itsbeautifuloutside

11th June - (Bordeaux) 5pm

Wales 2

• Bale, 10'
• Robson-Kanu, 81'

Slovakia 1

• Duda, 61'

Referee : Svein Oddvar Moen

Attendance : 37,831

Match Report

IBO Reporter : Spot51

You have to feel for Wayne Hennessey. After all his efforts in helping Wales qualify for their first major championship in over half a century, he wakes on opening match day with a back spasm. So he sits out and Danny Ward, late of Aberdeen, gets the nod. Wales captain, Ashley Williams wins his 60th cap today.

The stadium and the fans’ renditions of their anthems were fabulous. Wales were in red and white, Slovakia in blue. In excess of 20,000 Welsh fans were there to roar their side on.

Wales might have gone behind in 3 minutes. Ramsey played a hospital ball to Bale and the ball broke to Hamsik. The Napoli man drove into the box and slotted the ball past Ward – only for the covering Ben Davies to block the shot: rather a let off there!

Wales first attack was foiled when the Slovak keeper punched clear. Then, on 10 minutes Johnny Williams was felled about 30 yards out. Up stepped Gareth Bale to strike a trade-mark dipping free kick past the keeper’s dive. 1-0 Wales.

Slovakia didn’t seem to care much whether they played man or ball. Johnny Williams created a decent chance on 20 minutes but Ramsey fired straight at the keeper. Then a foul on Hamsik gave Slovakia a free kick which Kucha struck over the bar.

Wales were given a great outlet by Gunter bombing down the right and they kept hitting him with Crossfield passes. Duris on the other hand looked increasingly isolated. Wales 3 centre-backs kept him closely guarded. He became frustrated, started throwing his weight around and conceding free kicks.

On 31 minutes Hrosovsky was booked for fouling Johnny Williams. A minute later Skrtel elbowed the same player inside the box but the officials let it go. Wales were enjoying better possession and their fans booed every touch by Skrtel.

In the final few minutes of the half Slovakia began to create chances. Wales held on but in the 44th minute conceded a corner. The cross was cleared as far as Hamsik. His curled cross just eluded Skrtel who was onside. In added time Bale forced a save down the other end but half time arrived with the score still 1-0.

There were no changes at half time and Wales continued to do the most attacking. Ramsey wasted a corner on 50 minutes and on 55 Mak was played in but shot over. Edwards was seen limping shortly after with a fine collection of stud marks in his knee. Then Joe Allen got down the right, his cross found Bale whose downward header was well saved by Kozacik.

On 59 minutes Slovakia made a double substitution bringing on Duda and Nemec. They had an immediate impsct with Duda scoring from Mak’s pass within 2 minutes. 1-1.

Slovakia began to dominate possession and Wales dropped deeper and deeper. Weiss fired over the bar and Kucha drew a save from Ward as Wales hung on. Then Mak fired wide before Wales made a double change. Ledley and Robson Kanu came on. The former picked out a lovely cross for Ramsey who headed over.

On 78 Mak was booked for clattering Robson Kanu. Then another free kick by Bale wad saved by the keeper. Wales were back on top and Weiss was yellow carded on 80. A minute later Ledley burst forward, fed Ramsey who set up Robson Kanu. His scuffed shot rolled slowly into the net. 2-1 Wales.

Kusca’s foul on Bale drew a further booking before the Slovaks made their final substitution. Stoch replaced Weiss. A minute later Bale’s glorious curled pass just went beyond Ramsey. Then, with Slovakia throwing everyone forward, Hamsik found Nemec at the near post. His flicked header beat Ward – but not the post and Wales were able to clear.

With 2 minutes left Richards replaced Ramsey. Wales had chances to sew things up as Slovakia pressed upfield but none were taken. Gunter almost set Mak up with an awful header but his shot was wild and high.

In the 4 added minutes Skrtel was finally booked – not for any of his numerous fouls but for bitching at the referee. Slovakia mounted one last attack but were caught offside. Time was up. Wales had begun their campaign with a deserved win.

