Scots take advantage of Welsh lapses to win in Cardiff
18 June 2011
Scotland moved into second place behind Ireland in the Celtic Cup with a comfortable 3-1 win over Wales in Cardiff.
A defensive error in the Welsh defence donated Kenny Bain the opening goal in only four minutes, as the Scottish striker intercepted a poor pass and beat a defender to flick the ball past the Welsh keeper. This was Bain's second goal of the tournament and the HDM striker was a consistent threat up front.
A further leak in the home defence gave the Scots a penalty corner and the national team's second goal. Adam MacKenzie`s low flick from the set-piece deceived the Wales keeper to place Scotland in a confortable position as half-time approached.
However, Wales pulled one back just before the interval when Andy Cornick`s cross was diverted past Mark Fulton by an unfortunate Niall Stott to leave the sides separated by a single goal at the break.
The second half proved to be a tight contest and the only goal of the period came from the result of a Daniel Coultas special, with his drag flick flying into the roof of the net to leave the Welsh keeper rooted to the spot.
Reflecting on the match afterwards, Scotland manager Eugene Connolly said, "All in all a good win, especially as Wales are in the same tournament as ourselves in Europe. We`ve gone a few games now without a win, the last was against Canada, so it`s important to get a victory under our belt."
Scotland continue their Celtic Cup campaign with their final match against France tomorrow, who were heavily defeated 7-1 by Ireland in today's first match at Sophia Gardens. The Irish now have 2 wins from 2 matches and will feel confident of winning the cup when they play the hosts Wales tomorrow.
