Wales Pile Pressure on Scotland's Burley
Manager John Toshack Sees Pressure Thrown On His Counterpart
Teenage sensation Aaron Ramsey scored one and set up the other two as he led Wales to a resurgent win.
The eighteen-year-old crossed for David Edwards to volley home Wales’ first on seventeen minutes before playing a huge part in Simon Church’s first goal for Wales.
On thirty five minutes he then pounced on a Darren Fletcher slip to leave Steven McManus stranded and bundle through Fletcher’s challenge to smash a third past the helpless David Marshall in the Scotland goal.
The game petered out in the second half as substitutions disrupted the play but the displeasure was audibly clear from the Scotland fans throughout this one-sided contest.
Both Sides Disrupted by Injury Beforehand
Wales fielded a team with an average age of just 22 after many of their Premiership stars pulled out ahead of this friendly.
Craig Bellamy, James Collins, Boaz Myhill, Jack Collison and Simon Davies, among others, were missing but Wales’ bright young stars stepped up to the plate.
Scotland’s luck wasn’t much better and they had also faced a host of withdrawals this week.
A Bright Start
Both teams came out visibly revved up and in the first minute a cross from the impressive Wales right back Sam Ricketts caught up in the vicious South Wales wind and almost caught out David Marshall in the Scotland goal but he managed to palm it away.
Scotland’s response was terrific. Debutant Danny Fox fizzed a low cross in to the Welsh six yard box and McFadden’s flick was saved by the legs of Wayne Hennessey in the Wales goal.
Scotland came again and Don Cowie’s ball inside was controlled by Kenny Miller who then shot wide.
Wales Begin to Dominate
From thereon it went downhill for Scotland and Aaron Ramsey began to take over in midfield. On seventeen minutes he broke away down the right and after playing a one-two with Ricketts he smashed a ball across the face of goal where David Edwards volleyed home acrobatically from ten yards out.
A succession of Scottish corners caused problems in the swirling wind but they lacked any real threat in front of goal.
Wales doubled their lead on thirty two minutes and it was Ramsey who was pulling the strings once more. His neat ball unleashed Cardiff boy Joe Ledley on the left side of the box and his ball across the six yard box was poked home by Simon Church for his first international goal despite the attention of two Scottish defenders.
Three minutes later and it was 3-0. Fletcher slipped trying to control a wayward pass and Ramsey pounced immediately. Driving forward he wrong-footed Steven McManus before outmuscling the backtracking Fletcher to rifle past David Marshall.
Immediately Wales came again. Ramsey’s neat header let Ched Evans loose in the Scotland box and after cutting inside his rifled shot was well parried by Marshall. Church chased down the rebound and was visibly body checked by Graeme Dorrans but the referee let play continue.
Second Half Quietens Down
As both managers rang the changes the game began to die down as the second half wore on but there were still moments of magic from the home side.
Just after the hour mark a neat passing move ended with David Edwards playing a one-two with substitute Robert Earnshaw but Edwards blazed his first-time effort over the bar with his weaker left foot.
David Marshall should have seen red after hauling down substitute Sam Vokes outside the box but Swiss referee Cyrill Zimmermann only produced a yellow.
Scotland’s afternoon got no better. Cardiff striker Ross McCormack came off the bench and went closest but his cheeky chip on eighty minutes was palmed over the bar by the solid Hennessey.
The referee continued his leniency when Scottish right back Alan Hutton went straight through the back of David Cotterill after being turned on the wing. In a competitive match he could have seen a severe punishment for such a challenge.
Scots Fans Dismayed By Performance
Many Scottish fans had left by the seventieth minute, but those who stayed to the bitter end were vocal in their displeasure towards Burley at the final whistle.
Scotland have now set a new unwanted record of failing to score in four consecutive away matches and after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup next summer the pressure has been cranked up on the boss.
Wales had lost six of their last nine matches so the win was a welcome result for the home fans who were able to cheer three goals in a home international for the first time since 2004.
Teams
Wales: Hennessey, Rickets, Nyatanga (Gabbidon, 60), Williams (c.), Morgan, Bale, Ledley (King, 80), Ramsey (Allen, 57), Edwards (Cotterill, 88), Evans (Vokes, 45), Church (Earnshaw, 45). Subs not used: Brown, Easter, Dorman, Matthews, Blake.
Scotland: Marshall, Hutton, McManus, Gary Caldwell, Fox (Steven Fletcher, 55), Dorrans (Robson, 71), Darren Fletcher, Cowie (Riordan, 78), Miller (Wallace, 55), Naismith (McCormack, 62), McFadden (Kyle, 62). Subs not used: Langfield, Gallagher, Berra, Steven Caldwell, Adam.
Wales' Aaron Ramsey
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Cardiff City Stadium
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