BALE’S TREBLE BEATS RUSH MARK
It’s right up there for me – a major honour and a massive achievement
GARETH BALE sealed his place in the history of Welsh football and left the field to a standing ovation as he put his hat-trick against China among the proudest moments in his career.
Real Madrid superstar Bale made his 7,500-mile journey to Nanning on Monday well worthwhile, scoring a stunning treble to overtake Ian Rush as Wales’s record goalscorer.
China were woeful and Bale’s performance saw him not only break Rush’s record but also give manager Ryan Giggs the perfect start to his reign.
Sam Vokes netted a brace and Harry Wilson found the net on his 21st birthday as Wales ran riot.
“It is right up there, a major honour and a massive achievement,” said Bale.
“I never dreamed of being a record-breaker but it is one of the best things in my career. On a personal note, it’s obviously great to break the record – and on my daughter Nava’s birthday too – but I couldn’t have done it without my team-mates.
“It’s not just an individual thing, it’s thanks to the whole team, everyone who I’ve played with and all the managers I’ve had.
“The most important thing for me and for us was to get off to a good start under the new manager and I thought we played very well. We did exactly what Ryan asked. There are still things to work on but we’re happy with the way we’re going.”
Bale was a class apart at the Guangxi Sports Centre as he netted the first Wales hat-trick since Robert Earnshaw’s against Scotland in 2004 to give Giggs a victory in his first game in charge.
“It’s a tremendous achievement for Gareth to be top goalscorer in front of a legend like Ian,” said Giggs, whose side will face either Uruguay or Czech Republic in the final of the China Cup on Monday. “It’s a fantastic moment for him and he fully deserves it.”
Bale pounced on a Vokes flick-on to open the scoring and was then gifted a second as China’s defence passed straight to Vokes and Bale made them pay.
Bale then turned creator. His long ball was headed down by Andy King for Vokes to poke home the third, before the game’s stand-out performer teed-up Wilson for a spectacular fourth.
Wales will receive £1million for playing at the China Cup but they would have lost £100,000 of that if Bale did not feature. Even with the game won, Giggs kept Bale on for the second half.
Wilson’s reverse ball allowed Vokes to make it 5-0 before Bale overtook Rush in the record books. Joe Allen’s long ball found Bale, he raced on to the pass and made no mistake before running away to celebrate his moment of history in style.