07/07/2010 - Wisła Kraków (Poland) v Wales Fans
Back Row (Left to Right): Stuart Pearson, Kevin Davies, Matt Brown, Gareth Edwards, Gregory Spencer, Geraint Williams, Dave O'Gorman and Liam Davies.
Front Row (Left to Right): Huw Roffe, Owen Williams, Rhys Hartley, William Johnson, Perry Morgan and Tim Hartley.
The Wales Supporters Team, thanks to the brainwave of captain Will Johnson, decided to play a warm up game en-route to the Euro-Fan tournament in Lviv Ukraine against Will's close friends especially Joshi from Wisla Krakow, who the team had shared a bus with from Krakow to Lviv two years previously.
To save washing kit, Wales played in a one off training kit, decorated with the date and name of the team they were playing, Wisla Krakow, representing Poland. Played in the shadow of the re-development of Henryka Reymana Stadion which would hold 33,680 on completion, Wales warmed up with new warm-up coach Dave O'Gorman, who was also winning his 3rd cap for Wales.
Wales were missing midfield linchpin Rhys Lewis whose boots had been lost on the flight from Bristol to Krakow and he was not deemed to be in the right frame of mind to play despite the offer of substitute boots from one of the Welsh subs.
Wales were testing out their new formation for the Eurofan tournament, 5-3-2, which would turn into 3-5-2 when on the attack. Midway through the first half, it worked a treat as Dave O'Gorman, set up Owen Williams who centered the ball for Geraint Williams to slot Wales into the lead. However Wales lost their concentration twice shortly before the interval as the Poles counterattacked on two occasions and found the net both times past the despairing dives of keeper Gareth Edwards.
The second half saw Wales experiment with a series of substitutes, however the Krakow boys scored a third, before Owen Williams brought hope with a Welsh second. With Wales pressurizing for a well deserve equaliser, it was Poland though who scored the final goal of the game, to make the final score Poland 4 Wales 2.
A worthwhile exercise, with Stuart Pearson named man of the match on his Wales debut. Tim Hartley and Rhys Hartley looked confident in defence alongside Stu and the ever dependant Perry Morgan. Gaz Edwards in goal looked like what he would be in Lviv, Wales No 2 keeper, while Huw Roffe Matt Brown, Dave O'Gorman and Liam Davies brushed away several cobwebs getting better as the game went on to support the two goalscorers upfront who gelled superbly.
Captain Will Johnson was back to his normal self but with a lot to prove after lasting less than a minute in the previous year's competition, while it was a worry looking at the Welsh bench with Gregory Spencer and Kevin Davies not lasting very long on the field. Roll on Lviv where Dave Jones and Paul Kinsey awaited as reinforcements. The 'Doctor', Adrian Davies would be a very busy man in Lviv.
It was then onto some entertainment laid on by our excellent host at the local Krakow clubhouse, before boarding the 10.34 train from Krakow to Lviv, where Welsh Ambassador, the injured Huw Williams managed to lose his passport ON the train !
