Wales 4-0 Gibraltar: Kieffer Moore double inspires hosts to comfortable demolition over minnows
Wales were 4-0 at h-t against Gibraltar a place with a population half the size of Merthyr
By Tom Coleman
Attendance just over 10,000
Wales continued their preparations for Sunday's crucial Euro 2024 qualifier with Croatia by crushing minnows Gibraltar at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.
Rob Page is unlikely to oversee a simpler assignment than this one in north Wales, with a Kieffer Moore double complimenting goals from Ben Davies and Nathan Broadhead to effectively kill the game off by half-time.
Daniel James struck the post late on as Wales continued to dominate after the break, but with the game already won, this affair became more about getting minutes in legs for Page's side.
Indeed, this night was so straightforward, a cynic may well wonder what, if anything, Wales really got out of this game. Page will likely argue this was a useful chance to blood some of the more promising youngsters, with Charlie Savage, Reagan Poole, Joe Low and Liam Cullen all handed debuts.
Savage, in particular, produced an eye-catching showing in the middle of the park, although in truth he'll likely have received tougher tests in action for League One Reading.
Indeed, Wales' dominance meant few in attendance at the Racecourse Ground, hosting only its second Wales men's fixture for 15 years, would have really been on the edge of their seat here, although Page will nevertheless be pleased with a lot of what he saw.
An injury to Wes Burns will be a concern, however. The Ipswich Town man forced off with what looked a shoulder injury after 15 minutes.
That was perhaps the only blot on the evening for Wales, who were dominant from the off. Broadhead wasted his side's first sight at goal after five minutes, while Daniel James, replacing the injured Burns after 15 minutes, gave his side an added injection of energy out wide.
The hosts took the lead in the simplest of circumstances on 24 minutes. An inswinging corner from Broadhead found Davies unmarked, and his header was bundled home with ease.
Moore then doubled the lead with a header of his own two minutes later, brilliantly rising to meet Savage's dinked ball into the box and power past Dayle Coleing in the Gibraltar goal.
Coleing had to be alert to keep out Daniel James, who cut inside from the left before unleashing a crashing angled drive, before denying Savage's speculative effort moments later.
Davies had another header cleared off the line as Wales continued their assault, and a third duly arrived when Daniel James slipped in Broadhead, who turned inside the box before firing into the net.
Savage, with father Rob watching, was then denied by the keeper once more, with Coleing also producing a smart save to turn Cullen's low drive round the post.
But Wales weren't finished, with Moore heading in his second of the night from a Daniel James cross to give the hosts a commanding lead at the interval.
The Bournemouth striker was one of four changes made at half-time by Page, clearly with Sunday's clash at the Cardiff City Stadium in mind, and those changes perhaps offered the visitors a little bit of mercy on the night.
Savage was denied by another Coleing save from distance, while Low powered a head over the bar just after the hour. Tom Bradshaw might well have added a fifth goal had he connected with a low Neco Williams cross, which was helped on by Josh Sheehan.
Daniel James would have capped an solid performance with a goal were it not for the woodwork. The Leeds United winger cutting inside from the right before rattling a curling effort against the post.
In the end, four proved enough, and it's hard to really tell what Page will have learned from this encounter. Sunday's clash against Croatia, whose quality is lightyears ahead of 198th-in-the-world Gibraltar, is clearly going to be far more important.
Wales: Ward (Hennessey 46); B.Davies (c) (Lockyer 46), Poole, Low, N.Williams (Wilson 64); Savage, J.James (Sheehan 46), Cullen, Burns (D.James 15); Moore (Bradshaw 46), Broadhead
Subs: King, Beck, Rodon, Brooks, Levitt, Harris, Roberts, Ampadu
Gibraltar: Coleing; Olivero (Mouelhi 46), Jolley (De Haro 64), Sergeant, Chipolina (c); Pozo (J.Chipolina 60), Walker (Coombes 71), Annesly; Ronan, De Barr (El Hmidi 71), Britto
Subs: Banda, Lopez, Casciaro, Badr, Santos, Hernandez, Ballantine
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.