Academy keeper Michael Crowe kept a second clean sheet in two games as the Wales U19s beat Moldova 6-0 in Tbilisi to quite remarkably seal a place in the next stage of European Championships qualifying.
Geraint Williams’s men lost the opening match of their mini-tournament 5-1 to hosts Georgia with Crowe introduced as a sub after first-choice Billy O’Brien was red-carded on the hour with the score 4-0.
The Town keeper started their impressive 0-0 draw with Holland on Friday but qualification looked highly unlikely with a seven-goal turnaround required even if the Welsh matched the Dutch on four points.
But their 6-0 victory — the final goal came in the 89th minute — coupled with group winners Georgia’s 2-1 win against Holland saw former Blues midfielder Williams’s squad through to the next phase of qualification in the spring on goals scored.
London-born Crowe, whose father is English and mother Norwegian, joined the Blues in the summer of 2012 from Kristiansand-based side IK Start, having been brought up in Norway. He qualifies for Wales through his grandmother.
The second-year academy scholar signed a two-year professional contract earlier in the season. His only competitive involvement with the Town senior squad so far was a place on the bench at QPR.