Wayne Rooney has urged Wales manager Rob Page to “get over” any personal history with Tom Lawrence and recall Derby County’s captain. Lawrence has not played for Wales for almost a year since Page left him out of the squad for last summer’s delayed Euro finals. Derby manager Rooney – whose team, including Lawrence, lost 2-1 at Swansea City on Saturday – has claimed the omission of the 28-year-old could be down to “history” between player and current caretaker boss.

Steve Morison applauded his Cardiff City players after he admitted they had restored his energy following what he described as “an emotionally draining week.” Morison saw his team come from behind to win 2-1 at Reading and go some way to erasing the immediate memory of their 4-0 derby day humiliation at home to Swansea City seven days before. Striker Lucas Joao put the Royals ahead in the seventh minute when he nodded home an Andy Yiadom cross at the far post.

Swansea City head coach Russell Martin is bracing himself for a summer spent fighting off interest for the club’s 20-goal striker Joel Piroe. The Dutchman scored two stunning goals in his side’s 2-1 victory over Derby County on Saturday to become the first Swans player since Oli McBurnie three years ago to reach 20 goals in all competitions in a season. The 22-year-old joined the Swans for a bargain £1m from PSV Eindhoven last summer, but already looks worth 10 times that figure after a stunning debut season in the Championship.

Steve Morison is hoping ‘the curse’ of the Manager of the Month award came early for him as he looks to move on from the derby double defeat last weekend. The fledgling Bluebirds boss was awarded the March award as Championship manager of the month earlier this week after masterminding 10 points for his club in March. Then came the crushing blow last weekend of a 4-0 home defeat to arch-rivals Swansea City that enabled them to become the first team in 110 years to complete a league double in the south Wales derby.

Swansea City have set themselves a new target a week on from making history in the south Wales derby – winning three games in a week for the first time under Russell Martin. The 4-0 win at Cardiff City Stadium last weekend allowed Martin’s men to claim the first league double in 110 years of trying by both teams in the derby, while Joel Piroe’s 18th goal of the season in the 1-0 win at Millwall earlier in the week made it 10 points out of the last 12 as they push for a top half finish. That is bad news for Wayne Rooney’s Derby County, who are still fighting to try to complete their own version of the ‘Great Escape’ and avoid relegation.

Wales manager Gemma Grainger says her team will take the positives from a resilient performance in a tight 2-1 defeat against group leaders France and use them to fuel the remainder of their World Cup campaign. While the hosts conceded two sloppy goals, Grainger was upbeat about the performance insisting that the big nations now respect Wales. The coach was pleased her side showed they can compete against the top nations and really cause issues for some of the best players in the world.

By Matthew Burgess The FAW’s annual club licensing announcement has been met with mixed emotions after the Cymru South’s two leading promotion candidates both failed to achieve the necessary criteria to enable them to compete in the Cymru Premier. Cymru South leaders Llantwit Major and title rivals Pontypridd Town can appeal the initial decision but […]

Women’s sport in Wales is on the precipice of the biggest weekend in its history. Both the women’s national football and rugby teams are looking to ride the wave of support in a blockbuster month to confirm a seismic shift in interest, activism and commercial appeal. On Friday night, Wales host France at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, with the prospect of taking a huge step forward towards qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Helen Ward says she would not swap her 14-year international career for a more lucrative one in the modern era as she prepares to become the newest member of Wales’ 100-cap club. Ward is set to join Jess Fishlock, Loren Dykes and Sophie Ingle as Welsh centurions in Friday’s 2023 World Cup qualifier against France in Llanelli. Chris Gunter, Gareth Bale and Wayne Hennessey have reached the three-figure milestone in the men’s game.

By David Williams Natasha Harding is hoping for a record women’s football crowd in Wales that can help upset France in their World Cup qualifier. Over 4,000 tickets have already been sold for Friday’s game at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli, with confidence growing that Wales can reach their first major women’s tournament under Gemma […]

By Paul Jones Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has hailed his team’s professionalism as they made a significant move into second place in the National League. 

Russell Martin praised the ruthless attitude of Joel Piroe after the striker put Swansea City on the outer fringes of the Championship play-off race. Dutchman Piroe scored his 18th goal of the season in all competitions as the Swans secured a 1-0 win against Millwall at The Den. The result lifted head coach Martin’s side to 14th in the table – level on points with West Bromwich Albion and Preston and only eight points behind Middlesbrough, who occupy the final play-off spot.

Both Cardiff and Swansea are miles away from the promotion picture and their seasons are dwindling to a close. But, there is success for a certain Welshman in Nathan Jones, who is miraculously looking to guide Luton Town to the promised land of the Premier League. Daniel Parker has been finding out about a Welsh managerial great in the making. 

Rhiannon Roberts is determined to top up her feelgood factor when Wales host France on Friday night in their crucial World Cup qualifier. The Liverpool defender has already achieved one successful mission this season by sealing promotion with her club at the weekend after a 4-2 victory at Bristol City. The win extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Championship to 19 games and confirmed them as champions.

Michael Obafemi revealed he was driven by the desire to make history after his two-goal raid inked his name into Welsh football folklore. The Swansea City striker bookended a stunning victory for his club against their bitterest rivals and now his name – and his club’s 4-0 win at Cardiff City – will be talked about in Wales for years. Not only did it help Swansea debunk the well-worn statistic that neither club had ever managed a league double over the other in 110 years of trying, but it was Swansea’s biggest derby victory for 73 years.

Michael Obafemi has transformed his character as much as his goal return in the past few weeks at Swansea City. That was the assessment of his head coach Russell Martin after Obafemi drove a bulldozer through a stacked 110-year history between Welsh football’s biggest clubs to leave Cardiff City’s recent revival in ruins. The Swansea striker scored his team’s first and last goals as they totally outclassed their rivals with a 4-0 away win – their biggest Welsh derby victory since 1949.

Wales manager Robert Page has described the prospect of facing England at the World Cup as “mouth-watering”. The Dragons are one match away from making their first World Cup appearance since 1958 following a Gareth Bale-inspired 2-1 victory against Austria last month. Wales will meet Scotland or Ukraine for a place in the finals, with England lying in wait in Qatar on November 29 if Page’s men triumph.

Russell Martin has urged his Swansea City players to grasp the opportunity to become history-makers in the derby at Cardiff City on Saturday. The Swans head coach has suggested the chance to become the first Welsh team to do a league “double” over their rival should be another motivating factor when his team visit the Cardiff City Stadium. Following the Swans’ 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture in October, the visitors have the chance to complete the first league double in the 110-year history of the fixture.

By Harry Corish Rubin Colwill will start on the bench for Cardiff City tomorrow in the South Wales derby after manager Steve Morison insisted he would not get carried away by the hype. Colwill scored his first goal for Wales against the Czech Republic in midweek in an impressive first home start. But despite a […]

Newport County host Exeter City on Saturday in a key fixture at the top end of League Two. It’s a match that may go a long way to determining County’s fate as they chase promotion. But whether they go up, or miss out, Daniel Parker reckons the club is in good hands under shrewd young manager James Rowberry. In the 110-year history of Newport County there have been a plethora of unhappy days. May 31, 2021 was a million miles from the worst, but it still hurt for those with amber blood in their veins.