Category: Football

“If you’d told us we’d be sitting clear in second at this stage, I think we would have bitten your hand off”, says Wales’s Helen Ward

From the BBC website. @GettyImages.

After Wales Women’s recent World Cup Qualifying games against Greece and France, all-time leading goal scorer, Helen Ward, believes that her side is well-aware of the task they face going into 2022 but go in with a great deal of confidence and a great year behind them.

At the back end of November, Wales beat Greece 5-0 and fell to a narrow 2-0 defeat to group leaders, France. Wales had one of their greatest performances against France, with goals the only thing missing from their trip to Guingamp.

Speaking on the games, Ward said: “We always knew both games were going to be very different tests and that proved to be the case.

“I thought it was a really dominant performance from start to finish and then the result Greece then went on to get a few days later in Slovenia [0-0] goes to show just how well we played.

“The France game was always going to be a really difficult game, but the girls put in a huge effort, and we were so unlucky not to come away with a point.

“It was disappointing to be down to 10 again and who knows, maybe with 11 we could have snatched something, but it wasn’t to be.”

Wales currently sits second in Group I, with four games left to play. With the next round of games scheduled to be played in April of next year, the Welsh striker believes that the country is in a great position to go through.

“I think if you’d told us we’d be sitting clear in second at this stage, I think we would have bitten your hand off. Not because we wouldn’t have that expectation on ourselves, but you just never know how things will plan out.

“We’ve played everyone at least once now, so we have a good feel of the group, and we go into 2022 full of confidence.”

Reflecting on the quality of football shown in the game against France, Ward states that this confidence that Wales has grown has been building for some time.

“I think the confidence has been growing over the last two or three years.

“Although we didn’t score against France, I think it’s the closest we’ve come to doing so against a top side and that shows we’ve grown”.

We’ve seen several young players begin to break into this hungry Welsh side over the last year, and the Watford striker is excited to see how far they can all go.

“We have been so lucky to find some really, really talented kids in the last few years and the best thing about them is that most of them are in full-time environments with top teams.

“That’s something that the older lot never had at their age and they’re coming into camps ready to compete for a place in the team which is amazing.”

Wales take on France in April with Ward and the rest of the squad ready to continue their fantastic run in the Women’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, in their quest of reaching a first major tournament.  

Which Side Will Prevail in this Year’s Championship Play-Offs?

After the 2020/21 Championship campaign was wrapped up on Saturday, all focus will now be on the four sides who will battle it out for promotion in the play-offs at Wembley.

Brentford:

The Bees missed out on automatic promotion yet again, finishing just four points off Watford in second. Another impressive season for all at Brentford, especially for top scorer, Ivan Toney, who finished on 31 goals, making him the record goal scorer in a single Championship season.

There is no doubt that several clubs, especially those in the Premier League will have their eyes on a transfer for Toney, but he will certainly be focusing on getting his current side into the topflight for the first time.

Brentford outscored the rest of the league this season, scoring 79 goals and finished on the second highest goal difference, behind champions Norwich.

Their goal threat is clear but the same can’t be said for their defence after conceding 42 goals throughout the campaign.

Manager, Thomas Frank, who also led his side to a League Cup semi-final, will look to continue their 12-game unbeaten streak against Bournemouth in their two legs on the 17th and 22nd of May.

Swansea:

The Swans made up for just missing out on the play-offs in the previous year with a terrific fourth placed finish. The South Wales club finished on 80 points, with 23 wins and 56 goals scored.

Star-man, Andre Ayew, lived up to the title yet again, netting 16 times for his side, making him the club’s top scorer, with new signing, Jamal Lowe, close behind with 14.

Another player who stood out for Swansea this season was Wales full-back, Connor Roberts, who in his 48 appearances this season found the back of the net five times, also finding seven assists from right-back.

They remained towards the top end of the table throughout the duration of the season and will hope that they can get the better of Barnsley in their play-off semi-finals, despite just one win in their last five.

Their manager, Steve Cooper, said after their final day defeat to Watford:

“Going into these play-offs, we should fear nothing and go for it.”

