21-04-2025
Battling Wrexham U19s lose out to Cardiff in shoot-out
The Reds, this season's Adran U19s North title winners, tackled Cardiff City in the national play-off final at Newtown's Latham Park ground.
While Wrexham had the lead at the interval, the Bluebirds battled back to level things up in the second half and they eventually went on to triumph 4-2 on penalties.
Things couldn't have started any better for Wrexham and they got their noses in front after four minutes.
Anna Owen struck to hand the Reds the lead, but an almost immediate impact from Scarlett Baker-Perry hauled Cardiff level midway through the second half.
She came off the bench on the hour and her goal came in the 66th minute.
Try as they might, neither side could find a winner and the play-off had to be decided by a penalty shootout.
Goalkeeper Grace Olsen took the spotlight as she saved the Reds' penultimate spot kick and then stepped forward to score Cardiff's final penalty.
Maizie Johnson and Seren Cashen found the target for Wrexham during the shootout.
While it was a heartbreaking loss to close the season for the young Reds, it's still been a cracking campaign for the squad.
They finished two points clear of The New Saints to take the Adran North title, losing only twice in the league.
Wrexham won their remaining 10 matches, scoring 37 goals in the process and conceding just eight.
Grace Morris was Wrexham's leading scorer in the league with 11 goals, while Leah Burke and Cashen supplied five assists apiece.
Wrexham's senior team will be looking for a different outcome this Sunday when they tackle Cardiff in the Welsh Cup final.
