Switzerland 4-1 Wales

It’s probably wishful thinking that can be blamed for my fingers’ insistence on writing Switzerland 1-4 Wales – although certainly the result Wales got wasn’t one they deserved.

Injuries had ruled out Hal Robson-Kanu while Joe Allen and Ched Evans were deemed not fit enough to return for this match. Boaz Myhill was only expected to be on the bench but his injury meant the promising but inexperienced David Cornell, not always first-choice even for the under-21s, had to take his place on the bench.

With Chris Gunter and Sam Ricketts suspended, Ashley Williams (who had luckily recovered from an ankle injury) dropped back into central defence, where he belongs, and Darcy Blake, surprisingly not in Brian Flynn’s initial squad, finally made the senior Wales debut he’s deserved for quite some time.

Andrew Crofts and Andy King replaced Ashley and expectant father Joe Ledley in the holding roles. Early reports said that Steve Morison would keep his place in the starting line-up but then the Sun claimed that Simon Church would take his place, and for once in a way, they turned out to be right.

To replace the injured and suspended, Rhoys Wiggins, Shaun MacDonald and Jazz Richards were called into the squad, with Craig Morgan joining them later just in case Ashley’s ankle started csusing problems.

Wayne Hennessey, Danny Collins, Dave Edwards and Gareth Bale kept their places in the team. David Cornell, Craig Morgan, Christian Ribeiro, Neil Taylor, Shaun MacDonald, Ryan Doble and Steve Morison were on the bench. Reports had suggested Adam Matthews would be on the bench but he was excluded along with Jonathan Bond, Jazz Richards and Rhoys Wiggins.

Wales looked strong in the opening stages and things were definitely looking promising when Switzerland were forced to replace their goalkeeper after just eight minutes. Wales could have taken the lead but there was a slight worry in the left back area, where Danny Collins didn’t seem entirely comfortable. And it was Switzerland who took the lead.

However, undeterred, Wales got an almost immediate equaliser from Gareth Bale, the player on whom Brian Flynn was relying to be their matchwinner. It seemed a bit much for a twenty-one year old, no matter how gifted. He can do the work of two players but not eleven. But it didn’t seem to be a problem for Gareth at first. He ran up and down the wing tirelessly, creating chances for himself and others. As for his goal, Andrew Crofts had thought he was only clearing the ball following a tackle. It was a beautiful clearance and Gareth buried it, ensuring that it was a beautiful assist too. Gareth was outstanding throughout but not only that, he worked really hard. He played as though he loved his country and that was lovely to see.

Wales continued to look dangerous and it was disappointing rather than disastrous when Switzerland took the lead again. Wales were very much still in the game. But then the excellent Darcy Blake was, for no obvious reason, replaced by Christian Ribeiro. Christian played well and he didn’t do anything wrong but when he brushed against a Switzerland attacker, who fell dramatically to the floor in true Drogba style, the referee saw fit to award a penalty, which Switzerland calmly despatched.

Wales didn’t deserve to be two goals behind and Switzerland hadn’t deserved a penalty but football isn’t always fair. People make mistakes and they probably still will make them even if video technology is introduced. Wales understandably lost heart a bit after that (if I can lose heart during a Wales match, anyone can) and Switzerland went on to get a fourth goal which was completely undeserved. Instead of being a hotly-fought contest which could have gone either way, it became (in my completely biased opinion) a scoreline which told you nothing about the match.

Wayne Hennessey wasn’t as bad in goal as some have said. He made some mistakes but he also managed to make saves when Swirzerland should probably have scored. Against Luxembourg (whom France could only beat 2-0, I remember a team a few months ago scoring a few more than that…) it looked a bit like Wayne’s time out of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ starting line-up was catching up with him but he’s looking good, if not at his best.

Ashley looked much more comfortable at centre back and he was also a big help when Danny Collins got it into his head that he had a free role and started running off and leaving huge gaps. Danny is a good player and I’m glad he was called up but he was sharing the field with team-mates he hadn’t played with for three years, if ever. James Collins was also excellent in defence and did his bit to ensure there weren’t any more than five Swiss goals.

David Vaughan again did really well for Wales. Wales again chose to play with two defensive midfielders, with Andrew Crofts partnering David and both did well but maybe another attacking player would have made more of a difference. When Steve Morison came off the bench late on, things looked promising but the hard-working Simon Church dropped back to the right of midfield leaving Steve to play as a lone striker. Dave Edwards and Andy King completed a strong Wales team with Shaun MacDonald making what was probably not the most exciting Wales debut in the world when it was really too late.

Afterwards, Brian Flynn and his players were disappointed by the result, particularly as it was undeserved. Brian thinks his chances of becoming the Wales manager full-time are limited now but he says he wants the job and Ashley and Gareth at least have come out in support of him. They’ve enjoyed his training sessions and, as Gareth pointed out, Brian had a very short amount of time in which to build a winning team, and the injuries, suspensions and retirements would have challenged any manager.