jones, Safia Middleton-Patel, Rhiannon Roberts, Josie Green, Charlie Estcourt, Hayley Ladd, Gemma Evans, Mayzee Davies, Lily Woodham, Ella Powell, Anna Filbey, Alice Griffiths, Angharad James, Charlotte Lee, Lois Joel, Rachel Rowe, Carrie Jones, Ffion Morgan, Jess Fishlock, Ceri Holland, Kayleigh Barton, Mary Mcateer, Mared Griffiths, Tianna Teisar, Hannah Cain, Ellen Jones and let’s not forget Sophie Ingle and Elise Hughes.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow for the moments of the match that left me feel physically sick, or crying tears of joy. It didn’t start off well. Ireland attacked from the off but 23 minutes into the match, the nerves burning in the pit of stomach turned into shouts of ‘I’m going to be sick’. Denise O’Sullivan curled one from outside the box beating the great Olivia Clark in goal, only to see the ball hit the crossbar.
The general uneasy feeling you get when you are watching Cymru play (or whatever team you support) continued for the rest of the first half. Then a few minutes into the second half, VAR stopped the game for Referee Marta Huerta de Aza to look at the screen. I will never have a bad word said about VAR again, hir byw VAR!
Embed from Getty ImagesIt took a few replays to figure out that VAR had spotted a handball by an Irish player, Pstten, in the box. Then the referee signaled for a penalty to Cymru! Up stepped Hannah Cain, on her first start since tearing her ACL twice!! Hannah looked like the calmest Welsh person in the world at the moment she took a deep breath, looked at the referee, waited for the whistle, then started her run up. Just as she gets to the ball the keeper dives to Hannah’s left and Cain calmly rolls the ball to her right. Cue massive celebrations, Cain runs off to the touchline with tears in her eyes. Every Cymru fan watching cried tears of joy along with her. But at the same time trying not to get our hopes up too much having been burnt before.
Embed from Getty ImagesI don’t know why but when your side goes one nil up you end up feeling more nervous than you did when it was 0-0. Is it the fear of throwing away the lead? I don’t know what it is, but it makes for uncomfortable watching.
Nine minutes later, Angharad James was put through on goal only for the Irish keeper Courtney Brosnan to pull off a great save. So close to making it 2-0! Was it to be our night? Then just like you see in the films, an angel popped up on my shoulder saying ‘The goal is coming, just adjusting their sights’ but on the other shoulder, the devil appeared to tell me ‘that was their last chance to seal it.’ Why do we watch football when it makes us feel like this? Well, eight minutes later came one of the reasons why we absolutely watch this game.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the 67th minute a fantastic ball from Friday night’s goal scorer Lily Woodham put Carrie Jones through on goal. From inside the D on the edge of the penalty area, Jones fired into the bottom left corner of the goal, sending the 400 Cymru fans in the ground into raptures and those at home jumping up and down, screaming.
2-0 with just over 20 minutes to go, it was in the bag surely? Don’t forget, we are Welsh and we don’t do things the easy way if there is a much harder way available. We can’t have an easy ride to the finish, where’s the adventure in that?
Embed from Getty ImagesNow for 23 minutes spent staring at the clock in the top left hand corner of the screen counting down minutes that feel like hours. I’m positive on several occasions the clock actually stopped for a few minutes.
Now that the tears stopped after the second goal, time to relax and enjoy the ride? Do I start pricing flights to Switzerland? Do I dare start learning German, French and Italian Duolingo? Four minutes left on the clock, a clock that is ticking slower than the clock in work on a Friday afternoon. Surely it’s in the bag now?
Embed from Getty ImagesNope, it’s time for pacing around the room with my head in my hands. An Irish corner kick in the dying minutes was headed off the line by excellent Rhiannon Roberts, only for the ball to fall to Anna Patten who put the ball in the net making it 2-1. It couldn’t happen again could it? Could this be another Switzerland?
Thinking that we haven’t aged enough watching this game the Fourth Official decided we need more stress in our lives when they held up the board showing 8 minutes of added on time. 8 minutes! 8 is not a number we think of in football other than on the back of one of our midfielders shirts. 8 is so unusual in football that for those of us who are old enough to remember watching scores coming in via the vidi-printer they would have to write it 8 (eight) to avoid confusion!
Embed from Getty ImagesThe universe spent the next excruciating 8 (eight) minutes testing whether my dosage of anxiety tablets were correct. Wave after wave of Irish attacks, save after save by the amazing Olivia Clark. Where would we have been without Clark’s excellent performances during this campaign, crucial saves in every game.
Then just after an actual eight minutes of added-on time, Ella Powell took a throw-in and the referee immediately blew the whistle. Some Cymru players fell to their knees, others ran around in circles, not knowing exactly what to do. I screamed at the TV with my arms aloft, with tears rolling down my cheeks, a scene that was reenacted all over the country.
Embed from Getty ImagesA story that started with three players asking for change over thirty years ago, finally has the happy ending we have all been hoping for all these years. Now we can start a new story, this time starting in Switzerland rather than an office in Cardiff (even if it had an amazing carpet).
Now on to Switzerland/Ymlaen nawr i’r Swistir!
Diolch to @StephenJBaker for this piece; a fun write this one!