In Swansea’s previous league games against Barnsley, they managed to get the best of them on both occasions, winning 2-0 home and away.

Barnsley:

Arguably the most surprising to reach the Championship play-offs this season is Barnsley. A draw against champions, Norwich and a defeat for Bournemouth against Stoke meant the Tykes finished in 5th position.

Their first time finishing in a Championship play-off place and rightly so. 23 wins, 58 goals scored and some big results in a difficult season for everyone this year.

Cauley Woodrow finished on 14 goals this season for Barnsley, making it another impressive season for the 26-year-old. Another man to make a statement since joining in February was Daryl Dike who initially joined on loan from MLS side, Orlando City.

“I really hope we can now get a big reward in the play-offs because, when you believe in something, you can achieve some great results”, said manager, Valerien Ismael, after his side’s final game.

Barnsley’s biggest weakness is their rocky defence who conceded a hefty 50 goals. The Tykes take on Swansea at Wembley on the 17th and 22nd also.

Bournemouth:

The side no one is shocked to see in a play-off place. Some may be shocked to see that the Cherries finished 6th and not higher but manager Jonathan Woodgate got the job done despite a difficult finish.

After Eddie Howe’s departure after their relegation from the Premier League, Bournemouth fans hoped for a quick return and after experiencing 13 loses in their return to the Championship, a play-off place should satisfy them.

The Cherries managed to keep a hold of most of their players despite relegation and they made the clear difference. Joint-top goal scorer, Dominic Solanke who netted 15 times, along with teammate, Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld.

There’s no doubting Bournemouth’s quality but after their final day loss to Stoke, a sixth placed finish means they will play high scoring Brentford at Wembley.

73 goals this season means we could be in for a memorable play-off semi-final. The league meetings this season saw Brentford do the double over Bournemouth, making them the favourites in this tie.

Which teams will make it into the final at Wembley and which side will win the star prize of Premier League football?

Reviewing Cardiff City’s Season

Cardiff City finished the Championship season with a 1-1 home draw with relegated Rotherham United, meaning they finished the campaign in 8th place.

The Bluebirds finished on 68 points, nine points behind the play-off places. Despite missing out on a top six finish, there are several positives to be taken away from a long Championship season.

The most obvious positive from the 2020/21 season is City’s top scorer and player of the season, Kieffer Moore. The Welshman finished the season with 20 league goals and is the first person to reach this landmark since Peter Whittingham 11 years ago.

The striker arrived at the start of the season for just £2million and has been a revelation in his first season for the club.

The other new faces at the club, Perry Ng, Dillon Phillips, along with Liverpool loanees, Harry Wilson and Sheyi Ojo, also had an impressive season with the Blues.

Wilson will go back to Liverpool with 7 goals and 11 assists. Most notably a hat-trick just last week against Birmingham.

Towards the end of January, Cardiff found themselves on a run of six consecutive defeats, meaning they were sat in 15th place, a mere three points away from the relegation zone.

From this point, the board decided to sack manager, Neil Harris. Harris helped City finish in a play-off place in the previous campaign but his results in the first half of this season meant he would not continue with the club.

Soon after, former Wolves and Republic of Ireland boss, Mick McCarthy was named first team coach until the end of the season.

It took 12 games for McCarthy to experience his first loss as Cardiff manager. Which included an impressive six game win streak. It was he, who got fans believing a play-off place was still possible.

In December Cardiff lost 2-0 to South Wales rivals, Swansea before getting their revenge in March when they held on to get a well-fought 1-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium.

Cardiff players celebrating Aden Flint’s winning goal against Swansea.

City’s biggest defeat this season came late on in the season against, now relegated, Sheffield Wednesday in a 5-0 defeat away.

It was publicly announced in January that Bluebirds defender and fan-favourite, Sol Bamba, has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was already undergoing treatment.

Bamba made a late appearance in City’s final game of the season against Rotherham.

After the game, manager Mick McCarthy said: “It is always our intention to finish as high as we possibly can”.

