Wales aim to right their wrongs against the Czechs

Wales' trip to Montenegro did not go according to plan and, as a result, the path to the Women's World Cup is unchanged.

The frustration for Rhian Wilkinson's team is that having been presented with a golden opportunity to take a step closer to a place in Brazil next summer, they were unable to seize it.

Nobody anticipated that the Czech Republic, who won 5-1 in Albania in March, would drop points against the same opponents in the return fixture on Friday.

When news of the Czechs' 1-1 draw with Albania came through, Wales – who kicked off half an hour later against Montenegro - were 1-0 up and heading for top spot in Group B1.

But a combination of missed opportunities, sloppy defending and – perhaps – the lack of goal-line technology in Pogdorica combined to ensure Wales dropped points too.

As was the case in the Czechs' draw with Albania, nobody would have anticipated that Wales would fail to beat Montenegro, a side they thumped 6-1 earlier in the campaign.

But having been forced to settle for a 1-1 draw, Wales remain second in their qualifying group going into Tuesday's decisive fixture against the Czechs in Cardiff.

Had they triumphed in Montenegro, Wales would have needed only a point against the Czechs to finish first and therefore secure a more favourable path in the play-offs later this year.

The failure to protect the lead given to them by Hannah Cain's first-half penalty means Wales must win in midweek if they are to come out on top.

The Montenegrins are ranked 87th in the world, 56 places below Wales.

They were outclassed in Llanelli in March, defending high and paying the price as Wales ripped them to shreds.

But the story was different in the return fixture, as Montenegro sat deep and frustrated Wilkinson's team.

Though Wales dominated possession, their hosts stayed in the game before claiming a first point in this qualifying campaign courtesy of Jasna Djokovic's 79th-minute equaliser.

Wales might already have made certain of victory by that stage, but failed to make the most of their control in the first half before Cain struck.

The award of the spot-kick looked soft, but Wales felt hard done by over a refereeing decision in the second period when Elise Hughes' effort was acrobatically cleared under the crossbar.

Replays suggested the ball may have crossed the line but, with no goal-line technology in operation, the officials waved play on.

Wales might also have scored from the rebound, but Cain – who has been Wilkinson's chief goal threat in this campaign – slashed wastefully over.

It seemed for a while that the near misses would not matter, but Wales paid the price when Lily Woodham was needlessly dispossessed deep in her own territory and Djokovic, who had got in front of Esther Morgan, scored at the far post.

"It's really frustrating," Cain said.

"Coming away is always difficult, especially against teams who are going to be in a low block, but we had our chances to put it to bed.

"Leading 1-0 for so long and then to lose the lead like that is really disappointing."

Wilkinson reshuffled her starting side in Montenegro, with five changes to the team which began April's win in Albania.

The sense before the game was that Wilkinson omitted the likes of Rhiannon Roberts, Angharad James, Mared Griffiths and Ceri Holland to keep them fresh to face the Czechs.

The feeling come full-time was that Wales might have been better off fielding all their big hitters, given that victory – as it turned out – would have given them the upper hand in the group.

Then again, Wilkinson might argue – and with some justification – that the team she picked should have been good enough to see off Montenegro with relative comfort.

Too often, however, Wales lacked the intensity and tempo to trouble inferior opponents, which was presumably thanks in part to the Gradski Stadion heat.

Another contributory factor may have been Wales' far from ideal preparation, after they only arrived in Pogdorica 23 hours before kick-off thanks to Wednesday evening's electrical storms in the Montenegrin capital.

The team flight was diverted to Italy, with the Football Association of Wales eventually securing accommodation for Wilkinson's players in the early hours of Thursday morning.

They finally made it to Montenegro that evening, after a rough night for many and no chance for a proper training session on the eve of the game.

Wilkinson had insisted there could be no excuses, and did not pin the blame for a dispiriting display on chaotic preparation.

But clearly, Wales will hope for – and expect – a smoother build-up to the group decider against the Czechs.

"You look at the game and it's definitely not to our standard, but now we have got to look towards Tuesday," said Carrie Jones, Wales' skipper for the first time in Montenegro.

"We know we are a good team based on our history. On Tuesday we have got to turn up."