BALE BARRAGE COULD CAUSE SERIOUS HARM

Randolph: We must stop the ammunition to free-kick genius

The way he hits the ball, the movement he gets – you can’t study that. You can’t replicate it. But I’m looking forward to the challenge

DARREN RANDOLPH says prevention is far better than cure when it comes to Gareth Bale.

The Welsh wizard illustrated how deadly he can be from free-kicks at Euro 2016 against England and Slovakia. And Randolph would rather not be staring down the barrel of a Bale set-piece in a central area. It’s the unpredictability of Bale’s technique – very similar to that of Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo – that concerns goalkeepers. The Ireland keeper explained: “There’s nothing you can really study. “The way he hits the ball, the movement he gets on the ball – you can’t study that. “You can go out on the training pitch and hit 20 free kicks, they might hit 20 into the wall, they might hit 20 on target – but the way he strikes the ball, he doesn’t bend it over the wall. “And you know which way he likes to go, he hits the ball with his laces and gets movement side to side on the ball. You can’t replicate it. “I could get Robbie Brady to hit 20 free kicks, I could get James Mcclean to hit as many as he wants, but they’re not going to be the same as I get in the game. “They’re all different. You can’t prepare.” If goalkeepers don’t know where Bale is aiming, Randolph is pretty certain the man himself knows where he’s targetting. Randolph added: “He probably visualises in his head where he wants them to go, which side of the goal, to get it up and over the wall, or he just thinks, ‘I want to get it on target’. “If the ball moves, it goes where it goes.” The West Ham stopper added: “I wouldn’t say it was a nightmare but it’s not as easy as someone hitting the ball straight at you. “But I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s exciting for me at the same time.” And yet the Bray giant would rather not have to deal with such a scenario if he doesn’t have to. The onus, he believes, is on Ireland’s defence and midfield shutting down Bale – and the ammunition coming into him – in a legal manner. Randolph smiled: “We don’t want to give away stupid free-kicks in dangerous areas, that’s for sure. “You don’t want to do that anyway, but it is the best way.” The 29-year-old loved the experience of being with Ireland at the Euros in France. It wasn’t just the celebrations after the crucial last group win over Italy, he insists, but rather the “whole experience”. Randolph said: “It was traveling around, getting to the stadiums – even little things like being in the hotel and seeing on Twitter and Facebook all the different fans’ videos. “If you’re a player you’re in one bubble, it you’re a fan you’re in another bubble – so it was probably more when you come back from the tournament you realise how big a deal it was. “Not that you needed more hunger to get there, but I think everyone wants to experience it again. “Even on Tuesday, we had a meeting and the manager said it was one of the highlights of his career – and you think of all that he has achieved. “So everyone wants to experience another big tournament.” While pleased with Ireland’s position at the top of Group D, Randolph stresses that Ireland can’t rest on their laurels. “It’s been a good start but, in the qualification for the Euros there was a point where we were fourth and people thought, ‘Well, that’s them done’ and we ended up coming back,” he said. “So we know exactly what can happen and how quickly things can change.”