“I’m a bit miffed, I thought we could have had more points with some of them draws, but then you could probably look across games and see we got a win when we shouldn’t have done,” McCarthy added.

McCarthy is expected to have a big player haul this summer with six players out of contract. He has also said we will find out soon who will be staying and who will be going.

Can McCarthy get Cardiff a play-off place next season?

Preview: Cardiff City vs Rotherham United

Harry Wilson scored a hat-trick away to Birmingham last weekend.

Date: 08/05/2021

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

Competition: Sky Bet Championship

Cardiff City are hoping to finish their season off with a win against relegation battlers, Rotherham.

The Bluebirds come into the game knowing that the best position they can finish in the Championship table is 7th place.

After beating Birmingham 4-0 last time out, in a game that saw Wales star, Harry Wilson, score his first senior career hat-trick, Cardiff will fancy their chances against a Rotherham side who are still fighting to stay up.

The away side, who are winless in seven, know that a win could see them keep their place in the Championship next season. United need to see Derby fail to beat Sheffield Wednesday in their match.

It was announced today that City right-back, Jordi Osei-Tutu has returned to his parent club Arsenal after suffering another injury. The defender spent six months out injured before making his final two appearances in April.

“It’s awful, its demoralising and you almost get embarrassed if you keep getting injured”, said Cardiff boss Mick McCarthy, who loved working with the player during his time with the club.

McCarthy has also stated that he admires the way that Rotherham have fought to the final day and expects his opposition to fight “tooth and nail” in a game that means so much to their club.

“I think Paul Warne’s teams play that way anyway, they give everything,” said McCarthy.

“It’s a bit like us, we are not going out to show everybody how to play a wonderful game of football, we are going out to win it.

Kieffer Moore is set to start for Cardiff after netting 20 times this season. The game is also likely to be the final outing for Sheyi Ojo and Harry Wilson, who will both return to Liverpool after their season-long loans with City.

Mick McCarthy is also without Junior Hoilett and Max Watters who are both confirmed to be out.

In the reverse fixture, Cardiff scored late to snatch a 2-1 away win, that meant McCarthy continued his terrific start with the club.

“Toxic Masculinity and Lad Culture Still Massive Issues” says Cardiff Uni Footballer

Cardiff University football player and journalism student, Elliott Peeters-Vanstone, who was involved in team captain’s Ben Marett’s initiative last week, which involved walking girls home, whom did not feel safe to do so alone, says that the initiative, “doesn’t even scratch the surface in terms of impact!”.

Ever since the disappearance of Sarah Everard in London, women’s safety has become a sharp focus across the country. Especially when on the 24th April, an online hoax which suggested girls would be put in specific danger meaning girls were implored not to walk home alone.

On a day where girls across the country feared to walk anywhere alone, the Cardiff University football team, led by captain, Ben Marett, offered their services to any girl who would like to be accompanied home.

Peeters-Vanstone, who was involved in the scheme, said: “The boys thought a lot about how to make sure people were safe and comfortable with us, our red tracksuit tops were mentioned on our post so everyone knew who we were and Ben also sent photos of us to anybody in need of our help so they knew who to look for and had proof etc. We also split into pairs and threes to make sure nobody was on their own as well”.

The players ran a text-help service, which allowed girls to text in if they would feel safer having someone to walk home with. Over 30 girls took advantage of the scheme and all made it home safely and in good spirits.

The players walking a girl home. Credit: Kennedy News and Media.

Elliot also explained how all the boys were really behind Marett’s idea and were all keen to help out.

“I think it’s great exposure for such important issues, I think ultimately this story goes far beyond our football club and really brings to light what anybody can do if they put their mind to it, we are just grateful for all the support we have had and hope that more people do the same”.

And when asked if he and the rest of the team would like to see others looking to help out and see similar schemes come about in the future, Elliot replied:

“It would be absolutely great to see others involved. We’ve barely touched the surface of these issues and support from others and alternative initiatives are vital in making a real sustainable change”.

Ben, Elliot and the rest of the team hope this will make girls feel safer walking home alone also would like to challenge the perception around “lad culture”.

