An important and well deserved win for Cymru U21s this evening – they beat Lithuania 2-1 in a very watchable encounter at Rodney Parade, Newport.
Rubin Colwill was the big difference between the sides. His size and skill makes him a formidable presence at this level. After Cymru conceded a shock opener on 11 minutes, he shrugged his way through challenges into the area to equalise just 4 minutes later. The visitors simply found him hard to deal with throughout the match. Cymru dominated most of the game without too much of a cutting edge
Joel Cotterill had a quiet 1st half and an influential 20 minutes after the interval before being sacrificed for Liverpool’s rising star striker Lewis Koumas (son of Jason). The switch was vindicated by Koumas’s neat first time curling shot for Cymru’s 2nd and ultimately winning goal on 76 minute. Colwill’s burst to open up the Lithuanian defence was decisive.
Lithuania were athletic and physical, not a great deal of creativity. With only one goal in it, they threw players forward in the final stages, although Cymru held firm.
Evan Watts came through a difficult opening and handled the ball well, making a crucial 2nd half save while the score was still 1-1.
Ben Lloyd didn’t get off the bench. One-time Swans loanee Fin Stevens captained the team from right back.
Colwill aside, central defenders Luca Hoole (Bristol Rovers) and Matt Baker (Newport, on loan from Stoke) were very imposing and held things together for Cymru. Hoole in particular has great confidence in possession, breaks well and it’s no surprise he’s been a fixture in the Rovers’ first team for much of the past 3 seasons.
Attendance here tonight was 1,311 – lots of kids and also some very accommodating senior representation at the back of the stand from Rob Page, Chris Gunter, Charlie Savage and Alan Knill.