Senior Women v Belgium
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 6/7th June
In preparation for the road to Edinburgh and Rome the senior women this weekend took on Belgium in 2 test matches at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
Wales are in the same pool as Belgium in the Europeans this summer along with Lithuania and the Ukraine so these matches were a good insight into the opposition’s style of play for both teams.
Wales 1, Belgium 6
Both teams started brightly with Belgium gaining the first chance to score from a penalty corner. The Welsh defence held out and it was Wales who scored first with a well built up move started and finished by Dawn Mitchell in the 12th minute. Wales didn’t however keep the play tight after taking the lead and let the Belgians back into the game 4 minutes later with a ball that should have been cleared. The remainder of the half saw both teams in their attacking circles but the Belgians took their chances via a reverse strike from the top of the D. A penalty corner slipped to the left and an open play goal, to make the score at half time 1-4.
The 2nd half saw Wales with the first chance but Mitchell was unable to convert this time. Belgium also pressured and from their 3rd penalty corner they extended their lead to 1-5 in the 46th minute. Despite sending balls across the goal line and into dangerous areas Wales were unable to find the killer final touch and Belgium scored their 6th goal from another penalty corner.
After a bright start a disappointing end to the game.
Wales 0, Belgium 2
With specific targets to improve upon Wales again started brightly in the 2nd match with Mitchell again on a driving attack early in the 1st half. The majority for the play was in the middle of the pitch and it was only when the Belgians forced a penalty corner, that they opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a 2nd phase penalty corner.
The 2nd half also remained a pretty even affair and it was only in the 67th minute that the Belgians scored their 2nd.
A much better performance by the Welsh players who stuck to their rolls in a more consistent manner. They recognised patterns of play from both their own team-mates and from the opposition. The "self-pass" rule ensured that the game flowed at a more intense pace and kept players, officials and spectators on their toes.
After one more training weekend Wales travel to Edinburgh for the Celtic Cup June 26-28th and then it’s just 2 weeks until they fly out to Rome.
