FOOTBALL Live

Saturday March 28, 2009 Finished Millennium Stadium

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Wales

Finland

  • Johansson 43’
  • Kuqi 90’

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  1. World Cup qual. - Wales hopes hit by defeat

    World Cup qual. - Wales hopes hit by defeat

    Wales' hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup were dealt a major blow after a 2-0 defeat by Finland at the Millennium Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Wales
    • Finland
    • - Thanks for joining us... stay right there for more home nations and Ireland action, coming right up.
    • 90'+2 That's it! All over in Cardiff and that could be a very damaging defeat for John Toshack's side!
    • 90'+1 GOAL! KUQI MAKES IT TWO! Finland break and the Crystal Palace man is played in on goal... he picks his spot and curls it into the far corner! 2-0 and game over!
    • 89' Kuqi comes on for Forssell as Finland look to waste a few precious seconds...
    • 85' Bellamy drops deeper now in a last ditch effort to drag Wales back into this one.
    • 82' Gunter fires in a dangerous looking cross! Davies is in there, but it's well headed clear!
    • 79' Sjolund comes on to replace Eremenko now...
    • 77' Oooh! Double save from Hennessey to keep Wales in it!First he gets a hand on a Johansson cross before denying Forssell on the follow up! But Wales are being carved open seemingly at will!
    • 75' What a break from Finland... Pasanen gets it in acres of space on the rightÂ… he cuts inside and fires goalwards! Collins gets back to stomach the ball away!
    • 72' Oooh! Hennessey spills a shot and it nearly falls into the path of Johansson! But the flag is up on the far side and even if the goalscorer could have controlled it, it wouldn't have counted...
    • 71' Ledley is replaced by Earnshaw as Toshack plays his final card...
    • 70' Just 20 minutes remaining for Wales to get something from this one...
    • 65' Here comes another Welsh change... Robinson for Fletcher, like for like.
    • 63' Jaaskelainen is shown a yellow card for time wasting! Bit early for that, isn't it?
    • 62' Wales win a corner... it's taken short to Bale who has a pop at goal! Wide of the mark...
    • 61' Gunter goes down under a challenge... play on says the ref... he goes down for a second time and this time he wins a free-kick, right on the edge of the Finland box! That might well have been a penalty...
    • 56' John Toshack deems it time to make a change... on comes Ramsey in place of Edwards...
    • 55' Ledley clears off the line from the corner! It's a great header from Tahinen which loops over Hennessey's head, but not Ledley's!
    • 54' Oooh! Forssell brings a great save out of Hennessey! Again it's Litmanen who is the architect... Forssell hammers an effort goalwards only to see the Wolves keeper get down well to tip round the corner!
    • 52' What an open start to the second half! Chances at both ends... great stuff!
    • 51' At the other end, Litmanen plays Forssell through on goal! But the striker snatches at his shot and sees it roll wide of the mark!
    • 50' Bellamy plays in Koumas... his first touch is a bit heavy, allowing Jaaskelainen to come off his line, narrow the angle and make the save!
    • 49' Davies steams off on a great run forward... he's stopped in his tracks by Heikkinen and that'll be the first booking of the day.
    • 46' No changes to tell you about at the break.
    • 46' Here we go again! Back underway in Cardiff!
    • 45'+1 And there goes the half-time whistle... Finland head into the dressing room a goal to the good!
    • 45' Oooh! What a break from Finland! Forssell gets on the end of Eremenko's cross following another lovely through pass by Litmanen! He takes a touch and that allows Bale to get back and make a crucial challenge! That's a real chance wasted by the former Birmingham man!
    • 44' That's a real blow for Wales... they've done okay so far this half!
    • 43' GOAL! FINLAND TAKE THE LEAD! And it's former Charlton man Jonatan Johansson who gets it! It's a lovely ball from Litmanen to find Johansson's run... he gets there just before Hennessey and prods the ball past the keeper... it rolls agonisingly slowly over the line! 1-0 Finland!
    • 39' Now Bale gets to the by-line again before centring! Again, headed clear! This is a good end to the first half by the hosts!
    • 37' Chance now for Wales! Koumas is played in on goal... he tries to square the ball for a team-mate instead of going for goal himself but it's cleared by the Finnish back line!
    • 34' Hyypia! The big defender rises well to meet a Litmanen free-kick with a downward header! It's on target, but ultimately Hennessey has an easy save to make.
    • 32' Eremenko slips another pass through for Forssell... he heads into the box before losing control slightly and going down looking for a penalty... no chance, mate.
    • 31' Eremenko plays what very nearly is a delightful pass to Forssell... cut out well by Collins, crucially.
    • 30' Bellamy does well again to get in behind the Wales defence... he gets to the by-line before cutting back and dinking a cross over towards Davies... but it's over the Fulham man's head and the danger passes.
    • 27' Bellamy appeals for a free-kick following a strong Hyypia challenge... but he's not going to get one and Finland have a goal kick.
    • 25' But again it's easily cleared by the Finnish defence...
    • 24' Gunter, Davies and Bellamy link up well again to win another corner!
    • 23' Oooh! Collins dives in to get his head to a cross after the corner was only partially cleared! But Jaaskelainen is well positioned to make the save! He was offside anyway...
    • 22' Bale gets past his man, Heikkinen, on the Wales left and wins another corner!
    • 20' Litmanen is clearly the Finn's danger man today... he's looking for the ball at every opportunity...
    • 17' Down to the other end and Bellamy skins Hyypia at the by line! He cuts the ball back... big hand ball shout, but the ref waves play on and it's eventually cleared by a blue shirt!
    • 16' Litmanen frees Pasanen down the Finnish right... he plays a super ball across the face of goal... but Hennessey gets down well to claim!
    • 15' Lovely stuff from Koumas... he jinks past Litmanen and then Eremenko before slipping a pass through looking for Bellamy... but it's slightly overhit and Jaaskelainen is off his line in a flash to claim...
    • 13' Alexei Eremenko does well to skip past two Welsh challenges before spreading the ball wide... this is a good move from the visitors... but before too long they're forced back and will have to build from deep.
    • 10' At the other end, Litmanen is flagged offside... Wales will need to be wary of the former Fulham man today...
    • 9' Again Hyypia is called on to head clear after Bale opens up the Finnish defence down the left...
    • 8' Hyypia heads the corner clear but Wales come again... this is a good spell from the hosts...
    • 7' Davies pulls down a long ball forward before teeing up Bellamy! He fires off Hyypia for Wales' first corner of the game!
    • 6' Bale bursts forward down the Wales right on the overlap... he dinks a ball into the centre, but Jaaskelainen is there to pluck it out of the air...
    • 5' Bellamy is upended by Roman Eremenko... free-kick to Wales...
    • 3' Finland have started brightly with Litmanen in particular looking sprightly...
    • 1' Here we go! Underway at the Millennium Stadium!
    • - Today's referee is Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez (Spain).
    • - And Finland: Jaaskelainen, Pasanen, Kallio, Hyypia, Tihinen, A, Eremenko, R, Eremenko, Forssell, Litmanen, Heikkinen, Johansson - Subs: Maenpaa, Sjolund, Porokara, Moisander, Nyman, Sparv, Kuqi
    • - Here's how Wales line up: Hennessey, Gunter, Bale, Fletcher, Collins, Nyatanga, Davies, Bellamy, Koumas, Ledley, Edwards - Subs: Myhill, Cotterill, Evans, A, Williams, Ramsey, Robinson, Earnshaw
    • - Cerys Mathews is just belting out the Welsh national anthem... fast approaching kick-off!
    • - Beautiful weather in Cardiff today... half the pitch is bathed in sunlight.
    • - Russia have taken the lead against Azerbaijan thanks to Roman Pavlyuchenko's goal in the early Group 4 kick-off...
    • - Wales welcome Finland to the Millennium Stadium hoping for victory to keep in touch with the Group 4 leaders.

