There were plenty of goals, but not so many wins for the Welsh sides in the EFL this weekend, as Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham all drew and Swansea lost a ding-dong battle at home to Sunderland.

Elsewhere in Wales, the Cymru and Adran Premier’s had reduced schedules this weekend due to cup action.

Finally, Wales women will find out their group stage opponents at the 2025 European Championships on Monday afternoon. Manager Rhian Wilkinson has bullishly said that she wants to play “the best of the best” at next year’s competition!

Cardiff Out of Relegation Zone With Draw

Stoke City’s Ben Gibson went from zero to hero against Cardiff, as his own goal looked to have won the game for the visitors, only for his 95th minute strike earnt his side a point.

Cardiff, who are now a point above the Championship relegation zone, went behind after Andrew Moran tucked the ball into the net after Jak Alnwick saved Million Manhoef’s effort.

The away side were level 15 minutes later, as captain Joe Ralls’ volley found Anwar El Ghazi who found the back of the net. Cardiff pushed forward for the winner after the break, with Yan Meite hitting the bar before Gibson turned Chris Willock’s shot into his own net.

Cardiff could not hold onto a first win in seven league games, however, as Gibson broke the visiting fans hearts deep into added time.

Swansea Fail To Hold On Against Sunderland

Twenty minutes into Swansea’s match with Sunderland on Saturday, the home fans were in dreamland. An hour and a half later? Not so much.

Swansea went 2-0 up after just 17 minutes through Zan Vipotnik and Liam Cullen’s excellent freekick, only to contrive to lose 2-3, thanks to goals from Dan Ballard, Dan Neil, and Jobe Bellingham.

Swansea, who were on a four-game unbeaten run going into this game, will have to lick their wounds and go again as they travel to bottom side Hull City on Saturday.

The saving grace for the Swans is the form of Liam Cullen. Since his brace for Wales against Iceland in November, Cullen has scored four times and assisted once more in the six games since, and looks to be fulfilling his massive potential in a white shirt this season.

Wrexham Slip at Home to Cambridge

Despite coming back from 1-0 down at home to Cambridge United, Wrexham had to settle for a point, after Dan Nlundulu’s penalty earnt is side a point.

Wrexham, who have still extended their unbeaten run in the league to five games, but have now fallen behind Wycombe Wanderers and Birmingham City in the fight for the automatic promotion places. With both side having games in hand on Wrexham, this draw was a big blow for Phil Parkinson’s men.

Cambridge took the lead through Elias Kachunga, but they did not hold on for long as James McClean equalised just seven minutes later.

Steven Fletcher put Wrexham ahead on 65 minutes, before Nlundulu’s penalty in the 90th minutes was calmly dispatched.

Newport Play Colchester To Bore Draw

County drew 0-0 at Colchester United on Saturday, extending their run of successive draws to four games.

Stuck in lower mid-table, Newport will be looking to climb the table over the festive period, despite a difficult schedule including league leaders Walsall and play-off chasing MK Dons.

Cardiff Matches in Adran Premier Postponed, TNS Capitalise

Both Cardiff clubs saw their away matches in the Adran Premier postponed due to Aberystwyth Town and Briton Ferry Llansawel’s involvement in the Adran Trophy quarter finals.

TNS were the big winners from this weekend, beating Swansea City 1-0 in a tight contest, decided by Lexi Jones. The visitors were dealt a blow as goalkeeper Charlie Haynes was forced off through injury midway through the first half – with defender Nia Jones taking her place.

The match of the weekend in the Adran Premier was undoubtedly Wrexham’s 4-3 victory over Barry Town United. Leading 3-1, before being pegged back to 3-3, Olivia Fuller scored late to give Wrexham a fourth win of the season.

Cardiff Met Climb The Cymru Premier

With most of the league in JD Welsh Cup action, Cardiff Met took the opportunity to leapfrog three teams and climb into third place in the league with a 2-0 home win over Flint Town United.

Elsewhere, Caernarfon Town beat Barry Town United 3-2 in a ding-dong mid-table clash that saw five goals, two penalties, and a red card for Barry’s Josh Iorwerth.

In the Welsh Cup, there were shock victories for Caerau Ely (1-0) and Llanelli Town (0-2) over Bala Town and Haverfordwest County respectively, while TNS brushed Colwyn Bay aside 4-1.

Results

Saturday

Stoke City 2-2 Cardiff City

Swansea City 2-3 Sunderland

Wrexham 2-2 Cambridge United

Colchester United 0-0 Newport County

Caernarfon Town 3-2 Barry Town United

Cardiff Met 2-0 Flint Town United

Sunday

The New Saints 1-0 Swansea City

Wrexham 4-3 Barry Town United

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