Wales U21 0 v 1 Netherlands U21

Saturday 11th June 2022, Kick-off 17.00
2023 UEFA European Under 21 Championship Qualifying Group E

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

Admission: £5.00

Programme: None, Teamsheet Free

Attendance: 161

I decided to stretch out my 21-22 season a little further into June by taking in this game at a venue rarely used for football, and for what would be my first footballing venture outside of England's green and pleasant land since before pre-Covid times. 

Although the 5pm kick off time for this game did seem like something of a wasted opportunity with the senior Wales team playing in Cardiff at 7.45, thereby preventing any possibility of a double, it actually made attending this fixture possible for me, giving me time to take the budget friendly National Express coach from London to Swansea, then catching a local bus service for the roughly one hour journey to a bus stop within about a ten minute walk from the ground. Opened in 2008, the Parc y Scarlets is the usual home ground of the Scarlets and Llanelli rugby union clubs, but has been used by the Welsh FA to host internationals for their various teams over the years, including three senior internationals, and local club Llanelli Town have played some their European fixtures here too, as their usual ground Stebonheath Park was not approved to host UEFA competition fixtures. Access is gained to the rear of a retail complex, with a lane leading to a large car park outside of the ground, which has quite an imposing and impressive fascia. With only the middle section of the (main) south stand open for this fixture, none of the usual turnstiles were open today, instead access was gained by passing through the reception area, and up a flight of stairs to the second floor, passing through plenty of rugby memorabilia and signage en route, before reaching the Quinnell Lounge, a very spacious and stylish hospitality area with plenty of tables and a bar, with doors leading from there to the pitchside seating area. The stadium is very smart easy on the eye, with four separate seated areas offering excellent unobstructed views, helped by a decent incline of seating. Some unusually shaped triangular floodlight structures  above the corners add some character to the ground of which it is otherwise fairly devoid in all honesty, although it probably did not help that this was a low-key affair as could be imagined, which seemed a shame, as with a little better promotion of the game and making the occasion more of an event, and with there being decent opposition, this could have been a good opportunity to really attract and engage better support. No programmes were produced for this game, but printed teamsheets were freely available from the lounge.

With the qualifying group stage for Euro 2023 coming to an end over the next few days, there was very little riding on this fixture. The Netherlands were already certain to win the group (excluding the improbable possibility of them losing this fixture by 13 goals) with a record of seven wins and two draws from their nine league games, and can look forward to a trip to Romania and Georgia for the finals next summer. Wales came into this game in fifth place in the table, following two wins and two draws from their eight games, a point behind Bulgaria, who play Gibraltar away in their one remaining game - Wales will host Gibraltar in the final group game on Tuesday. In the reverse fixture played last October, Netherlands won 5-0.

On a mostly sunny afternoon, this was a game which the Netherlands absolutely dominated pretty much from start to finish, as they controlled possession, overall enjoying 75% possession and having 21 shots on goal compared to the 2 from Wales, which only came in quick succession around the hour mark. The visitors thought they had taken the lead a minute before the break when another patient passing move ended with a close range tap in by Brian Brobbey, but the goal was ruled out for offside. 

They came close again in the 52nd minute, when following yet another patient passing move, the ball was lifted in the penalty area by Wouter Berger and the ball flicked off the top of Welsh defender Ryan Astley, before hitting the top of the bar and going behind. Wales' first shot on goal came in the 62nd minute when Luke Jephcott had a first time shot on the run quite comfortably saved at the keeper's near post, and within a minute, he had another shot saved, this time from just outside the area. But the Netherlands really should have taken the lead in the 68th minute when the ball was laid on a plate low from the left for a seemingly easy tap in from six yards out by Brabbey scuffed his shot wide. So it was looking like Wales would be rewarded with a clean sheet for a dogged performance, with defenders getting numerous good blocks in and the keeper making some decent saves and interceptions until their resistance was finally broken in the 86th minute. A corner was headed out to Milan van Ewijk outside of the area, and he curled the ball into the box, and Lutsharel Geertruida planted his header firmly high into the net beyond the keeper's despairing dive. Wales never really threatened to get back on level terms in the remaining minutes, as the Dutch claimed the win that their possession and the quality of their play deserved. But the Welsh can be pleased with a decent defensive performance, if tinged with disappointment that they could not hold on for a point. And as Bulgaria were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Gibraltar this evening, to earn Gibraltar their first point in the group after nine games, Wales can now finish in fourth place in the final group standings should they beat Gibraltar here on Tuesday.

After the game, I made my way back to Swansea, where I had a couple of pints and a curry, as well as a rather nostalgic walk around what was my local city when I studied at university in West Wales many moons ago to while away the time until my Megabus coach journey left Swansea at 23.40, finally getting home at 8.30 on Sunday morning. A tiring but immensely enjoyable adventure, and hopefully one I can repeat if kick off times are conducive for a game in the area next season.

The full match can be viewed by clicking here