“I think it’s a great story for us to be a part of and a real honour to be perceived that way. But issues like toxic masculinity and macho lad culture are still massive issues amongst men and Uni students especially and were just glad we can be involved in the right side of the conversation”.

The message left by Ben Marett offering his and the team’s services to anyone who wanted someone to walk home with. Credit: Kennedy News and Media.

Ben and the team’s vice president, Jared Evitts, have also been working to encourage men to talk about mental health throughout the Covid pandemic.

Teammate Elliot believes: “ultimately this story goes far beyond our football club and really brings to light what anybody can do if they put their mind to it, we are just grateful for all the support we have had and hope that more people do the same”.

After such a positive response to the scheme, Peeters-Vanstone and the rest of the squad are focused on their football but are still looking to help in any way they can.

“We will be continuing to spread the message and are open to anyone if they have any ideas of how we could help out”.

Cardiff Met Captain, Steph Turner, Says Squad are Still Confident in Their Title Push

Coming into the final few games of the season, Cardiff Met sit in second place and just three points behind Swansea in first. Captain, Steph Turner, promises, squad will not give up “until the final whistle”.

Title challengers, Cardiff Met picked up another valuable win last weekend against mid-table Abergavenny. The match finished 4-0 and Met captain, Turner, recognised the opposition’s attacking capabilities and said it was “pleasing” to get three points away to a strong side.

After fears at the start of the year over whether the season would be scrapped, Turner also expressed the difficulty of not training during a season where her side are pushing for a title. “Questioning whether or not the season would be cancelled made the road running and HIIT training even harder”.

With Swansea ahead by just three points, Met are relying on their rivals to slip up in one of their remaining games and  Steph says there is “pressure on both teams. We won’t give up until the final whistle of the final game”.

Speaking on the squad performance, Turned has said:

“Majority of it has been pleasing. There’s obviously been a couple of games where we haven’t played to our potential, whether that’s in our individual or team performance but overall, so far, we’ve only lost one game so we have been playing well.”

“In terms of the individual girls who have stood out, I think there could be quite a few this season, there’s Chloe O’Connor, she’s come back, just after a serious back injury and I think she’s been unbelievable this season and she’s our current top goal scorer. The likes of Sophie Hancocks, Lucy Finch, they stand our when we play. The girls we signed in January, have also done really well.”

“As a squad, you don’t want to single our individuals, it’s certainly been a squad effort, especially with COVID. It’s been a huge team effort this year.”

Cardiff Met will take on Port Talbot at the Cardiff Met Cyncoed Campus on Thursday the 6th May. Can they maintain their pressure on Swansea?

How Football Supports the LGBTQ+ Community and How Important its Role is.

It’s no secret that football and the LGBTQ+ community are very relevant topics today. Charities such as, Stonewall, have been set up to help protect all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people and so how can football work with Stonewall to help everyone feel safe and free to be who they are in the sport of football?

Nowadays, it is far more common to find an openly gay female footballer than it is a male, with Thomas Hitzlsperger the only open Premier League player. The German revealed he was gay in January 2014, a few months after he retired.

Many believed Hitzlsperger’s coming out may have paved the way for others in the men’s game to do the same, but it still hasn’t gone that way just yet. The former Aston Villa midfielder himself has said, football has made “progress” and has explained the impact it has had on him.

The Stonewall charity who work all over the UK, have made it their mission to help people feel free to be themselves and although they are not exclusively a charity that just helps those in sport, they also aim to make footballers who are too scared to come out as gay, feel safe to do so.

One of their ambassadors and Wales Women’s most capped player, Jess Fishlock has spoken regularly about her work with Stonewall and about how she is using her platform to impact real change.

She’s said: “the Stonewall campaign that we have in football, specifically, runs just a couple weeks a year, which I personally feel is not long enough and want the campaign to be all year round in it’s different areas.”

Stonewall have also had their own football team since the year 1991 and have gone on to achieve great success both with their footballing achievement and their general growth.

