cymru U21
Paul Bodin's side were hoping for a positive start when they hosted Moldova for the opening match of the qualifying campaign back in June last year, but a red card for Sion Spence and a number of missed chances meant the side could only come away with a 0-0 draw.
However, a hat-trick from Jack Vale and a goal from Billy Sass-Davies earned the side an impressive 4-0 win over Bulgaria in Sofia in September as the side made up for the wasted opportunities in their previous match.
Despite the confidence from the victory, Cymru headed to Orhei in October for the return match against Moldova and suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat as Dinis Ieseanu scored the only goal of the game midway through the opening half. A visit to Nijmegen followed to take on the Netherlands, and two goals from Jurgen Ekkelenkamp set the tone as the Dutch claimed a convincing 5-0 victory, with Sven Botman, Daishawn Redan and an own goal from Fin Stevens completing the scoring for the home side.
However, the side showed excellent character to respond to the heavy defeat as they scored seven past Gibraltar without reply to claim a record victory at this level. Six different players were on the scoresheet as Owen Beck, Ryan Astley, Terry Taylor, Daniel Williams, Luke Jephcott and a double from Joe Adams all found the target. With the side high in confidence, group leaders Switzerland had to be at their best in November to claim a 1-0 win in Newport, with Felix Mambimbi scoring the decisive goal for the visitors.