Teams :

11th June - (Marsaille) 8pm

England 1

• Dier, 73'

Russia 1

• Berezutski, 90'+2

Referee : Nicola Rizzoli

Attendance : 62,343

Match Report

IBO Reporter : channonite

Oh dear, oh dear. England did so well for 91 minutes, but fell to a sucker punch in the 92nd minute. The 1-1 draw really did feel like a loss. The first half was all England and a 3-0 scoreline at halftime would not have flattered them. As it was, the 0-0 scoreline remained until a free kick was won in the 73rd minute. Eric Dier took the kick and sent an unstoppable shot into the top left corner. You would have thought with the way they were playing and the fact that there were just 17 minutes left, England would have managed to close out the match. But no. I am not sure that the substitutions of Wilshire for Rooney and Milner for Sterling actually did anything other than to encourage the Russians.

I have got to say that first half was as good a 45 minutes of football that I have seen England play for several years and yet there was not a single goal to show for their dominance. Some standouts for me were the badge patter, who I will henceforth call Adam Lallana, in recognition of his efforts. Rooney was also looking influential in his deeper midfield role, prompting the young bucks ahead of him. In fact the forwards movement was causing the rather static Russian defence all sorts of problems.

Some of the interplay by the team in white was really good and how it took the team until Dier's wonderful free-kick to even score one goal was a mystery to me. One thing for everyone to remember, was that this was just the first game of their tournament and they should improve as they progress. I was amazed to hear journalists lay into the players, including Sterling, who I thought had a good game. Oh well, knocking the players is a national sport after all.

Finally a word about Wayne Rooney. He was an unqualified success in his deeper midfield role and I have never been one of his fans. At all. But here he was superb, including one shot that really, truly should have been a goal. Maybe Roy has finally worked out his best position?

This team should grow. Looks promising.

Teams :

15th June - (Lille) 2pm

Russia 1

• Glushakov 80'

Slovakia 2

• Weiss 32'
• Hamsik 45'

Referee : Damir Skomina

Attendance : 38,989

Match Report

IBO Reporter : Batts

Slovakia came into the tournament on the back of 8 games without defeat, including a warm-up 3-1 victory over the World Champions, but none of that counts for anything when the tournament starts, so Slovakia’s stuffing will have been somewhat knocked out of them in the first round of matches by Bale and Wales.

Though Russia don’t have Gareth Bale, they do have the benefit of the late equaliser against England, which would have buoyed spirits and proven that, even if they don’t have a matchwinner like the Welsh ex-Saint, they do have the ability to stun the opposition when able to get men forward in support of their giant beacon, Dzyuba.

And it was the Russian centre forward that provided the first bit of danger for the Slovaks to deal with, as he ran at Mrtn Skrtl through the heart of defence. However, he wasn’t able to find a way through and soon Slovakia were down the other end, with Marek Hamsic of Napoli blasting just over from distance.

After this early flurry of excitement, the two eastern European teams settled into a midfield battle, leaving me to ruminate on the impact this game might have on England. A win for Russia would mean England would need 3 points v Wales to keep things in their own hands, while a win for Slovakia would mean a draw v Wales and a victory v Slovakia would mean safe English passage through the groups. I therefore concluded a draw would probably be the best result, so I began to appreciate the no nonsense defensive style of both teams.

Slovakia’s defence then allowed Dzyuba to draw them all towards him, leaving Smolov free in the middle to rifle a shot just wide of the post. Another Russian raid came to nothing when they had men in the box, and all of a sudden Marek Hamsik took advantage of a defensive hole in the left channel, picking out Vlad Weiss with a perfect ball. Weiss turned inside and made no mistake in finding the far corner. One nil to the Slo-va-kia.

Until the goal, Russia had marginally dominated possession but lacked the quality to get their noses in front. And just on the stroke of half time, Slovakia showed they had in abundance exactly what Russia were lacking; this time Hamsik turned finisher to light up the stage. With Russia already in the dressing room, Slovakia took a short corner and the Neapolitan hitman rifled into the back of the net with a right-footed strike of great quality. 2-0 at half time represented a significant mountain for Russia to climb.