The team’s message has ‘stayed the same’, in it’s commitment to creating a footballing environment where people can be comfortable in their own skin to facilitate their best sporting self.

When speaking about the role that men’s teams take in the push for equality, Fishlock stated that she has noticed the top teams in the Premier League have taken responsibility for what the campaign represents.

Working alongside Stonewall, the Premier League encouraged all their teams and players to wear rainbow laces on their boots between the 3rd and 14th of December to ‘show support to all LGBT people in football and beyond’.

Fishlock: “as soon as the clubs and the players took responsibility for their campaign and made it personal and made it public for them, then the message and the campaign became so much stronger.”

The on-loan Reading midfielder has used her profile to help promote equality to all in football and believes that support, encouragement and empathy for others is how it will happen.

A link to Stonewall’s website can be found below:

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/

Life in Lockdown for Abergavenny Goalkeeper, Chelsea Herbert

Chelsea Herbert, goalkeeper for Abergavenny Women FC.

Abergavenny goalkeeper, Chelsea Herbert, believes there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ as she implores people to remain hopeful during national lockdown.

Herbert who plays for Abergavenny’s Women side in the Welsh Premier Women’s League said that not being able to play football during the COVID-19 national lockdown has been ‘difficult’ but remains positive.

With fixtures halted, club training sessions have followed suit for Abergavenny so like the top clubs around the country during the original lockdown, the players have been given exercise and workouts to help keep them fit and moving, as well as challenges to keep them motivated.

Watford Women’s captain, Helen Ward stated that football clubs would set certain workouts that needed to be completed by each player. Workouts that could include, cardio, strength and conditioning and HIIT training.

Herbert also expressed how she has truly learnt not to take anything for granted and appreciate everything that you have, both from a personal perspective and a footballing one.

With the season currently frozen, Abergavenny currently sit 3rd in the Welsh Premier Women’s League with two games in hand.

The FAW hope to resume the season when the country either returns to Alert Level 3 in accordance with the Welsh Government Covid-19 Control Plan or when the ‘Elite Status’ as defined by Sport Wales is redesignated to that competition, whichever is the sooner.

With mental health being such a huge issue in this day in age, the Abergavenny goalkeeper also said that she, the manager and the rest of the team are continuing to check up on each other via one of the team’s group chats.

In May 2020, the country was still going through its first national lockdown and with people unable to play football outside, Chelsea decided to use this as an opportunity to help younger children to continue to improve their footballing ability.

She began taking bookings for free football training sessions that she conducted on Zoom. It was available to both boys and girls and was for children aged 12 and up.

As a UEFA B qualified coach, Herbert thought it was a clever way of helping children continue to play and get a ball moving. Her sessions were free and got a great response online.

As a player herself, Chelsea also appreciates the work of Marcus Rashford and other footballers who have made a positive impact during the pandemic with charity work, or in Rashford’s case, governmental reform.

“It gives people hope…just to know there’s help out there and not just this isolation.”

Lockdown has given people the chance to consider all the different things that make people happy and coaching is certainly that for Chelsea.

“I like helping develop players, seeing them progress and have fun really, that’s the whole point. For me, was to have fun in football. To help pass on knowledge and help children…that’s my motivation.”

Football has given people a lot during the pandemic and Herbert claims she would be lost without it too.

When asked about any advice she had for others when it comes to dealing with the isolation of lockdown, the goalkeeper finished by saying:

“Keep looking at positives, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel and we’re not going to live like this forever. Stay healthy, stay motivated, keep in contact with friends and family and don’t get into your own head.

“It will be better.”

Will Ethan Ampadu Ever be Given his Chance at Lampard’s Chelsea?

In a Sheffield United side that finished the previous Premier League season in 9th place, Welsh International, Ethan Ampadu, must now show Frank Lampard why he does still have a future at Chelsea, as the Blades look to pull off the great escape from relegation in the new year.

Exeter born midfielder, Ethan Ampadu, 20, is currently playing his football with Premier League strugglers Sheffield United. On loan from Chelsea, the defensive midfielder, is looking to help keep his side in the topflight after they’ve picked up just two points from their opening 14 games.

