BALE BRILLIANCE CAN SETTLE TIE —

AS a bullet-headed centre-forward John Hartson didn’t deal in penalty box protocol — he simply attacked the ball and dealt with the consequences later. So when asked who he expects to emerge on top in tonight’s duel by the Dodder, assuming both teams are at their best, his reply is typically blunt: ‘That’s a stupid question, you know that Wales win’. His logic is based on the quality within the Welsh ranks, specifically Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, which Ireland, for all their pluck and spirit, don’t possess. ‘We’ve got the individuals,’ he added. ‘Arsenal turned £40m down for Aaron Ramsey two years ago from Barcelona. ‘Gareth Bale has won two Champions Leagues in the last two years. When he plays, we predominantly win. When he plays well for Real Madrid, Real predominantly win. ‘He’s a world-class player, he’s worth £100 million and we have him in our ranks. If he has a good performance, he is very, very difficult to stop. ‘If both teams play really well, I just think we have the edge. And that’s not being disrespectful.’ His conviction is drawn on Bale’s brilliance which has allowed Wales to stand tallest of the nations from these islands, specifically in the Euro finals last summer. ‘In the Euros, you [Ireland] won one [game] in four, we won four in six. We were semi-finalists on merit. ‘The difference in this campaign is we’ve not been able to see games out,’ he added. ‘We led twice in Austria and were pegged back twice. We led against Serbia at home and were pegged back in the last minute; we could have got beat against Georgia.’ It suggests that Hartson, for all his confidence, is unsure what lies ahead for Wales should things go awry this evening. The Group D table is tilting away from the visitors who cannot afford to fall further off the pace — they trail Ireland by four points. ‘I think it’s imperative that we don’t get beat. I think if it goes to seven points, the difference, it would be very difficult to come back.’ Hartson knows what World class: Wales star Gareth Bale Martin O’Neill brings to the table, having played under him at Celtic. ‘Martin puts his trust in you as a player. He asks you to do a job and you generally go and do it for him. They tell me you [Ireland] haven’t played particularly well in these World Cup qualifiers. You’re top of the group, how’s that? It’s because the players have dug in.’ So what sort of challenge does he expect from Ireland tonight? ‘We’re going to face a very well organised team, a team that is going to graft and work hard together, a team of players that will go to the very, very last kick of the game,’ he said. ‘There is no [Robbie] Brady, no [Wes] Hoolahan, no [Ciaran] Clark at the back, so you’ve got three big players that are missing. Hoolahan and Brady are arguably two of your best players. ‘If Wales were missing Bale and Ramsey, you’d probably feel a bit more confident then.’ Only they’re not missing and it’s why Hartson is bristling with belief that Wales can end a run of draws in Group D and close right up on Ireland.