Unsurprisingly, Slovakia’s attacking intent waned in the second half, while Russia continued to enjoy possession. Despite forging some promising positions, they still failed to create anything of great substance and despite 3 substitutions, Russia seemed to have run out of ideas by 75 minutes. Slovakia responded by taking off their first goalscorer, Weiss, replacing him with a midfielder in order to set up more defensively.

It didn’t work. From nowhere, Russia found their first quality ball into the box and on 80 minutes they pulled one back with a header from Glushakov. All of a sudden, Slovakia had fallen apart defensively, dropping deep as Russia piled forward. Ten minutes to hold out was beginning to look like an eternity, so they threw all 11 men behind the ball, leading to wave after wave of Russian attacks and no outlet for Slovakia. Glushakov had another chance to score but his shot from the edge of the area went wide. Slovakia then found some brief respite by the opposition’s corner flag, but swathes of space were now appearing in midfield, which Russia took advantage of by pressing forward.

But, despite more than 60% possession, the Russians ultimately did not have the quality to get anything from the game and Slovakia, with two moments of brilliance from Hamsik, were worthy winners. However, what this result means is that, regardless of the result between England and Wales on Thursday, all four teams in the group will go into the last match with the possibility of qualifying.

16th June - (Lens) 2pm

England 2

• Vardy, 56'
• Sturridge, 90'+1

Wales 1

• Bale, 42'

Referee : Dr. Felix Brych

Attendance : 34,033

Match Report

IBO Reporter : ormerdog

I don't tend to get in any way apprehensive when going to football these days, but the prospect of going to Lens to watch England v Wales - in a major tournament for the first time ever, in a country in a state of emergency, against a backdrop of football related violence, did make my bum a bit twitchy. As it turned out, me and 3 Welsh mates breezed into this sleepy French town, parked up with no problems and witnessed England and Wales fans happily walking to the game, sharing a few beers together and not beating the crap out of each other, albeit being closely watched by heavily armed French police.

We had tickets in a "neutral" area, which was essentially England fans, and got into the ground just in time to hear a rousing rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. I'm not particularly patriotic, but it had me feeling very Welsh. Particularly after then having to sit through God Save the Queen. The game started at a frantic pace with Harry Kane charging down an Ashley Williams clearance and almost getting in. England then had a great chance after 5 minutes. Lallana broke down the right and put it on a plate for Sterling who shanked it over on the stretch from 6 yards out. Real let off for Wales.

England continued to dominate possession but Wales got themselves together and started to look a bit more solid defensively. On the odd foray forward they looked half decent too and Bale's shot was well blocked by Cahill to stop a goalbound effort from a tight angle. After half an hour Wales won a free kick in what is now universally known as "Bale territory". Up he stepped and spanked it. The ball peaked and troughed like one of those heart rate monitors. Jo Hart's dive seemed a bit like guesswork. He got a few fingers on it and it trickled beautifully into the bottom corner. 1-0 Wales. Oh my giddy aunt. He'd bloody done it again. Party time. Half time followed shortly. Boos from the England fans, delerium from the Welsh. Expensive pints for us.

Hodgson bought on Vardy for the leggy Kane and Sturridge for the rubbish Sterling. "don't worry" I said to my mate, "Vardy is only a threat if there's space in behind". 5 minutes later the scrawny scrote bundled in an effort from a corner. Offside surely?! We looked at the lino. Nope. Shit. England began to completely monopolise possession. Kyle Walker was basically a right winger now and everything seemed to be going through him but England couldn't get through. Wales had completely given up as an attacking force and resorted to just trying to hang on. James Chester, who I wouldn't mind seeing us linked with again, was particularly good. Rooney was orchestrating things for England but Wales had got to 90 minutes at 1-1. The atmosphere was pretty frenzied by now. Whistling, indecipherable swearing, screaming. It was all happening. Then England went through the middle. A one two on the edge of the box caused panic and the ball fell to Sturridge. He poked a toe at it. It squirmed under Hennessey. F.F.S. Pandemonium in the stands. The whole England squad running down the touchline to celebrate. Life is unfair. But they deserved it.

I've no idea if anything else happened after the goal because we left instantly. To quote Alex Ferguson, "football eh, bloody hell".

