Post-match interview: Hayley Ladd
By Jordan Jones
After netting late on, match-winner Hayley Ladd said Wales must learn to break teams down sooner.
Ladd was the sole scorer at the Cardiff City Stadium, her goal continuing Wales’ unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying, and securing a victory over Kazakhstan.
“It’s exhilarating to get the three points. We were probing for the whole ninety minutes, to finally get the goal is a really great feeling,” she said.
It was the second meeting between the two sides after Wales recorded a 1-0 victory out in Astana back in September.
After a repeat of the same scoreline against the Kazakhstanis, the 24-year-old wants to see her side get goals earlier on in the game.
“It’s something we’re not too used to, just breaking teams down. We pride ourselves on being very good defensively,” said Ladd.
“Breaking teams down and taking the game to the opposition is something we’ve got to improve on, possibly get on the scoresheet sooner.
“We need to be creative, we need to be fast, with our movement, moving the ball quickly.”
A contributing factor to Wales’ impressive defensive record, where they’ve kept a clean sheet in each of their games, has been goalkeeper, Laura O’Sullivan.
“Laura is a brilliant goalie, we have a lot of trust in her. For a player in defence she was brilliant in the game tonight, she was calm on the ball.”
The win keeps Wales top of Group 1 with three games played and there is now a fast turnaround for Jayne Ludlow’s side with an away trip to Zenica ahead of the game against Bosnia on Tuesday.
And with that unbeaten run intact, it very much keeps alive the dreams of making history by being the first Wales Women’s side to qualify for a major tournament.
“As soon as we set out for the campaign that was our goal, so each game we try and notch up the points, the long term is that qualification,” added the Bristol Academy midfielder.
“To get to the playoffs we would make history for a Welsh team – that in itself is what we’re trying to do.”
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