Wales women ready for Northern Ireland battle - Jayne Ludlow
- Published
Hat-trick was special - Wales' Harding
Women's Euro 2021 qualifier: Wales v Northern Ireland |
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Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport Date: Tue, 3 Sept Kick-off: 19:05 BST |
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport website, Cymru Fyw , Red Button and app |
Manager Jayne Ludlow says Wales women are ready for "a battle" in their Euro 2021 qualifier against Northern Ireland at Rodney Parade on Tuesday.
A hat-trick from Natasha Harding helped Wales to a 6-0 win over the Faroe Islands in their opening game in Torshavn on Thursday.
"The girls will move on from this quickly. Northern Ireland is a totally different challenge," Ludlow said.
"They are coming over to Wales, so we will definitely bring it to them."
Having finished second in their 2019 World Cup qualifying campaign behind eventual semi-finalists England, Wales are expected to contend with Norway and Northern Ireland for top spot in Euro 2021 qualifying Group C.
Emma Jones scored her first Wales goal, Durita Hummeland scored an own goal and Rhiannon Roberts also netted for Wales, who have struggled in the past to break down defensively minded teams.
"It is a great start - six goals, a clean sheet and a positive night for us, but with more to come," Ludlow said.
"We can be better. Every game we will feel there is still room for development.
"Our in-possession game was great at time. We didn't take all the chances we probably deserved to take, but the good thing for us is we start the campaign with three points.
"We have a team full of individuals with different strengths and we can vary how we play in possession. So it was really nice to see those strengths come to the fore."
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'Must-win game'
Harding said increased expectations for the campaign heightened the players' pre-match nerves.
"It was a perfect day for us apart from the weather. It was always going to be tough and we were pretty nervous going into this game, because it is unknown pressure that we have never had before," she said.
"There is the pressure we put on ourselves and from others outside the camp, so it was good to get off the mark.
"We were a bit frustrated at times, but all in all we are very happy."
Harding said the players were discussing their next match before they had even left the field.
"It was a must-win game - every game is. That is the pressure we are putting on ourselves as a squad," she added.
"We did really well and we have to thrive off the pressure and turn it into a positive.
"Our team talk at the end was about Northern Ireland - we need to do it again."