Wales o65s undone by last-minute England winner!

The Wales Veterans' Football Association welcomed a strong England squad to Cardiff for their second game in the first-ever o65s Tri-nations tournament, and in a tight, hard-fought encounter, Wales conceded a sickening last-minute winner in front of a partisan crowd at the Ocean Park Arena....writes manager, Rob Seago...

After a heartbreaking loss against Northern Ireland 2 weeks previous, Wales knew they had to beat England to stand any chance of success in the tournament. They stormed out of the blocks and with a strong wind at their backs, dominated the first half with determination and some neat football with Huish, Branch, and Les Davies prominent. They were however, restricted to just a few long-range efforts by a stubborn English defence, well-marshalled by skipper, Slater and Corby in the English goal, was rarely troubled. Conversely, England struggled to get up the pitch and the rare excursions into the Welsh half were dealt with comfortably by the Wales back three of Medwin, Gibb and Lambert, and although the half-finished goalless, the feeling was that the hosts needed to be ahead in the game.

In the second half, and despite the fact that England now had the elements in their favour, Wales continued to play well and although they were pinned deep into their own territory they still threatened on the break. The introduction of Evans, Miles and Huw Davies improved penetration, but, symptomatic of late, there was still a lack of cutting-edge in the final third. England pushed for the decider and late in the game a thunderous long-range effort by MoM, Slater, cannoned off the bar straight into the gloves of the well beaten Sully. With a minute remaining, and despite the efforts of a resolute defence and fine performances from Huish and Les Davies, England finally struck. A wind-assisted, in-swinging corner dropped invitingly in the the six-yard box and defender, Heatherley, crashed home at the far post. This was a tough blow to Wales as a draw would have been a fairer result in a tough and evenly contested encounter, but England now travel to Northern Ireland in a week’s time to decide who lifts the inaugural Dennis Murphy Memorial Tri-Nations Trophy.

Congratulations to the following players, who were selected by Manager, Rob Seago....
Howard Sully - Newport
Les Davies - Penybont
Cameron Medwin - Swansea
Pat Lambert - Merthyr
Phil Gibb – Barry Town
Kevin Brown - Barry Town
Allan Harris - Penybont
Alun Huish (Capt) - Barry Town
Barry Marshall - Barry Town
Steve Branch - Barry Town
Paul Staddon - Barry Town
Mike Bobbett - Barry Town
Jon Williams - Newport
Stuart Evans - Barry Town
Huw Davies - Barry Town
Management Team
Rob Seago
Leighton Gates
Paul Averies