Cymru C’s match winner Sion Bradley has said the 1-0 victory over England C is one of the greatest moments in his career.
When Cymru lost against England in Altrincham last year, Bradley was an unused substitute; a role that certainly frustrated him. Fast forward a year, and the Caernarfon Town star is the name on everybody’s lips, and he says the game will live long in his memory.
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve given Mark some hassle for not brining me on last year, but I think that’s made me play a lot better of this season. I wanted to try and prove a point and show that I am good enough to play a part in this game, and I’m glad I did that tonight.
“It probably stands right at the top of the greatest moments in my career. There’s not a prouder feeling in the world than putting on this red jersey, and especially when we did what we’ve done tonight.”
Bradley won the game with a marvellous free kick on the stroke of half-time, and he knew as soon as the ball left his foot that he had found the back of the net.
“I think a few of the lads wanted to take the free kick, but I thought it was perfect for a right footed player. Once it left my foot, I was off celebrating in the corner flag.”
While Bradley will take the plaudits for his mesmeric winner, the defence certainly played their part in the victory with a clean sheet.
Cardiff Met centre-back Emlyn Lewis put his body on the line constantly during the game, and he said the squad reacted well to changes throughout the game.
“It was a great victory. It was a much-deserved win too. I thought we were the much better side during the game. They had a few chances towards the end, but Kel got us out of trouble in the last five minutes, but to a man, I thought we were outstanding.
“We got the stats before the game of how well their forwards were doing, and we knew it was going to be difficult, because we knew the quality that they had. The true reality is, however, that we have a lot of quality as well. The first 20 minutes they moved the ball quite well, we didn’t get the shape right, but then we tweaked it a little bit and got the upper hand.”
Behind Lewis and the rest of the defence was Kelland Absalom, who made a series of crucial and awe-inspiring saves towards the end of the game.
Lewis has come up against the Bala Town shot stopper on a number of occasions, and he believes he’s one of the best in the country at what he does.
“Kelland is an outstanding goalkeeper. I think he’s third in terms of clean sheets in the league this season; he kicks like a mule too which always helps! But he’s a brilliant player and a brilliant person too, and I’m very proud of everyone in this group. We’ve deserved this victory and we’re going to enjoy it.”
The man who of course brought this group all together is manager Mark Jones.
Jonah has been involved in this fixture for a number of years and has been on the winning and losing end. Last night’s result in Llanelli, according to Jonah, will rank has one of his best as Cymru C boss.
“I’ve been involved in this game about six or seven times now. We had a brilliant performance up in Caernarfon, and it’s a strange thing to say, but I think we worked even harder tonight. We worked our socks off. We talk about individual battles. If you win eleven individual battles on the field, you’re going to win, and that’s what happened. We had a little bit of magic from Bradley, great saves from Absalom, Wales beat England, and we’re happy as Larry.
“Whenever you’re managing Wales, it’s always a pleasure and an honour. This win is definitely up there in my time managing this team, and I’m so happy for all my boys.”