20th June - (Saint-Etienne) 8pm

Slovakia 0

England 0

Referee : Carlos Velasco Carballo

Attendance : 39,051

Match Report

IBO Reporter : Spot51

It was a fine evening in Central France and the pitch was much better than some in recent days. England knew only a win would ensure finishing top of the group but Slovakia’s win against the Russians had given them hope of getting beyond the group stage. This, ultimately, decided the sort of match we were going to get. UEFA’s complicated plan for four 3rd placed sides to progress meant a draw was probably enough for Slovakia – and they were determined to collect that point.

Slovakia were unchanged and in white. England, in red, made 6 changes – out went Kane, Alli, Walker and Rose leaving just Dier representing Spurs. Rooney was rested and presumably Sterling was dropped. Thursday’s scorers Vardy and Sturridge were rewarded with a start and Wilshire, Henderson, Clyne and Saints’ Bertrand also came in.

Sadly this important match was on ITV so I spent most of it shouting at the inane drivel being spouted by Glenda. If ever a bloke was a complete horse’s arse, surely it is him.

Of the new boys, Clyne made the biggest impression. He spent the evening bombing down the right and, surprisingly, was ably assisted by Henderson in tearing the left side of the Slovak defence apart. On 5 minutes he crossed for Vardy but the effort went high. Pecovsky had Slovakia’s first chance, firing high and horribly wide. Then Henderson and Clyne again got down the right – the latter’s cross was headed on by Vardy but Sturridge could not get to it.

On 11m we heard Wales were 1-0 up against Russia and England were no longer top of Group B.

As the game progressed it settled into a routine: England attacking, Slovakia defending and, to be fair, defending very well. Captain Skrtel and his keeper Kozacik had terrific games for Slovakia and their colleagues provided good support, intercepting passes and blocking shots for pretty much the rest of the game.

Hamsik, Slovakia’s sole World Class player, had a quiet game. He was involved in most of the attacking that his team managed but, particularly in the second half, the Slovaks pretty much decided to hang on for their point.

Vardy was ineffective. He had just one opportunity to run at goal, on 17m when Henderson’s ball allowed him to outpace Skrtel, but Kozacik stayed big and blocked the shot. Peckarick was the one outlet down Slovakia’s right where he gave Bertrand a roasting. On 19m Bertie caught him with a flailing arm causing a spectacular nose-bleed.

On 24m Vardy threatened to run away from Pecovsky who brought him down and was yellow-carded. Indeed, the game was getting very bitty. England won plenty of corners and free-kicks with both Bertrand and then Henderson trying to set up their forwards. Invariably it was the head of Skrtel that reached the ball first.

Lallana was having another good game. On 33 minutes his Liverpool colleagues on England’s right created a shooting chance for him but Kozacik saved. Dier also looked good. Relieved of defensive duties he was knocking the ball around but the Slovaks were always tight to their man, closing down and nicking the ball away.

Wilshere and Sturridge were disappointing. Wilshire gave the ball away far too often and Sturridge just ran around aimlessly. As the game progressed he kept coming deep and getting in the way. With half-time approaching, Bertie recovered the ball on the left and picked out Henderson on the edge of the box. His shot was hard, on target and bounced away off Durica’s head. So 0-0 at half time – meanwhile, in Toulouse, Wales were 2-0 up.

The second half followed the same pattern - lots of activity but little to show for it. I wrote “Too much heat – not enough light” in my notebook. Wilshere continued to give the ball away and Bertie was booked for bringing down Peckarik. For a brief period, the Slovaks were a little more adventurous. Hart did well to punch away a cross and moments later Smalling almost sold him short, chesting down a ball in his box which Duda nearly nicked.

Wilshire and Sturridge combined effectively (at last) to set up Clyne. Under pressure, his shot was blocked but TV pundits on both channels agreed he should have gone down and won a penalty. Peckarick was Slovakia’s Clyne – his pass to Weiss produced a shot that Hart had to save.

With 60m approaching both sides made changes. Rooney replaced Wilshire and Duda was sacrificed to allow Svento to help Hubocan stop Clyne. Then Alli came on for Lallana and might have scored soon after. Henderson found him at the back post and his cross-shot forced Skrtel to clear over his crossbar.

