From the Battle of Wrexham to wunderkind Woodburn’s audacious entrance: a brief history of Wales v Austria (part three)

When Wales welcome Austria to the Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow evening for a vital World Cup play-off semi-final, it will be the eleventh instalment in an intermittent rivalry that has produced some memorable moments dating back to the first meeting in 1954.

Local hero Griffiths stars on glorious night for Wales

Two decades after the Battle of Wrexham, Wales welcomed Austria back to the Racecourse on 19 November 1975 for the most crucial clash between the two nations prior to this week’s play-off. A place in the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championship was at stake.

Since succumbing to two late goals in Vienna in Mike Smith’s first match as manager, Wales had roared to the top of their qualifying group on the back of four consecutive victories.

They had begun their whirlwind revival by beating Hungary 2–0 in Cardiff and thrashing Luxembourg 5–0 in Swansea in successive months before the end of 1974 and then repeated those successes against the same opponents away from home in the spring.

The 2–1 triumph in Budapest, where the home side had previously been almost invincible, was a particularly significant moment in Welsh football history.

Another awaited them in Wrexham as Wales attempted to achieve their ambition of reaching the closing stages of a major tournament for the first time since 1958, when their predecessors had benefited from an unprecedented second chance to qualify for the World Cup finals after being initially eliminated.

This time, they would progress on merit, but only if they withstood the challenge of Austria at the Racecourse.

Wales had one vital advantage before the decisive meeting: they only required a draw after the Austrians crashed to a 2–1 defeat in Hungary two months earlier.

However, Smith faced the disadvantage of being without a host of first-choice players. 

John Toshack, the leader of the attack throughout the European Championship campaign, was cautioned in the 3–1 win in Luxembourg, earning him a one-match suspension.

The midfield and attacking departments had remained unchanged during the first five qualifiers, but the absence of Toshack forced Smith to alter his approach. He turned to Everton’s Dave Smallman as his spearhead and handed local hero Arfon Griffiths the role of supporting him from midfield. 

Smallman’s international experience amounted to a total of six caps, but he had started for Wales in the 2–2 draw against England at Wembley in the Home International Championship in May 1975. 

Thankfully for Smith, rapidly emerging teenager Brian Flynn was ready to fill the void left by Griffiths alongside Terry Yorath, now ensconced as captain, and the redoubtable John Mahoney. 

The axis of Yorath, Mahoney and Flynn would in due course become the most famous midfield trio ever to represent Wales. 

Smith was less fortunate in the options available to him at the back to answer an injury crisis that deprived him of the services of keeper Dai Davies, who had starred on debut in Budapest, along with defenders Malcom Page, John Roberts and Dave Roberts.

As a result, veterans Leighton Phillips and Rod Thomas would be joined by three newcomers to international football at the Racecourse: Brian Lloyd, of the local club, Wrexham, in goal, Joey Jones of Liverpool at left-back, and Surrey-born Ian Evans of Crystal Palace in the middle.

The inclusion of Jones, Evans, Flynn and Smallman – all of whom were 23 or younger – as well as an uncapped goalkeeper from the Third Division, was viewed as a gamble by the Welsh press. 

Clive Phillips described it as a ‘bold selection’ in his preview of the match for the Western Mail before showering praise upon Smith, ‘the Englishman who has transformed Welsh soccer since taking control of the national team 15 months ago’. 

The size of the crowds in this qualifying campaign provided a useful gauge of the transformation. While a total of fewer than 20,000 witnessed the first two home games in atrocious weather in the southern strongholds of Cardiff and Swansea in the autumn of 1974, a full house of more than 27,500 packed into the Racecourse in Wrexham to watch the group decider a year later.

The dramatic increase could not be attributed to an improvement in the weather. It was not a night for the faint-hearted as everyone inside the Racecourse was buffeted by wind and rain throughout an occasion laced with tension. 

Wales would have to overcome the elements as much as the white-shirted Austrians, who had undergone an overhaul since Hans Krankl struck the winner in Vienna in Smith’s first match at the helm 14 months earlier. 

Krankl, one of the handful of survivors, would pose the greatest threat to the home defence in Wrexham. However, opportunities would be scarce for Krankl and everyone else as the vicious gale prevented either team from stringing a meaningful sequence of passes together. 

