Wales vs. Northern Ireland: Score, Reaction from 2016 International Friendly

Wales and Northern Ireland stepped up their preparations for UEFA Euro 2016 by playing out a 1-1 draw after a competitive friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday night.

A second-half goal from Craig Cathcart put the visitors in front as Wales clearly missed the quality of Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale and Arsenal playmaker Aaron Ramsey in the final third. But a penalty from substitute Simon Church a minute from time spared Welsh blushes.  

Wales boss Chris Coleman may have been without his two premier attacking talents, but he still had some competent players to call on. In particular, rugged Swansea City centre-back Ashley Williams marshaled the defence, while powerful Burnley striker Sam Vokes initially led the forward line in Bale's absence, per the Welsh FA:

Northern Ireland's answer to Vokes was to rely on West Bromwich Albion pairing Jonny Evans and Gareth McAuley at the back:

The lack of top-level attackers on display was obvious during a sluggish first half. Both defences were stingy, but in truth, there was little quality in the final third to test the likes of Williams, Evans and McAuley.

In fact, the ball spent most of the time in midfield, where the game became bogged down. But one player, George Williams, certainly caught the eye of Chris Wathan of WalesOnline:

The 20-year-old Fulham forward was lively off the ball, consistently making darting runs between the lines. But Williams' clever movement yielded only half-chances.

A similarly slight opening was afforded to David Cotterill. But the Birmingham City winger couldn't make the most of it.

The goalless opening half understandably pushed both managers to make changes after the break.

Conor Washington replaced Jamie Ward as the visitors altered their shape. As for Wales, Dan Ward replaced Wayne Hennessey in goal, while Joe Ledley vacated his midfield berth for Andrew Crofts.

But it was Ward's partnership with Kyle Lafferty for Northern Ireland that really opened the game up. The two dovetailed well to create a pair of chances for the latter to race behind the Welsh defence at the start of the second half.

The away side's sudden ascendancy got its reward on the hour mark when Cathcart helped turn in an accurate corner delivered by Manchester United's Patrick McNair. As OptaJoe noted, the Watford central defender has been fairly prolific on the international stage lately:

Northern Ireland maintained their slender lead thanks to goalkeeper Michael McGovern's command of the box. The decisive stopper rarely wasted a second coming off his line to claim crosses and deny the aerial supply line to Vokes.

Perhaps sensing the need for better use of the ball on the deck, Wales boss Coleman brought Liverpool schemer Joe Allen off the bench. He also swapped Vokes' target-man qualities for the pace of MK Dons frontman Church.

It was that attribute that eventually broke down Northern Ireland's stubborn resistance. A sprint behind the back four saw Church felled in the box by McAuley's desperate lunge.

That wrapped up the scoring and earned the hosts a draw they barely merited. But Coleman deserves some credit for changing it up top when things had gone stale.

Post-Match Reaction

Coleman was pleased with his side's bold approach against opponents who proved difficult:

But the former Fulham manager may be more impressed by the performances that could yet influence his selection plans ahead of the tournament proper:

It's likely Coleman is referring to Williams. Indeed, Matthew Southcombe of WalesOnline noted how the manager wasn't shy about praising the attacker on loan at Gillingham:

Coleman's counterpart, Michael O'Neill, was pleased with the vital learning this friendly afforded his players, both on a physical and tactical level, according to BBC Sport's Dafydd Pritchard: "It would have been nice to win, but we were able to give 17 players some game time and experiment with a couple of different systems."

Despite the late equaliser, the cold truth revealed by this game was just how reliant Coleman's squad is on its two star men.