McAULEY PUTS IT ON A PLATE
Defender’s own goal gets Wales over the line
IN THE END they got there. Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Chris Coleman, the Welsh nation . . . they found a way to get themselves over the line so that, just as the last time they contested a major tournament in 1958, they will play in the quarterfinals here in France.
It required some determination at the Parc des Princes to overcome a formidable defensive effort from Northern Ireland; and it took some time for Wales to shed their underdog status and accustom themselves to the role of being favourites for this game and now serious contenders at this tournament. And it needed some smart substitutions from Coleman after a lacklustre hour.
It was neither especially glorious, nor overwhelming. In fact it required an own goal to get there, though naturally Bale and Ramsey were involved, the Arsenal man with the pass to set up the Real Madrid man’s lovely cross which Gareth McAuley, a hero against Ukraine, turned into his net.
And yet that was historic enough to merit the fervent celebrations which ensued. A nation of three million people will contest the last eight of Euro 2016 with some of the continent’s heavyweights. And, with a fair wind and an invocation of the spirit which has sustained them so far, they should be eyeing a semifinal, whether they face Belgium or Hungary. This team are now the equal of the heroes of 1958; they may yet surpass them.
It had passion; it had romance; it had stirring anthems. It had two sets of the best fans in France. And the best songs. What it lacked, at least initially, was absorbing football. Or at least the kind of football that would light up a Euro 2016 game.
The outstanding player on the pitch could make little impression on the first half. Hordes (it seemed) of Northern Irishmen would appear whenever he received the ball to suffocate any space. He endeavoured to create but rarely had the opportunity to do so.
And at times, the subjugation of Bale crossed the line. On 43 minutes, when Bale dallied on the ball, Stuart Dallas dived in on him, foot off the ground, and Bale was fortunate he only skimmed the top of his boot. Dallas received a yellow card from referee Martin Atkinson.
But the burden of being favourites appeared to weigh heavily on Wales. There was none of the verve of the match against Russia. Against a Northern Ireland team content to defend for long periods, to concede possession, Wales seemed confused, as though their identity had been stolen from them.
Indeed, in quick, incisive counterattacks, it was Northern Ireland who had the better first-half chances. A break from deep, which saw the ball worked swiftly and smoothly from defence to attack, with Kyle Lafferty, restored to the starting XI, laying the ball off superbly for Jamie Ward, ended in Corry Evans feeding Dallas, whose excellent strike required a fine save from Wayne Hennessey.
Wales did respond. A cross and a powerful header from Sam Vokes found Ramsey free, and though he directed the ball into the net, Atkinson rightly ruled him offside.
Next up it was Ward for Northern Ireland testing Hennessey again from long range, producing a tip over the bar on 25 minutes. And Aaron Hughes, with a dipping cross, which required a fine defensive header from Chris Gunter. Wales had little to offer in return, with Northern Ireland using what possession they had efficiently and effectively.
The nerves didn’t dissipate at halftime for Wales. Indeed, you sensed they might miss this historic — in football terms — opportunity. They did at least create a fine chance, Ramsey swinging in a near-perfect cross for Sam Vokes. But the Burnley forward directed his header well wide. Shortly after, he was withdrawn, Hal Robson-Kanu asked to take his place.
And on 57 minutes they at last enticed Northern Ireland into conceding a free-kick in Bale territory, Oliver Norwood the culprit, diving in and inviting Bale to stumble over his foot. Bale lined up his free-kick, flighted it over the wall, saw it dip and move but Michael McGovern followed its path and pushed it away.
Wales, though, were making heavy weather of the game, Northern Ireland growing with every minute of equality. Lafferty was leading the line especially well and manager Michael O’Neill then demonstrated the extent of his ambition by bringing on Conor Washington, for Jamie Ward, to provide an additional goal threat. Having frustrated their opponents, Northern Ireland now seemed ready to search for a winner. Their fans sensed it too. The familiar choruses of ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ begun to resound around the Parc des Princes once more.
So it was almost cruel that this was the moment, on 75 minutes, that Wales injected a moment of genuine quality into the game. Ramsey lingered but found Bale out wide left. The cross was exquisite. It swerved away from McGovern and towards Robson-Kanu, who, leg outstretched, was poised to turn it in.
Gareth McAuley sensed that too, and knew he had to intervene, yet his attempt to cut out the cross only turned it into his own net. Finally Wales could celebrate and the tension abated somewhat. For McAuley it was hard; his heroics had helped get his country to this point; now it seemed he would be responsible for them leaving.
At the end they sang the world’s most poetic national anthem again;
they applauded their team; and three year old Alba Violet Bale ran into the arms of her father and was thrown in the air to the delight of the fans. Meanwhile, Dave Edwards’s little boy kicked balls into an empty net to huge roars from the Welsh end and was then copied by other young children of the celebrating team. It was a day to be remembered and treasured.
For Northern Ireland as well. They may not have expected to get this far and yet they gave Wales more than a cursory test. They stretched them and challenged them. And at the end, when they were beaten, their own fans joined in the carnival and sang, one more time, ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’, bouncing up and down as they did so. Their team had deserved that kind of response. This has been a fine campaign for them and if it ended in defeat, it was an honourable one.