Flashback: Two Anglesey lads earn Wales a famous win over England

England Independent Schools 0
Welsh Colleges U-19 2 (Roberts, McGonigle)
December 2015

With Wales set to meet England at full international level tonight it is a good time to remember a famous Welsh victory against the old enemy five years ago.

Two Anglesey lads were on target as the Welsh Colleges Under-19 side recorded a magnificent 2-0 away success against England Independent Schools at St George’s Park.

Jamie Roberts, then a player for Holyhead Hotspur in the Huws Gray Alliance, and Corrig McGonigle, at the time a prolific marksman for Pentraeth and Bangor City Under-19s, both found the net on the impressive Sir Alf Ramsey indoor 3G pitch.

Following on from their 3-1 victory over Scotland the previous month in Clyde, Wales were forced into three changes due to injury and illness but their strength in depth was clear for all to see as they overcame a resilient English side.

With both sides defending very well early on and chances few and far between the best opportunity of the first half fell to Wales.

Coleg Cambria’s Jack Chambers was released by Coleg Menai’s Roberts and his shot from a tight angle cannoned off the near post with Menai’s Shaun Cavanagh, who had scored his first senior goal for Bangor City the week before, failing to capitalise from the rebound.

Eight minutes into the second half and Marc Lloyd Williams’s side got the breakthrough.

Chambers won the ball on the halfway line, fed Josh Maksimovic (Coleg Y Cymoedd) down the right channel and he pulled it back into the path of the on rushing Malltraeth lad Jamie Roberts, who coolly slotted the ball past the English keeper from the edge of the penalty area for his third goal in two international games that season.

The addition of Menai’s McGonigle and Cambria’s Tom Bibby on the hour livened things up for Wales and within 10 minutes of their introduction the Welsh side had doubled their advantage.

Bibby and Chambers combined to put pressure on the English back four which forced the keeper into an error and Llansadwrn hitman McGonigle capitalised to give the Welsh side some breathing space.

However, they had to be grateful to Dan Eddolls (Gower College) in goal as he pulled off a superb save to deny Oscar Haynes Brown with 10 minutes remaining.

Welsh manager Marc Lloyd Williams (Jiws) was full of praise for his players.

He said: “The lads did extremely well on the night and it’s hard to single one player out In the both games we’ve played this season.

“The first 45 minutes hasn’t been nowhere near good enough, however the players have responded to what has been said to them at half time and shown the quality that they possess, the challenge now is to perform for the full 90 minutes.”

Wales (North Walians in bold): Dan Eddolls (Gower), Cai Owen (Menai), Joseph Evans (Cymoedd), Adam Pritchard (Menai), Chris Boyes (Cambria), Ifan Emlyn Jones (Menai, capt), Jack Chambers (Cambria), James Kilburn (Cambria), Shaun Cavanagh (Menai), Jamie Roberts (Menai), Josh Maksimovic (Cymoedd).
Subs: Tom Bibby (Cambria) for Roberts, Corrig McGonigle (Menai) for Maksimovic, Alex Boss (Menai) for Cavanagh, Corey Thomas (Sir Gar) for Kilburn, Keane Thomas (Bridgend) for Evans.