Everything comes up Rosies in the end for Wrexham

Female football in North Wales well and truly made its mark on Sunday when a record crowd of 9,511 for a women’s domestic fixture in this country watched Genero Adran North champions Wrexham beat Connah’s Quay Nomads 2-1 at the famous Racecourse.

Even though Cardiff City FC Women were clinching the tier 1 Adran Premier title on the same day down south, for once more eyes were on the north as history was made at the world’s oldest international football stadium still in use.

It was already known Sunday’s event in the north would smash the biggest turnout for a domestic women’s game in Wales, which previously was 5,175 for Cardiff City’s meeting with Abergavenny earlier this season.

However, with more than 6,000 tickets confirmed as sold before the weekend, it was still a major added bonus when the Racecourse attendance was announced as a whopping 9,511 on the day.

This also made it the largest gate for any FAW-sanctioned league game.

The added presence of Wrexham AFC’s owners, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, only sprinkled more stardust on Sunday’s showpiece.

Wrexham winning the game to complete a spotless record of 12 straight wins made the day even more perfect for the home supporters.

And there was even a touch of Hollywood ending as star striker Rosie Hughes scored a magnificent 83rd minute winner.

It was the 27-year-old’s 90th goal in just 38 league and cup appearances for the team she joined at the start of 2021-22.

Two-thirds of her goals – 60 – have come in the Genero Adran North, 36 last season and 24 this term.

On Sunday, the famous ground could have been renamed the Rosie Racecourse.

THE GAME

Make no mistake, there were very much two sides out on the pitch on Sunday.

Connah’s Quay Nomads had been the only team to throw down a challenge to Wrexham’s supremacy over the season.

And the Deesiders were determined not to be bit-part players on the biggest stage either set of personnel had performed on in their careers.

In the end, one piece of Rosie magic decided the game.

Otherwise, it really might have gone either way. No-one could really have argued with the outcome had the Nomads taken the point they deserved.

And while game-winner Hughes was named Player of the Match, on this occasion the award may have more suited the Nomads playmaker Kirstie Kural – a point made quite emphatically by Sgorio commentator Nic Parry and fully supported by this writer.

Having covered Rosie’s career since she was around 14, I’ve long been a fan of her play and would normally never begrudge her a single accolade.

However, over the 90 minutes, Kural was everywhere, defending magnificently and attacking with gusto.

This is a player who has scored 56 goals for the Quay over the past two seasons, the first of them as a central defensive midfielder.

So while Wrexham were the star turn, nothing should detract from how important the opposition were to the occasion.

THE ACTION

It was Kural who so nearly broke the deadlock in the third minute, her cheeky overhead kick bouncing back off the bar and the ball landing in the grateful arms of home keeper Delyth Morgan.

Quay made the livelier start and it was against the run of play when the champions took a sixth-minute lead.

From a free kick wide out the left, Tonicha Jade Dickens hit an absolute pearler of a strike which flew in over the head of keeper Grace Murphy.

The commentators were critical of Murphy, putting the goal down to her mistake. Then for the rest of the game, which saw Murphy produce some fine stops, her efforts were sometimes described as “making up for her earlier error”.

This was unfair. Perhaps Murphy was caught a little unawares by the free kick, but anyone who knows TJ would vouch for what a tremendous striker of a dead-ball she is – and this effort was a fierce rocket which merited a goal.

Nomads proved their good start was no fluke when they equalised in the 10th minute.

Following a corner which sailed over her head, keeper Morgan attempted to retrieve the ball near the byline, but she was outfoxed by some lovely skill from Elana Harley, who found Ella Harvey and she calmly slotted into the unguarded goal from an angle.

In the 18th minute, Kural slipped a lovely pass to Harley, but Morgan was quick off her line to block.

At the other end, Kural was there to head off the line from a Dickens corner.

The chances dried up as the half progressed and the interval arrived at 1-1.

Quay again started the second half well, substitute Tegan Hewitt making a great run but firing off target.

Murphy saved well in the away goal, then Kural made a magnificent run into the box down the left, but Morgan produced a good tackle to foil her.

Nomads’ Kylie Jones’ free header from a corner went close before Murphy did really well to fingertip an Amber Lightfoot attempt behind for a flag-kick.

The game still had a “could go either way” about it until the clinching goal arrived in the 83rd minute.

Sub Lily Whitefoot did really well to win the ball and find Hughes, who raced into the box, outpacing Megan Andrews and then side-stepping Murphy before finding the empty net.

A shade of Maradona about it, the Argentinian’s legal goal in the 1986 World Cup against England. A goal from Rosie worthy of rounding off a highly memorable day.

The star of the show had taken her cue and sealed the Oscar.

WHAT NEXT?

Despite all the euphoria surrounding Wrexham AFC Women right now, they still have work to do to get promoted to the Adran Premier.

If they attain the necessary tier 1 licence, the Red Dragons will have to beat Adran South champions Briton Ferry Llansawel – no easy feat – in a play-off final.

Sunday was really only the first act. An even bigger performance might be needed to achieve the desired goal.

If Wrexham can get into tier 1, the resources they have, which will surely be added to, will stand them in great stead.

We do not just want to see North Wales teams in the Adran Premier – we want them challenging the might of the south like never before. In the past, it just hasn’t worked.

Only then, if we have a side truly competing in the top flight, will North Wales women’s club football have really arrived on a national scale.