  • Summary

    • 90'+1 GOAL! KUQI MAKES IT TWO! Finland break and the Crystal Palace man is played in on goal... he picks his spot and curls it into the far corner! 2-0 and game over!
    • 77' Oooh! Double save from Hennessey to keep Wales in it!First he gets a hand on a Johansson cross before denying Forssell on the follow up! But Wales are being carved open seemingly at will!
    • 75' What a break from Finland... Pasanen gets it in acres of space on the rightÂ… he cuts inside and fires goalwards! Collins gets back to stomach the ball away!
    • 72' Oooh! Hennessey spills a shot and it nearly falls into the path of Johansson! But the flag is up on the far side and even if the goalscorer could have controlled it, it wouldn't have counted...
    • 55' Ledley clears off the line from the corner! It's a great header from Tahinen which loops over Hennessey's head, but not Ledley's!
    • 54' Oooh! Forssell brings a great save out of Hennessey! Again it's Litmanen who is the architect... Forssell hammers an effort goalwards only to see the Wolves keeper get down well to tip round the corner!
    • 51' At the other end, Litmanen plays Forssell through on goal! But the striker snatches at his shot and sees it roll wide of the mark!
    • 50' Bellamy plays in Koumas... his first touch is a bit heavy, allowing Jaaskelainen to come off his line, narrow the angle and make the save!
    • 45' Oooh! What a break from Finland! Forssell gets on the end of Eremenko's cross following another lovely through pass by Litmanen! He takes a touch and that allows Bale to get back and make a crucial challenge! That's a real chance wasted by the former Birmingham man!
    • 43' GOAL! FINLAND TAKE THE LEAD! And it's former Charlton man Jonatan Johansson who gets it! It's a lovely ball from Litmanen to find Johansson's run... he gets there just before Hennessey and prods the ball past the keeper... it rolls agonisingly slowly over the line! 1-0 Finland!
    • 37' Chance now for Wales! Koumas is played in on goal... he tries to square the ball for a team-mate instead of going for goal himself but it's cleared by the Finnish back line!
    • 34' Hyypia! The big defender rises well to meet a Litmanen free-kick with a downward header! It's on target, but ultimately Hennessey has an easy save to make.
    • 23' Oooh! Collins dives in to get his head to a cross after the corner was only partially cleared! But Jaaskelainen is well positioned to make the save! He was offside anyway...
    • - Wales welcome Finland to the Millennium Stadium hoping for victory to keep in touch with the Group 4 leaders.

Live Team Line-Up

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  1. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­ eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    From William, on Wed 14 Oct 7:26PM
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