WALES’ hopes of a historic night at Rodney Parade in their bid for the Under-21 European Championship finals were dashed by Czech Republic.
The Welsh youngsters lost 2-1 in Newport after a nightmare day in which boss Matty Jones was without six players because of an administrative blunder.
The manager was told on the day of the game that he would be unable to pick the players, including senior internationals Rubin Colwill and Owen Beck, because of the paperwork mistake.
Wales would have gone above group leaders Denmark with a positive result, at least until Tuesday, but instead they suffered a defeat that leaves their hopes hanging by a thread.
Newport County AFC defender Matt Baker scored an own goal in the 27th minute when he stuck out a leg and diverted a Matej Jurasek effort that looked to be going narrowly wide into the net.
Vaclav Sejk added a second five minutes after half-time and a smart finish by Luca Hoole, a defender with Shrewsbury from Gwent, was only a consolation.
Denmark finish against Iceland on Tuesday while Wales must hope the Czechs fail to beat bottom-side Lithuania.
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