A dominant Wales side put Northern Ireland to the sword with a ruthless 4-1 win at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday.
First-half goals from Jess Fishlock, Angharad James and Hannah Cain were followed by a fourth after the break courtesy of Rachel Rowe, taking Wales' unbeaten run to four games.
A total of 6,831 supporters turned out, a record crowd for a Welsh women’s international friendly, to cheer Wales on in their first home game since the World Cup play-off semi-final win against Bosnia-Herzegovina last October.
Wales' most-capped footballer Fishlock, 36, opened the scoring for Gemma Grainger's hosts in the 16th minute. A sumptuous ball over the top from Rhiannon Roberts was asking for a runner, and Rachel Rowe obliged to loft a cross for Fishlock to tap in.
The second came on 25 minutes, poked home by Angharad James after a looping cross from captain Sophie Ingle was squared by Fishlock.
A third goal came shortly after pinning Northern Ireland in their own 18-yard box. Roberts again had a creative influence, putting the ball on a plate for Hannah Cain to tap home past the helpless Shannon Turner in goal.
Such was the dominance of Grainger’s side, it took 39 minutes for Northern Ireland to register a shot on goal: a wayward shot from McFadden from 20 yards.
The game was a friendly on paper, but Grainger’s side were out for revenge after their opponents pipped them to Euros qualification last year.
During the half-time break, Wales' all-time goalscorer Helen Ward was given a hero’s send-off by the crowd having announced her retirement from international football in March with 44 goals for her country to her name. She would have been pleased with the attacking flair on display.
After the break, Wales refused to allow their intensity to drop. The 63rd minute saw the fourth goal arrive, after a fizzing Ceri Holland cross went through Turner’s gloves leaving Rowe with an empty net to target.
Lauren Wade added what turned out to be a consolation goal for Northern Ireland with a fine finish after robbing Gemma Evans of the ball, but Wales held off any added arrears to see out a comfortable victory.
Wales manager Grainger is aiming for her new-era Wales squad to qualify for a first-ever major women's tournament at the next opportunity, for the 2025 Women's Euros. Before qualifiers begin early next year, Grainger has time to build strength in depth ahead of the inaugural Women's Nations League this autumn.
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