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2-3
24 March 2024 Venue STōK Cae Ras Attendance

Kick off 14:00 (UK)

Wrexham AFC
2 - 3
Swansea City
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Match Previews

PREVIEW | Wrexham AFC vs Swansea City

It's another big day at the STōK Cae Ras for Steve Dale's team

24 March 2024

After the historic win over Connah's Quay Nomads at the STōK Cae Ras last season, Wrexham return to the world's oldest international stadium in an exciting match-up with Swansea City, who are hoping to keep their slim title hopes alive.

The opening match of the season was a gripping 3-3 draw with the Swans, who grabbed an equaliser deep into added time, and the first game of the Second Phase saw them grab a 3-2 win with the scoring completed in injury time once more.

We took the lead at the Swansea.com Stadium before losing 2-1 last November; as a great rivalry develops, can we get a win over Swansea in our final clash of the season?

THE WREXHAM ANGLE

Wrexham have big-game players who will be keen to grasp the opportunity of playing at the Club's iconic home.

Rosie Hughes, of course, scored the late winner against Connah's Quay Nomads at the STōK Cae Ras last season, and she wasn't the only one to step up to the plate in that game.

TJ Dickens set the tone with an incredible long-range free-kick that opened the scoring in front of 9,511 - a record crowd for the Welsh women's domestic game. 

Del Morgan made some sharp saves and then stood out in the subsequent play-off final, while Lili Jones took the game by the scruff of the neck when she stepped forward into midfield in the second half.

Playing at the STōK Cae Ras is an opportunity to make a mark as an historic first season in the Genero Adran Premier heads towards its conclusion.

A home defeat by a five goal margin is obviously a chastening experience, but last Sunday's 6-1 defeat to Cardiff City was nowhere near as bad as the scoreline suggested.

Obviously, the champions were worthy winners, but it was a much more competitive game than you might think, and good preparation for this massive occasion at STōK Cae Ras.

Steve Dale will hope to welcome TJ Dickens back from injury after she missed the opening two games of the Championship Phase of the season.

A dominant figure in the centre of the park, Dickens brings control in the centre of the park as well as protecting the back three.

Dale will also be keen to see how Liv Fuller shapes up. Recovering from a major injury, Fuller has made encouraging progress since arriving in January, completing 45 minutes in her first two games before getting 70 minutes in last Sunday.

A high-quality centre back who pulled off a remarkably cool clearance off the line against Cardiff, calmly cushioning the ball with her head as it crossed the line before passing the ball out of the danger area, she will play a massive role in the future development of Dale's team if her rehabilitation can be completed successfully.

LAST TIME WE MET

THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Swansea kicked off the second phase of the season with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Steve Dale's side, which remains the only game they've played since the mid-season break as their match at Aberystwyth was called off last week.

Eight points behind league leaders Cardiff City with a game in hand, they are still in the title race, but have very little room for manouevre and can't afford to drop points.

It has been a momentous week for the Swans, as they appointed their first Head of Women's Football. Alice Weekes arrives from the Welsh Rugby Union with an impressive range of experiences in sport and business already under her belt. 

“I’m really excited to be here, it’s obviously a brand new role for the club so it’s a privilege to come and take that up.

“I’m a massive football fan, I have a history of playing when I was younger, so to take up this role, which is hopefully going to make a huge difference to women’s and girls’ football in Swansea and beyond, is super exciting for me and I can’t wait to get going.

“I’ve spoken to (chairman) Andy [Coleman] and (chief of staff and head of strategy) Ken [Gude] and also (sporting director) Paul [Watson] through the interview process, and the passion and genuine drive they have to make this work was a massive reason I decided to take the role.

“They’ve transformed the women’s side and moved to semi-professional status in the summer, and that points towards a genuine belief that this can work.

“It’s a huge opportunity, it’s brand new, created from scratch. I’m fully aware there has been a lot of voluntary work that’s gone on in the background of this team over the years to get it to this point.

“But having that dedicated time and space to focus on women’s football and girls’ football in Swansea, the opportunities are almost endless, and the challenge will be finding those priorities and identifying what we do first, because there is a lot we can do.

“When I joined the WRU there were no professional women’s players there at all, and by the time I left there was 32 full-time women’s rugby professionals which is obviously incredible.

“With that we saw improved performances because players had the time to train and dedicate themselves to the game, and we saw more people coming to the games because they were playing better. We had record crowds for the Women’s Six Nations.

“When I was growing up watching football, if you had asked me who my idols were it would have been men’s players. People like David Beckham or Thierry Henry, I couldn’t have named any women’s players at that point.

“Now Wales have some huge stars that we can all name, and Swansea themselves have some big players.

“If we can get them out into the community and inspiring girls then the results will be more girls wanting to play football.

“One of the key reasons I’m excited for the role is because I care about opportunities for girls to play football.”

Long term, we don’t want to get in the way of the football but if we work closely with the players and the coaching staff, I think we can make something really special here.

-Alice Weekes, Swansea Head of Women's Football

“It’s hugely important to remain successful.

“That’s where the initial interest comes from when we look at media and the commercial side of things and getting people to games.

"They want to watch a successful team and I know Swansea have had amazing success in the past and I’m sure that will continue into the future.

“I know (chairman) Andy [Coleman] is really keen to get the academy set up for the girls which is huge in terms of bringing in stars of the future, and a successful senior side can help with that.

