Wales get Giggs message loud & clear
BALE THE CHEERLEADER FOR DRAGONS’ NEW ATTACKING APPROACH
RYAN GIGGS gave Welsh fans an exciting glimpse of the future as Gareth Bale helped his new-look side dish out a thrashing.
Wales were rampant in Giggs’s first home game in charge after three matches on the road and made Martin O’Neill’s Republic Of Ireland side look second-rate.
Bale, on the mark in all three of Real Madrid’s La Liga games so far this season, smashed his 30th international goal from outside the box to make it 2-0 after Tom Lawrence had put the Welsh ahead early on.
The hosts made it 3-0 by half-time when Aaron Ramsey joined in the rout with another well-worked goal and rookie Connor Roberts got on the scoresheet after the break from a Bale assist before Shaun Williams grabbed a consolation for the outclassed Irish.
But Giggs is set to face a stiffer Nations League test on Sunday against Denmark, who reached the last 16 of the World Cup and whose players have halted their row over commercial rights.
Wales will travel in high spirits after their first win over Ireland since 1992. The result, and the sizzling performance, will have endeared Giggs to fans who criticised his appointment, remembering all too well his poor appearance record for friendlies.
By the 33rd minute they were chanting his name and he later responded to requests for a wave. And he had reason to be cheerful given the impressive competitive debuts of youngsters Roberts, Ethan Ampadu and David Brooks. Ireland offered little threat apart from at set-pieces and a couple of efforts debutant Callum Robinson put over. Wales, minus the injured Bale, lost at home to Ireland last October to miss out on a World Cup play-off spot but this was an emphatic response. And the hint of the brightest of futures they gave when reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016 was underlined last night.
Republic boss O’Neill had said in the build-up to this game that he liked the regularity with which No.2 Roy Keane fell out with his players.
On this evidence, there’s a whole lot more falling out to be done in the Irish camp.