BALE FAILS TO KEEP COOL

Coleman injury mars a hard-earned point as Welsh lose heads

THE clocks spring forward tonight and the Republic of Ireland are still making good time for the World Cup finals in Russia.

But when Group D resumes against Austria on June 11, their captain Seamus Coleman will be with them in spirit only.

The Ireland skipper left the Aviva Stadium bear-pit last night on a stretcher after 71 minutes, with a broken right leg, after being brutally felled by a late challenge from Neil Taylor.

The Welsh wing-back was promptly sent off by referee Nicola Rizzoli for his horror lunge.

Moments earlier, Rizzoli had let Gareth Bale off the hook with a caution after a high challenge on John O’Shea, which should have been a red, so Taylor knew what was coming.

It was so nasty that no replays were shown in the stadium or on Sky Sports, while the sight of a stricken Coleman leaving the battlefield was the cue for Ireland to raise the stakes.

At last, the Aviva found its voice, as the irritating band parked in front of the South Stand was silenced.

A flurry of corners followed and James McClean, wearing number five in memory of Ryan McBride, might have broken the deadlock with two snap shots in succession, the second of which deflected past the post by a whisker.

Bale then dodged a second yellow when he caught McClean in the stomach as his customary coolness deserted him in the line of Irish fire.

Sensing weakness, Ireland pounded away at the Welsh goal but the thin red line held firm and them six minutes from time, Bale bounded away from Irish cover and unleashed a left-foot screamer which grazed the upright.

A concession then would have been hard on the Irish who dug deep to chisel out a point that could be potentially priceless when the dust settles on Group D in the autumn. It might even have been more as Wayne Hennessey spilled the ball in the box in stoppage-time but nobody in green was there to collect.

If this wasn’t one of Ireland’s finest performances of recent vintage they could point to a cluster of players marked absent, including James McCarthy who cried off during the warm-up.

Erring on the side of caution when McCarthy pulled up, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill opted for Meyler, who brought a physical presence and know-how to the trenches, if not exactly an abundance of pace.

This was Meyler’s first start since February 1 but O’Neill knew he could count on a player who dug deep in Gelsenkirchen as an emergency right-back, and was equally resilient in Vienna as a substitute last November.

Before he had a sweat up, Meyler lost possession in the Welsh half, Glenn Whelan was unable to retrieve it and when the ball broke to Bale, there was a frisson of fear in the Irish ranks.

As he surged towards half-way, McClean appeared on his shoulder and caught ball, and a flick of shin, to win the ball back to much acclaim. Ryan McBride would have approved.

Much of the first half was an edgy defensive duel, dotted with broken play and lacking quality.

When O’Shea lumped the ball into Row Z inside the first 15 minutes, it signaled Ireland’s no-nonsense outlook — how they missed Wes Hoolahan’s ability to get on the ball and pick out a pass.

In contrast, Joe Allen and Bale were a little n’large combination of creativity for Wales who daubed fitful flashes of colour on a drab canvass.

Bale picked out Taylor with a visionary angled delivery but the wing-back let the ball bounce and the chance was gone.

For Ireland, a set-piece play was their most likely weapon and from their first corner — and only corner of the half — just past the half hour, McClean’s vicious in-swinger appeared to catch Taylor’s hand but referee Rizzoli was unimpressed.

The referee also turned a blind eye to a few lusty challenges and Whelan was perhaps fortunate to escape censure when his arm caught Allen under the chin just before half-time.

The feisty exchange afterwards suggested the Stoke City teammates don’t share a room on away trips.

Wales edged the half in possession and they began brighter after the restart with four efforts on goal inside seven minutes, two from Bale who was finding more space, much to the concern of the Irish.

Twice, he dashed away from Whelan’s clutches, leaving the Irish midfielder chugging along like a Trabant in his wake

Had Bale’s accuracy been a tad sharper, he might have seriously tested Darren Randolph more but his involvement was a sign the Welsh dragons were staring to breathe fire. In contrast, Ireland were puffing hard.

But the momentum dramatically switched just past the mid-way point of the half when Bale and Taylor lost their heads, and Wales lost a man. They were lucky not to lose two.