“With my background, I think the commercial opportunities are huge and I’d like to think long term we will develop a commercial strategy that is suited towards the women’s team almost as a separate entity.

"It’s a different product and a different audience and there is so much we can do with that.”

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Match Reports

REPORT | Wrexham AFC 2–3 Swansea City

Ellie Lake’s injury-time goal hands Wrexham cruel defeat at STōK Cae Ras

24 March 2024

Lili Jones and Rosie Hughes’ goals weren’t enough for Wrexham AFC, as a 92nd minute goal meant that they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Swansea City at the STōK Cae Ras.

Over 2,000 supporters came down to support the Red Dragons, and Jones broke the deadlock with a sublime finish from 40-yards out in the 24th minute.

Goals either side of the half from Robyn Pinder and Monet Legall gave the South Wales side the advantage, before Rosie Hughes equalised ten minutes from time. 

However, Swansea's Ellie Lake scored the decisive goal in stoppage-time, as she netted in the 92nd minute to ensure the Swans travelled back to South Wales with all three points. 

Steve Dale named one change to the starting XI, as Del Morgan returned into the Starting XI, following her absence against Cardiff City last weekend.

Almost a year on from that famous day at the STōK Cae Ras, when Wrexham lifted the Adran North title in front of a record-breaking crowd for Women’s football in Wales.

This time in front of the Red Dragons was one of the most successful sides in Wales, six-time champions Swansea City.

Matches between Wrexham and Swansea this season have always been tightly contested, but while Steve Dale’s side had been yet to get the better of their South Wales counterparts.

Backed by thousands of vociferous supporters, a momentous occasion at the STōK Cae Ras inspired a quick start from Wrexham. An early sprint down the line from Rosie Hughes set the tone, rousing many within the ground to spur the hosts on against stern opposition.

Wrexham’s first real opportunity came in the eighth minute, after a slick team move, passing through Amber Lightfoot and Lili Jones meant that the ball eventually fell at the feet of Hughes, who couldn’t keep her shot down.

Hughes followed up with another speculative effort just two minutes later, which dragged wide of the post, as the hosts quickly got into a good rhythm early on in North Wales.

Swansea battled away and grew into the match, with Katy Hosford and Robyn Pinder reminding everyone of their talents, having enjoyed great success against Wrexham so far this season.

However, on a day where Wrexham wanted to put on a show, they quickly showcased their fighting spirit and character in abundance.

Captain Keren Allen was found in unfamiliar territory, and her snapshot from inside the Swansea box fell only as far as Hughes, who saw an innovative backheel cleared off the line by Jess Williams after 22 minutes.

The Red Dragons didn’t stop here though, as they broke the deadlock just two minutes later with a goal only fitting of such an occasion.

While over 2,000 Wrexham fans flocked into the STōK Cae Ras, it perhaps was no surprise that lifelong Wrexham fan Lili Jones was the one to open the scoring in emphatic fashion.

The midfielder sprinted onto a loose ball that Lightfoot left for Jones to strike, and she unleashed a 40-yard lob that was perfectly weighted to send everyone into jubilation.

It didn’t last long though, as Allen was unfortunate to catch Pinder in the box after half an hour, with referee James Walker pointing straight to the spot.

The striker stepped up to take and buried her effort into the far corner, leaving Morgan beaten after 31 minutes.

Dale’s side continued in their search for another goal to regain their lead, but the closest they came was minutes before the interval, when Hughes hit the post from an offside position.

Neither side made any changes at the break, perhaps a strong indication that both benches were satisfied by what they had seen in the opening 45 minutes.

It was almost a perfect start to the second half, as Carra Jones found Brooke Cairns with an incisive pass in behind just twelve seconds after the restart.  

Cairns made a fantastic run, but her first effort was outstretched and parried by Herbert, before her second attempt was blocked before reaching the net.

Lili Jones looked to double her tally for the afternoon, but a curling effort ended up just a whisker away from the far post.

Against the run of play, Monet Legall latched onto a clearance and tried her luck with a curling effort after 53 minutes.

Morgan managed to get a hand on Legall’s effort, but she couldn’t prevent it from lifting into the back of the net, as the Swans suddenly found themselves in front.

It seemed like an eternity, but Wrexham were never going to settle for defeat without putting up a fight.

That fighting spirit came in handy with just over ten minutes to go, as Hughes produced another colossal goal in the closing minutes at the STōK Cae Ras.

Carra Jones, who has been such a key player for Wrexham since joining in the summer, picked out Hughes with ease, and the Red Dragons’ number nine came to the rescue with just ten minutes remaining in North Wales.

Lili Jones came so close to earning Wrexham all three points, as the midfielder’s effort was blocked just in time by Ellie Lake in the 90th minute.

Lake then provided a crucial blow towards the hosts, as she fired home in stoppage time to hand Wrexham a cruel defeat despite a performance that was full of character and heart. 

Wrexham AFC: Morgan, Allen (C), Fuller, Davies, Pritchard (Small 69’), C. Jones, L. Jones, Gibbard, Cairns (Dickens 87’), Lightfoot (Suckley 81’), Hughes.

Subs not used: Bolland, Lovett.

Swansea City: Herbert, Turner (K. Thomas 13’), Lake, Cullen, Pinder, Hosford (C), Wynne (Chivers 72’), Hancocks, Legall (Harris 81’), E. Thomas, Williams.

Subs not used: Williams, Harris, Guymer.

Match Attendance: 2,008

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