Poland sneaked past Wales 1-0 thanks to a goal from Roger Guerreiro ten minutes from time.
Brazilian-born Pole scores late winner to sink Wales
Poland sneaked past Wales 1-0 thanks to a goal from Roger Guerreiro ten minutes from time.
In an evenly matched game the small crowd had to wait until the 80th minute for the first goal and it was worth waiting for as Guerreiro cleverly chipped the ball over Boaz Myhill in the Welsh goal.
The friendly marked Wales manager John Toshack's 40th game in charge of the national team and he was forced to mark the occasion by naming an inexperienced side.
The Welsh were without established first choice players such as Jason Koumas, Simon Davies, James Collins and Craig Morgan but their young replacements were more than a match for the Poles especially during the opening 45 minutes.
Although the match went down as a Wales home fixture the clash actually took place in Portugal in the Eastern Algarve in considerably warmer temperatures than back home in UK.
Poland settled quicker in the opening stages of the match and could have taken the lead as early as the fifth minute when midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski fired wide when he shot right footed unchallenged on the edge of the area.
Opening
Ten minutes later midfielder Jacek Krzynowek got behind the Welsh defence but his shot from the left hand side of the area went inches wide of Wayne Hennessey's far post.
The young Welsh side soon began to find their rhythm and looked especially dangerous down the left-hand side through Gareth Bale.
After 18 minutes Toshack's side had their first real chance when Craig Bellamy broke the offside trap and flicked the ball over the onrushing Lukasz Fabianski in the Poland goal only for Michal Zewlakow to clear the danger.
Wales now began to look dangerous and twice came close to breaking the deadlock within a matter of moments.
Firstly in the 33rd minute after Poland failed to clear a Bellamy free-kick on the right-hand side midfielder Joe Ledley reacted quickest to the bouncing ball and half-heartedly flicked the ball up and over Fabianski and against the bar.
Then from the resulting corner, again whipped in by Bellamy, midfielder David Edwards saw his near post header cleared off the line with Fabianski beaten.
Opportunity
Wales came close again five minutes later when Bale fed Bellamy down the left wing. The Manchester City striker let the ball roll through his legs leaving the defender for dead but with only Zewlakow for company he could only drag his shot wide.
Poland then finished the half how they had started it when striker Robert Lewandowski found space on the edge of the area after the ball had broken kindly but his shot lacked any real conviction with the goal at his mercy.
Wales should have taken the lead 11 minutes into the second half when a Bale free-kick on the line down the left found defender Lewin Nyatanga but he managed to direct his header wide from three yards out.
With both sides making five substitutions by the 60th minute the game's fluidity was essentially ruined as chances became few and far between.
Poland managed to break the deadlock after 79 minutes with a delightful piece of skill from second half sub Guerreiro.
The Brazilian-born striker was set free down the right and with nothing else on the 26-year-old delicately chipped the ball on the stretch over Myhill, who had replaced Hennessey at half-time, and into the back of the net.
| Wales |
Team Statistics |
Poland |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 5 |
Corners |
3 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 74 |
Passing Success |
83.5 |
| 11 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 63.6 |
Tackles Success |
81 |
| 43.1 |
Possession |
56.9 |
| 48.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.2 |
|
