THIS was a very disjointed performance by England in this Home International against Wales. The Welsh, showing much of the form so evident in Sweden, put up a fine display and England had to fight all the way for a draw.

Johnny Haynes was badly missed and although his deputy, Peter Broadbent, showed some admirable skills, he did not command the midfield in the manner that Haynes can. Also, Billy Wright had an unusually shaky game in what was his 99th international.

From the first minute, when his mistake almost let in Woosnam, the England captain showed a most uncharacteristic nervousness. Perhaps it was a case of the 'nervous nineties'. Whatever it was, Tapscott's mobility gave Wright a torrid time.

Ronnie Clayton was also a disappointment especially after his magnificent display against the Soviet Union at Wembley, but to be fair he was given little support from Ron Flowers in what was a ragged England midfield.

Wales took the lead after 15 minutes. Medwin fired in a cross shot and when Colin McDonald failed to hold the ball Tapscott nipped in smartly to drive the loose ball home. But 15 minutes after the goal Wales suffered a cruel blow when their captain, Dave Bowen, picked up a nasty arm injury. He bravely continued on the left wing but he was virtually a passenger. This gave England the chance to exert some pressure and Bobby Charlton was able to reveal his awesome shooting power.

Several times he had the crowd on their feet with some spectacular shots after splendid dribbles. For 25 minutes up to half-time, Charlton was rampant, although he failed to find the net. In fact, England had no luck at all and Broadbent was particularly unlucky to se his header from Danny Clapton's centre strike the bar, rebound down and then to be cleared from the line by a possee of Welsh defenders.

Next, Clayton burst through to seize on to a clever Charlton, Nat Lofthouse worked opening. His 20-yard shot crashed against Kelsey's post. The goalkeeper then made two fine saves from Charlton rockets and then Charles managed to get in the way of another goal-bound Charlton shot.

Just when it seemed that England would go in at the break a goal down, Broadbent produced a marvellous equaliser. Graham Shaw fed through a delightful pass and although Broadbent was quickly hemmed in by defenders, he spotted Kelsey off his line and coolly and cleverly lobbed the ball over the 'keeper and into the net.

After the interval Wales came at England throwing everything forward. Ivor Allchurch was magnificent in this spell and inspired his colleagues. He was well supported by Woosnam and Tapscott. England, meanwhile faded badly. Clapton saw little of the ball and Alan A'Court achieved little on the left wing. Charlton's shots all but dried up and only Broadbent posed a threat of any kind.

With 20 minutes remaining, the underdogs grabbed the lead again. Allchurch picked up a pass from Ward, turned on the proverbial sixpence, and fired in a shot which went in off the far post. The Welshmen in the crowd were now at fever pitch as they sensed that their side were within sight of their first victory in England for some 23 years.

Soon, however, England drew level again. It needed something special and it came when a fine accurate cross by A'Court was met by a leaping Broadbent. The England number eight rose superbly to send a brilliant header into the top corner of Kelsey's goal. That ended the scoring in what had been an interesting contest.
   

Like Johnny Haynes, Peter Broadbent was more a schemer than a scorer. But, standing in for the injured hat-trick hero, he twice netted equalising goals against a spirited Welsh team. Arsenal winger Danny Clapton was given the impossible job of following Tom Finney. He performed with spirit, but no player could stand comparison with the Preston footballing master. Wales had taken a fifteenth minute lead through Derek Tapscott, who gave Billy Wright a tough time at the heart of the defence. Broadbent neatly lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Jack Kelsey to make it 1-1 just before half-time. Despite the handicap of having injured skipper Dave Bowen as a passenger on the wing for much of the game, Wales continued to press forward in search of their first victory over England for twenty-three years. Ivor Allchurch restored their lead with a shot on the turn in the seventieth minute. England struck back for a second equaliser when Broadbent rose at the far post to head in a centre from Alan A'Court. This was the final England appearance for Nat Lofthouse. He finished with a record-equaling thirty international goals from just thirty-three matches. The Lion of Vienna used to terrorise goalkeepers in an era when the shoulder charge was still accepted as a legitimate weapon. Who can ever forget his treatment of Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg in the 1958 FA Cup final? A few years later, the shoulder charge that put Harry and the ball into the net would have brought Lofty an instant dismissal. For Bolton, it brought them their second decisive goal. It's a different game now.
 

England disappointed in their next game against Wales at Villa Park. Four changes were necessary, mainly through injury, Flowers, Clapton, Broadbent, and A'Court being included. After half-an-hour's play the Welsh side were handicapped by a shoulder injury to their captain, Bowen, who was forced to play on the left wing for the reminder of the match. At the time of the accident Wales were a goal ahead, Tapscott having scored in the fifteenth minute. Kelsey was outstanding in the Welsh goal, but he was finally beaten shortly before halftime when Broadbent coolly lobbed the ball over his head. Allchurch scored a splendid goal to put Wales back in the lead midway through the second half, and it was left to Broadbent again to save England's face with a perfectly placed header from A'Court's centre. Haynes was clearly missed in the England team, well though Broadbent played as the match progressed. Charlton started well, only to fade, but Shaw gave another fine performance at left-back. In the Welsh team Charles was magnificent at centre-half, Ward did exceptionally well in his enforced half-back role, and Allchurch and Woosnam were both fine craftsmen in attack.