Ampadu began his career with Exeter City before making the switch to Chelsea in July of 2017. He went on to make his debut in September, in an EFL Cup game against Nottingham Forrest, doing so made him the first player born in the 2000s to feature for Chelsea.

Since then, the Welshman has gone on to play just once in the Premier League for the Blues’ and after the arrival of manager Frank Lampard, it was announced he would spend the 2019/20 campaign on loan with Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig.

After making just three appearances for Leipzig, he returned, hoping to be given more of a chance within Lampard’s setup. Unfortunately for him, the Chelsea manager still felt he needed another loan spell to develop as a player, so he made the move to Bramall Lane, coming off the back of their previously successful campaign.

Ampadu has been played in both the centre-back position and the defensive midfield role, making eight appearances this season. He is yet to score or pick up an assist, but there have been promising signs.

With his side currently sitting 20th in the Premier League and five points off 19th placed West Brom, the 20-year-old has begun to show why his future will be a bright one.

In his side’s recent 3-2 loss to Manchester United, Ampadu was one of the outstanding players on the pitch, however, he found it difficult to really make his mark against such an impressive United side.

As well as this, he has gone on to receive 13 caps for his country, Wales, and was a big part of helping them achieve qualification to Euro 2020 (now being played in 2021).

He is now one of the first names on Ryan Giggs’ team sheet, with his versatility coming in handy regularly. His range of long passing and powerful defending have made him a key component of a promising Wales team.

There is still time for the Blades to rescue their season and for Ampadu to show why he does still deserve his chance at Chelsea, but does Lampard think he has a future with the Blues?

The manager has regularly expressed his excitement about the young midfielder but believes regular game time is what is needed.

Chelsea fans are now used to seeing reports linking Declan Rice with a big money move to Stamford Bridge. Rice plays a similar role to Ampadu, so a move for the West Ham man, could spark an end to any future he has at Chelsea.

He himself, has emphasised how he is just focused on picking up more and more minutes and says, what will be, will be, but it is certainly clear now that he does have the quality to take his career in whatever direction he wants.

Why it is Finally Time for Glatzel to Shine for the Bluebirds

The news broke this week that Cardiff City’s top scorer, Kieffer Moore, would miss at least the next five games for his side. With the striker out, it must now be time for next-in-line, Robert Glatzel, to fill in for the Welshman as City’s main source of goals.

The German forward, Glatzel, was signed under Neil Warnock at the start of the 2019/20 campaign for a fee of around £5.5 million. He has since gone on to net 10 goals in the Championship in that time including the opening goal against Birmingham on Wednesday evening.

Cardiff sealed a late victory against Birmingham, with Sean Morrison netting in the 89th minute making it 3-2 to the home side. Glatzel opened the scoring on the night after filling in for the injured Kieffer Moore.

Despite getting the first goal of the match, the striker also saw his penalty saved by former teammate, Neil Etheridge. His goal, however, was his third in the league this season.

Given the forward’s counterpart, Moore, has been the Bluebirds main source of goals so far this season, the majority of his appearances have come off of the bench.

Despite most of his City goals coming with his feet, the 6-foot 4 striker is known for being good in the air. His positioning during his last few appearances has lacked but there is now a chance to turn his wrongs into rights.

Playing, Liverpool-loanee, Harry Wilson, in the number ten position could be the key to unlocking his goal scoring potential but Wilson has spent most of his time at the club playing on the right of a front three. However, during the victory against Birmingham on Wednesday, he was given his chance in the attacking midfield role, which allowed him to contribute with a goal and two assists.

After the news of Moore’s injury, fans were obviously disappointed, but many have since pointed out that this could be exactly what Glatzel needs to get some much needed starts and hopefully add to his goal tally for the upcoming games.

Cardiff’s next fixtures include a trip to title toppers Norwich, a home match against sixth-placed Brentford and finish 2020 with a trip to strugglers Wycombe. Can Glatzel finish the year off with a bang?

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started