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European Championship Qualifier
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bryancox
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gashead eric
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Match Report - Wales 1 - 1 Finland 10 Sep 2003
Wales
1 Paul Jones
2 Rhys Weston
3 Gary Speed
4 Andy Melville
5 Robert Page
6 Mark Pembridge
7 Jason Koumas
8 Robert Earnshaw
9 John Hartson
10 Simon Davies
11 Ryan Giggs
12 Adrian Williams
13 Unknown
14 Darren Barnard
15 Andy Johnson
16 Carl Robinson
17 John Oster
18 Nathan Blake
19 Unknown
20 Unknown
21 Mark Crossley
22 Unknown
Finland
1 Antti Niemi
2 Petri Pasanen
3 Janne Saarinen
4 Sami Hyypia
5 Hannu Tihinen
6 Aki Riihilahti
7 Mika Nurmela
8 Teemu Tainio
9 Mikael Forssell
10 Mika Vayrynen
11 Joonas Kolkka
12 Jussi Jaaskelainen
13 Juha Reini
14 Toni Kuivasto
15 Simo Valakari
16 Jonatan Johanson
17 Peter Kopteff
18 Shefki Kuqi
19 Unknown
20 Unknown
21 Unknown
22 Unknown
Substitutions
On Off Minute
Andy Johnson Rhys Weston 72
Nathan Blake John Hartson 82
On Off Minute
Juha Reini Janne Saarinen 46
Shefki Kuqi Mika Vayrynen 58
Goals
Wales Minute
Simon Davies 3
Finland Minute
Mikael Forssell 78
Cards
Wales Minute
Jason Koumas 47
Finland Minute
Petri Pasanen 59
Officials
Referee: Arturo Dauden Ibanez (Spain)
Assistant referee 1: Clemente Ayete Plou (Spain)
Assistant referee 2: Louis Cote Saez (Spain)
4th official: Javier Turienzo Alvarez (Spain
Other information
Attendance:
Report: UEFA Delegate: Indrek Kannik (Estonia)
Referees Inspector: Johann Hantschk (Austria)
J Koumas Sent off for 2nd Yellow Card in 63rd minute.
Attendance: 73,441
Wales book play-off place
Wales guaranteed a play-off place in the Euro 2004 qualifiers after battling to a draw with Finland.
Simon Davies gave Wales a dream start with a goal after only three minutes, but they had Jason Koumas sent off in the second half.
Finland piled forward and eventually hit back with Mikael Forsell's 80th-minute header.
And the home side were indebted to goalkeeper Paul Jones for pulling off a string of magnificent saves to ensure they avoided a third consecutive defeat.
Victory would have left Wales in an even better position at the top of Group Nine given Italy's 1-1 draw against Serbia & Montenegro.
But the point does mean Wales are certain of finishing in second place - even though they can only qualify automatically if Italy fail to beat Azerbaijan in their final match.
They were desperate for a positive start to restore confidence after the 4-0 debacle in Milan, and Davies duly supplied it with a superbly taken effort.
John Hartson headed Gary Speed's long ball perfectly into Davies' path and the Spurs midfielder rifled his right foot shot into the bottom right hand corner, despite a suspicion of handball.
Manager Mark Hughes might have expected the early goal to settle his side, but it was Finland who dominated possession and territory.
Their passing was crisp; their tackling solid and the shots began to fire quickly in towards Jones.
KEY MOMENTS
3 mins: Simon Davies puts Wales ahead
64 mins: Jason Koumas sent off after second bookable offence
80 mins: Mikael Forssell equalises for Finland
The best chance fell to midfielder Aki Riihilahti after 18 minutes, but his right foot shot went over the bar.
Wales were missing the disruptive qualities of the suspended Robbie Savage as the Finns found time and space to unsettle the Welsh defence.
With a play-off place within their grasp, the Welsh players looked fearful of making mistakes and were unwilling to move forward at pace.
Finland were again left cursing the Spanish referee on the half-hour mark when Koumas looked to have blocked Mika Nurmela's free-kick with his arm. The visitors had to settle for a corner.
Ryan Giggs' well struck free-kick forced Antti Niemi to make his first save of the match 10 minutes before half-time.
But the home side had to survive a few more nervous moments before heading into the sanctuary of the dressing room still holding a precious lead.
Robert Earnshaw injected a desperately needed sense of pace as the second half began at a lethargic pace.
The Cardiff City striker turned sharply to beat his marker, but his attempted one-two with Davies was collected by the on-rushing Niemi.
Jones was then forced to make three crucial saves in quick succession.
First Joonas Kolkka was denied from the edge of the box and then ar point-blank range at the far post.
Jones then managed to block Forssell's shot as the danger signals began to sound loud and clear for the men in red.
Wales were clearly hanging on and their task was made even harder when Koumas became the first Welshman to be sent off at the Millennium Stadium.
The West Brom midfielder was handed a second yellow card for pulling back Forssell as he chased a ball towards goal.
It left Wales with 15 minutes to protect their advantage, and Jones was soon back in action saving twice from Forssell and then a header from centre-back Hannu Tihinen.
But the inevitable finally happened when Forssell found the back of the net with a solid header ten minutes from time.
Earnshaw almost forged a chance for himself in injury time to snatch an unlikely winner, and a Giggs cross sailed agonisingly over Pembridge's head.
But the sense of relief was obvious when the final whistle finally arrived to end an epic battle and bring Wales another step closer to the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal.
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slyell
90 |
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mark01
88 |
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Ross Henderson
87 |
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Shakin Pyramid
79 |
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TizzyDog
61 |
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unwinblade
44 |
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