Comfortable Cymru through to play Norway

Cymru 3-0 Albania

(4-0 on aggregate)

• Cymru comfortably through to Play-off Round 2
• Mayzee Davies scores first Cymru goal
• Elise Hughes and Hannah Cain also on target
• Cymru will play Norway in November, tickets on sale now

Cymru produced a commanding performance when it mattered as Albania were defeated 3-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate to move Rhian Wilkinson’s side one step closer to their World Cup dream in style.

Scarlett Hill impressed from the substitutes bench in the 1-0 win over Albania in Shkodër last week and was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up, while striker Hannah Cain also joined her in the first XI. Albania head coach Armir Grimaj made three changes to his side as they looked to turn the tie around.

Cymru made a positive start to proceedings and dominated the early exchanges, with Cain and Elise Hughes combining well with Mared Griffiths and Carrie Jones. Griffiths and Hughes both had decent changes to extend Cymru’s 1-0 lead from the 1st leg, while Albania were restricted to the occasional counter-attack.

Gemma Evans made an important block to deny Fortesa Berisha midway through the opening half, but Albania’s attacking impotence was exposed from the resulting corner as captain Megi Doçi could only find the side netting. Meanwhile, Hill and Mayzee Davies continued to defend with ease.

Cymru continued to push forward at every opportunity, and while the final ball let them down, they took a deserved lead on 34 minutes when Davies scored her first senior international goal with a header at the back post. It was a huge moment in the tie, and no more than the home side deserved.

Any concerns over earlier missed chances were quickly forgotten as Hughes doubled the advantage after 50 minutes as she capitalised on a cross from Griffiths, before both Cain and captain Angharad James had further opportunities but could not make them count.

The chances kept coming for Cymru as Griffiths shot wide from close-range before Hughes was denied by goalkeeper Rajmonda Spahiu. However, the third goal would finally arrive on 62 minutes as some excellent work by Griffiths on the left allowed Lily Woodham the time and space needed to find Cain in the box.

The crowd wanted more and Wilkinson’s side were only happy to oblige with the tie effectively over. With a 4-0 aggregate lead, Cymru continued attack in waves and only the post denied substitute Rachel Rowe on 71 minutes. Chloe Williams and Casi Gregson both then came off the bench for their senior Cymru debuts. 

A Parc Y Scarlets record crowd of 4,837 for a women’s international and a record ten games undefeated for this team. Cymru will now face a tougher challenge against Norway in the next stage of this qualifying campaign, but the confidence they will take from this dominant display will give them plenty of belief.