WALES KEEP DREAM ALIVE
Moore and Morrell repay Giggs faith with star turns
GARETH BALE claims never to have taken a triple- bogey while playing golf — and his return helped Wales score a solid par in Azerbaijan to put themselves one win away from the finals.
First- half goals from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson saw Wales to a comfortable win here as they seek to qualify automatically for Euro 2020. And now they know that if they beat Hungary on Tuesday they will make it.
Boss Ryan Giggs’s decision to leave Aaron Ramsey out of his initial XI was vindicated as Joe Morrell, the Bristol City midfielder on loan at Lincoln, was superb on his first competitive start.
When Ramsey replaced Bale after an hour, Wales were in full control and already looking to Tuesday’s clash.
Bale had not played since picking up a calf injury during Wales’ 1-1 draw with Croatia on October 13 and his appearance here raised eyebrows at his club Real Madrid.
His admission before the match t hat representing his country excites him more than playing for the Spanish giants is hardly likely to have endeared him to his critics — some of whom believe he places turning out for Wales and spending time on the golf course above his Real career.
None of this will worry Bale, though. Against Hungary in Cardiff, we can surely expect to see both he and Ramsey from the off, with Wales facing a far sterner test than the world’s 111th-ranked side were able to give them here.
In eight competitive matches against Azerbaijan, Wales have never tasted defeat.
The visitors deservedly took the lead in the 10th minute. Morrell’s rising drive from 35 yards was pushed around the post and, from
Wilson’s corner, Moore rose to head in from underneath the crossbar.
Bale looked a little sluggish, not surprisingly given his lack of match practice, but the forward still produced moments of class.
In the first half, though, Wales’ best players were Moore and Morrell — a strong endorsement of Giggs’s faith.
Moore won everything in the air against Azerbaijan’s hapless centre-back Bahlul Mustafazede, while Morrell barely misplaced a pass alongside Ethan Ampadu in the midfield pairing.
With Wales in charge, Moore wasted two chances to double their lead. In the 28th minute, Bale eluded two markers with delightful skill on the right and crossed for Moore, who headed straight at goalkeeper Emil Balayev.
Then, three minutes later, James sent Moore clean through only for the forward to hesitate, allowing Balayev to race from goal and block his shot.
No matter. Shortly afterwards, James glided in from the left and delivered a curling shot that beat Balayev before skimming post and bar.
The loose ball fell perfectly for Wilson, who was rewarded with a simple header into the empty net. Wales celebrated, the first part of the job virtually complete.
They had luck on their side, too, when Dmitri Nazarov’s shot from the edge of the box appeared to strike Tom Lockyer on the arm.
Nazarov was booked for his wild protests when r ef eree Deniz Aytekin turned down his appeal, although perhaps it would have been harsh to penalise Lockyer, who was close to Nazarov when the ball was struck.
The call meant Wales had no nasty surprises before half-time and they thought they had a third goal soon after the break. But Lockyer’s header from James’s corner was ruled out, seemingly for a foul on Balayev.
The goalkeeper kept his side in the contest once again in the 57th minute when he pushed Wilson’s angled drive behind for a corner after the on-loan Bournemouth man had rob bed a dawdling Gara Garayev and moved in on goal.
On the hour mark, Giggs stuck to the pre- match plan, sending on Ramsey for Bale.
The Juventus midfielder slotted into the No 10 role and soon created a chance for Moore, whose deflected shot trickled wide for a corner.
Moore missed further chances to make the scoreline more comfortable but his wastefulness did not matter and Wales now look to Tuesday with confidence.
Even a confrontation involving 20 players, following a tussle between Wilson and Shahriyar Rahimov, could not knock them off course.