The match was fresh in the memory of Peter Corrigan when he penned 100 Years of Welsh Soccer to mark the centenary of the Football Association of Wales in 1976. His account is suitably evocative: ‘It was a nervous night, its tension redoubled by a first half in which Wales had the wind at their backs but found it a treacherous ally.’

To emphasise the strength of the wind, Robert Sara’s free-kick from the right flank near the halfway line did not even reach the penalty area, enabling the home side to launch the first of a number of surges by the only player who truly mastered the conditions: the irrepressible Leighton James. 

After skipping past two attempted tackles, James was eventually stopped by Sara, but that was a rare occurrence as the winger frequently left a trail of Austrians in his wake. He concentrated mostly on the left flank, either cutting in to shoot with his right foot or staying out wide and crossing with his left. 

With James enjoying himself, Wales exercised a fair degree of control over proceedings, but they did not often trouble Friedrich Koncilia, the Austria goalkeeper. He did have to intervene once, tipping one of a succession of corners by James over the bar.

Although a draw would secure their place in the quarter-finals, Wales were always liable to be undone by one mistake by their dangerously callow defence. 

Indeed, there had already been a close call when Jones was caught out of position, allowing Sara to combine with Krankl, whose pass released Kurt Jara in full stride. To the relief of the home supporters, Jara’s composure deserted him and he fired the ball harmlessly past Lloyd’s near post.

There was more anxiety on the stroke of half-time as Kurt Welzl escaped from the clutches of the overly exuberant Jones. Welzl’s shot from distance also sailed well wide of the target, but the warning was clear for Wales of the potential for a mishap at the back to ruin their exemplary campaign.

According to Gerald Sindstadt, the TV commentator, the rain lashed down even more heavily upon the beleaguered players after the break. 

The match continued to progress in the same vein as it had done in the first 45 minutes, with Wales exerting pressure and Austria keeping them at bay, awaiting the chance to unleash Krankl at the other end. 

They were still struggling to contain James, who was a thorn in their side, particularly with his tantalising crosses from the left. 

One of these evaded the outstretched hand of Koncilia and was only narrowly diverted over the bar by substitute Heinrich Strasser. 

From the ensuing corner by Mahoney, the otherwise ineffectual Smallman volleyed the ball back across the face of goal through a crowd of players, but wide of the post.

Then came the most nerve-wracking moment of the evening. Sara floated a long ball from the right-back position that induced a misunderstanding between Evans and Thomas. The two defenders only managed to get in each other’s way and the ball dropped at the feet of Krankl. 

Time seemed to stand still for a second at the Racecourse as the striker, who had been starved of possession for an hour, leant back and blazed the ball over the bar from 20 yards.

At the age of 28 and with 40 caps to his name, Thomas had been a consistent performer for Wales at full-back since 1967, even as the team endured one ignominy after another under Dave Bowen. 

It would have been a cruel twist of fate if he had contributed to the demise of their European Championship dreams; instead, he played a key part in the goal that sent the whole of the Racecourse crowd into rapture.

With barely 20 minutes remaining, Flynn’s cross from the left was cleared to Thomas, who threaded the ball into a gap behind the visitors’ defence. Strasser should have cut it out, but the ball eluded him and bounced invitingly into the area. It was now a matter of anticipation, the forte of Griffiths, who swooped on the loose ball and lifted it unerringly over Koncilia.

Somehow, a man who had only made one international appearance, and that as a substitute, before his 33rd birthday had become one of the central characters in the overdue resurrection of Welsh football. It was his fourth goal in six qualifying matches and he had scored it on the ground where he had spent over a decade delighting the home supporters with his artistry.

Where future Barcelona star Krankl had failed minutes beforehand, lower-league veteran Griffiths had succeeded, ending Austria’s hopes of spoiling the qualification party and ensuring that Wales would not fall at the final hurdle. 

They were through to the latter stages of the European Championship for the first time after what Clive Phillips hailed as ‘a wonderful team effort’. The Western Mail correspondent added that it had been ‘a glorious night for Welsh soccer’; none of the partisans present at the Racecourse would have disagreed.