Cymru 2-5 Poland
- Charlie Estcourt earns 50th cap
- Average age of 24 takes to the pitch
- Elise Hughes and Carrie Jones score for Cymru
Poland claimed a 5-2 victory at Rodney Parade in a match decided by a two minute spell that produced three goals in the 2nd half. Despite the defeat, head coach Rhian Wilkinson can take positives from the application of her players in the final third in a performance that got the crowd on their feet.
Wilkinson made nine changes to her starting line-up from the defeat to Australia at the weekend, including debutants Teagan Scarlett and Mia Ross in a team with an average age of under 24. Hayley Ladd captained the side while Charlie Estcourt was handed a start on her 50th senior cap.
Both nations made history during the summer by competing at the EURO finals for the first time, while Nina Patalon’s Poland came into the match on the back of an impressive 0-0 draw against the Netherlands on Friday night.
A really positive start from Cymru provided the perfect start as an effort from Anna Filbey was spilled by goalkeeper Kinga Seweryn and into the path of Elise Hughes who made no mistake to opening the scoring after just five minutes.
Cymru continued to pressure the Polish defence and both Tianna Teisar and Hughes both had chances to increase the lead in the opening exchanges. However, Poland soon settled into the match and began to show their quality in the final third, and made their increased possession count shortly after.
Poland equalised on 22 minutes through a fine strike from the edge of area by Nadia Krezyman, and on the half-hour mark, Milena Kokosz also beat Cymru goalkeeper Olivia Clark from distance to give her side the lead. Clark would then deny Adriana Achcińska from a free-kick.
Cymru had been solid at the back prior to the goals, with captain Hayley Ladd leading by example with a typically assured display. At the other end, Hughes came very close to equalising for Cymru with the final kick of the opening half, but her effort went narrowly wide of the target.
Despite the introduction of the experienced duo of Ceri Holland and Sophie Ingle, two crazy minutes decided this contest shortly after the restart. On 55 minutes, Nadia Krezyman extended Poland’s lead, but Carrie Jones responded in style straight from the kick-off to bring her side back into the match.
Poland were not to be outdone, and on 57 minutes Paulina Tomasiak made no mistake from close-range to make it 4-2. Cymru goalkeeper Olivia Clark had to be at her best while the home side continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack, but the victory for Poland was sealed with the goal of the night on 84 minutes through substitute Klaudia Jedlińska.
The concern will be over the number of chances that Poland were allowed to create. However, this is a new era for Cymru, and Wilkinson will be generally pleased with how the young players embraced their opportunity to represent the senior side over these two friendly fixtures.
As it happened
Cymru 2-5 Poland
