Match Report - Wales 3 - 0 Norway
6 Feb 2008
Players
| Wales | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Hennesey (GK) |
| 2 | Chris Gunter |
| 3 | Sam Ricketts |
| 4 | Carl Fletcher |
| 5 | Craig Morgan |
| 6 | Lewin Nyatanga |
| 7 | Carl Robinson |
| 8 | Freddy Eastwood |
| 9 | Jason Koumas |
| 10 | Simon Davies (c) |
| 11 | Joe Ledley |
| 12 | David Edwards |
| 14 | David Cotterill |
| 15 | Craig Davies |
| 16 | Arron Davies |
| 17 | Andrew Crofts |
| 18 | Robert Earnshaw |
| 19 | Steve Evans |
| 20 | Jermaine Easter |
| 21 | Lewis Price (GK) |
| 22 | Neal Eardley |
| Norway | |
|---|---|
| 23 | Hakon Opdal (GK) |
| 2 | Pa-Modou Kah |
| 5 | Brede Hangeland |
| 6 | John Arne Riise |
| 7 | Fredrik Stromstad |
| 8 | Martin Andresen |
| 10 | John Carew |
| 11 | Morten Gamst Pedersen |
| 26 | Daniel Braaten |
| 34 | Jarl-Andre Storbaek |
| 36 | Erik Nevland |
| 4 | Jon Inge Hoiland |
| 13 | Frode Kippe |
| 18 | John Anders Bjorkoy |
| 19 | Christian Grindheim |
| 22 | Kristofer Haestad |
| 33 | Rune Almenning Jarstein (GK) |
| 30 | Simen Brenne |
Substitutions
| On | Off | Minute |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Price (GK) | Wayne Hennesey (GK) | 45 |
| David Edwards | Joe Ledley | 45 |
| Neal Eardley | Sam Ricketts | 59 |
| Craig Davies | Simon Davies | 59 |
| David Cotterill | Freddy Eastwood | 59 |
| Andrew Crofts | Carl Robinson | 66 |
| On | Off | Minute |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Grindheim | Fredrik Stromstad | 45 |
| Kristofer Haestad | John Carew | 45 |
| Frode Kippe | Brede Hangeland | 61 |
| John Anders Bjorkoy | Erik Nevland | 77 |
Goals
| Wales | Minute |
|---|---|
| Carl Fletcher | 15 |
| Jason Koumas | 62 |
| Jason Koumas | 89 |
| Norway | Minute |
|---|
Cards
No cards received
Officials
Referee: Dave McKeon (Republic of Ireland)
Assistant referee 1: Martin Maloney (Republic of Ireland)
Assistant referee 2: Barry McDonnell (Republic of Ireland)
4th official: Lee Evans (Wales)
Other information
Attendance: 7,553
Report: Carl Fletcher's first ever Wales goal and a Jason Koumas brace helped John Toshack's men to a comfortable win over Norway at the Racecourse.
Fletcher opened the scoring on 15 minutes racing on to Freddy Eastwood's through-ball and firing home.
Koumas hit the post on the hour from a free-kick before doubling Wales' lead from inside the box.
And he got his second a minute from time after David Edwards laid off for him to score.
Wales coped better on a terrible pitch and passed the ball around well, but it was Norway who enjoyed more possession in the first half without really threatening.
A scrappy opening needed a goal and Pa-Modou Kah wasted a chance for the Norwegians seven minutes in, sending John Arne Riise's corner way over.
But on 15 minutes, Eastwood split the visitors' defence open with a superb through-ball to Fletcher who shrugged off a challenge to finish well.
Koumas could have doubled the hosts' lead on 36 minutes when he forced Hakon Opdal to dive low and save his shot after Norway failed to clear a corner.
Just before the break, Morten Gamst Pederson had Norway's first real chance, driving into the side-netting.
Christian Grindheim then wasted a glorious chance at the start of the second period sending a free header wide in front of goal.
And the post saved Norway twice in a minute.
First David Edwards fired low and substitute keeper Rune Jarstein had to direct his deflected shot on to the woodwork.
Then Jason Koumas struck the post with a free-kick from just outside the box.
But at the third attempt on 62 minutes, Wales had the ball in the net again and it was nothing less than they deserved.
Chris Gunter squared from the left to Koumas who skipped past two challenges and fired low into the bottom corner.
Erik Nevland had Norway's best chance of the second half three minutes later forcing substitute keeper Lewis Price into his first save with a close-range header.
But the win was sealed a minute from time after a Wales counter attack saw David Edwards control on the edge of the box and lay-off to Koumas to score.
