Welsh Football

Happy Ludlow Says Wales Can Make Euro Finals

Graham ThomasGraham Thomas12 April 2016
Cardiff Millenium Stadium Giant Welsh Flag is unfurled Credit: David Williams / Alamy

Cardiff Millenium Stadium Giant Welsh Flag is unfurled Credit: David Williams / Alamy

Jayne Ludlow insists Wales women can still qualify for the Euro 2017 finals after a convincing victory over Kazakhstan. The manager saw her team win 4-0 in Shymkent on Tuesday to stay third in Group H, five points behind joint leaders Austria and Norway.

Jayne Ludlow insists Wales women can still qualify for the Euro 2017 finals after a convincing victory over Kazakhstan.

The manager saw her team win 4-0 in Shymkent on Tuesday to stay third in Group H, five points behind joint leaders Austria and Norway.

Wales now have three home matches left to close the gap on the top two and have to play both, either side of a game against Israel.

Ludlow said: “For us it was a very good game. Obviously, the scoreline and three points were massive for us. We are very happy with the performance today and the result.

“Our target is to win every game we have left. We have three games left and the girls are going to fight for three points in every one of those games, irrelevant of who they are. So we are looking forward to the next three.”

Two goals from Kayleigh Green and two penalties from Helen Ward provide Wales with the much needed three points

“It was a positive result for us which sets us up for the next three games of the qualifying campaign,” added former international Ludlow.

“Kayleigh Green is very new to the centre-forward position but since we put her in that position she’s been absolutely fantastic for the team. Today, she got what she deserved from the game. Her performance was outstanding.

“Our target for the girls now is to go into every game we play and work for the three points. It’s going to be hard, harder against some rather than others. Today’s game was always going to be a tough match being far away from home but they’ve put in a fantastic performance.

“If we carry on as we are and performing like we have today in games to come, there is no reason why we shouldn’t pick up more points along the way. If our players play to the best of their ability, we can beat anybody on our day.

“To end on three home games is fantastic. We will hopefully get a big backing to come and support us because there’s everything still to play for.”

Defender Natasha Harding said “We’ve got a happy camp after that result. Everyone’s really proud of each other. I think they thought they were going to beat us today. They tried to attack us. It was a professional performance from us.

“We exploited them and created chances. A score of 4-0 didn’t do the game justice. It should have been five or six. But we’ve got the three points.

“We’ve got a big game against Norway. We need to take all the positives and put it all into Norway.

“Norway have weaknesses. We have to exploit them. We need to go in as confident as possible, believe in ourselves and as a squad. Who’s to say we can’t get that point? It’s in our hands, at home, especially. Qualification is still something we can reach.”

Wales next face Norway on June 7.

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