Slovakia dropped deeper and deeper. Drew asked “Is Vardy still on?” He was, but in such a crowded box he hadn’t the space to utilise his strengths. When we face opposition who are also trying to win, Vardy will have his day.

While Gyomber was replacing Pecovsky we heard Bale had put Wales 3-0 up. Then Dier hit a wonderful lofted pass to Sturridge who completely missed the ball with just the keeper to beat. England’s best chance had gone. Kane replaced Sturridge shortly after but was equally ineffective.

Skriniar came on for Weiss leaving Hamsik as Slovakia’s sole attacker as they dug in for their point. On 82m, all the Slovaks were inside their final 3rd with England queuing up to shoot. It fell to Dier to take it on. It was firm, it was true: it hit a defender and flew wide. That pretty much summed up the night for me.

As time ran out, Skrtel held his defence together so well that I found myself admiring him. Terrific defending, terrific leadership; England hurled everything at them – but they stayed strong.

It finished 0-0. Slovakia won their point and should go through in 3rd place. England missed out on top spot but remain unbeaten and have dominated all their games. They now have a nice trip to Nice to look forward to. The pundits and journos get to slag off Roy’s 6 changes but few of them are bright enough to lay the blame at UEFA’s door. It was allowing 3 teams to progress from most groups that produced this farce.

20th June - (Toulouse) 8pm

Russia 0

Wales 3

• Ramsey, 11'

• Taylor, 20'

• Bale, 67'

Referee : Jonas Eriksson

Attendance : 28,840

Match Report

IBO Reporter : Batts

Leaves on the line. A conductors’ strike. ‘Customer action’ at New Cross Gate. All of these contributed to me finally returning home from London 20 minutes after kick-off. Predictably, pedestrian England were 0-0 against Slovakia, but Wales had already all but sealed the game by going into a blistering 2-0 lead against Russia.

Yes, this is Wales’ first international tournament since 1958 but a team with Bale in it will always have a chance, simply because he all but guarantees a goal a game. He has scored in every match. It has been a tournament of few goals so far, meaning a single goal can be a more significant advantage than normal.

But Wales did not content themselves with a single goal; their performance suggests that they setup to go at Russia right from the beginning, to put this to bed as quickly as possible. While his English counterpart was making wholesale changes, Chris Coleman made a single change, which proved to be a tactical masterstroke. Hal Robson-Kanu has been a positive talking point in the competition so far, but Coleman was not scared to drop him for the bigger but less mobile Sam Vokes, who could provide a bigger target, and hold the ball up better, for Bale and Ramsay to operate either side of the big lad from Southampton. The ploy worked. Ramsay scored Wales’ first on 10 minutes, while Bale secured the match with his team’s third goal in the second half.

Of course, Wales are not just about Bale. Ramsay flitted dangerously in the previous group match against England, and he finally got his just desserts with a goal. Joe Allen, reasonably maligned at club level, is proving in this competition that he is a performer.

Neil Taylor, the other scorer for Wales, does not have goalscoring pedigree even if he does play in the Premier League. Nevermind that he has never scored for Wales; his last goal in any football came in the Blue Square Conference 6 years ago. When he scored that goal for Wrexham versus Grays, it is unlikely to have crossed his mind that his next goalscoring success would come in a match of such magnitude. Jamie Vardy does not have a monopoly on the beetroot factory stories.

England may have beaten Wales with that last gasp Sturridge goal, but it is Wales who have illuminated this competition so far. They have scored goals, they have defended resolutely, they have one of the best match-winners in the World, they are resolute to come back from defeat to record such a profound victory, and their manager has proven to be tactically astute. It seems Chris Coleman might know how to manage his team through a tournament. They deservedly take top spot in the group and will now progress through an easier route to the final. England, on the other hand, profligate in front of goal despite flattering with possession, face the prospect of meeting the hosts in the last eight. That is if they can negotiate the next round, where they are likely to face Portugal.

But to talk of England in this report is disrespectful to the Welsh. So I will leave you with this. Wales are currently the tournament’s top scorers, and Gareth Bale is the top individual scorer. Iechyd da to that.