In Novi Sad and how set record straight
ion that night.
“We were still quite inexperienced going into a lion’s den, but the big thing was that the psychological aspect of what had happened was still there.”
Sam Vokes agrees, saying that night was a culmination of the difficulties they had faced as a group. Wales had given up, Ramsey struggling more than most as the responsibility of the captaincy appeared to weigh him down. The more he tried, the more he failed, the more the frustration, the humliation showed on his face.
Bale lost possession as defender Branislav Ivanovic breezed through as if a skilled forward to set up Dusan Tadic, the Chelsea man adding one of his own before a sixth came a minute from time.
It was Wales’ worst defeat since the 7-1 humiliation in Holland in 1996 and their third-heaviest since the Second World War.
“We probably had less knowledge on them then than we do now,” says Allen. It says much that his shirt from that night, normally keepsakes of memories representing his country, has whereabouts unknown. “The likes of Tadic, Matic, Markovic and a lot players that played that day have ended up coming to the Premier League.
“They surprised us, but we surprised ourselves by just how poor we were. The feeling after that game was that they were a good team and they’d beaten us – but we’d let ourselves down.”
The boos rained down on Coleman as he strode past supporters already calling for his head.
Roberts admits that moment was the low, the feeling of the turmoil the team were going through unappreciated by their own, though accepting that any further sympathy might not have provided the startle the side needed.
“The result, the performance, everything, it was probably the kick up the arse we needed,” added Vokes.
Journalists refused to board the waiting bus to the airport until Coleman faced questions, duly apologising, but keeping quiet on his own doubts.
They were doubts he overcame, convincing himself he needed to stop trying to walk in Speed’s shoes. If he was to fail, he said, he would do it on his terms.
A change in tack followed, if not tactics just yet. So too a change in captain, Ashley Williams replacing the stillyoung Ramsey.
Wales had hit rock bottom. But there they found a solid footing from which they could build.
“One thing I’ll say about that game is that I’m glad it happened; I’m not glad I experienced that feeling at the time, but I’m glad it happened to this team because it was the rocket we all needed,” says Allen.
“I think that scarred anyone who was involved in that game. It scarred us and, for me, it was the worst night in a Welsh shirt.
But I think the great thing about going back out there and having another chance is that we can see how far we’ve come.
“If you look at where the team is now, we’re a million miles away from where the team that turned out that day.
“A lot of the players there are still here, so it’s credit to the players who stuck at it, kept going and we have a record we want to set straight out there.”
Vokes says the nightmare of Novi Sad hasn’t been spoken about by Coleman as they prepare to return to the scene, again in Serbia to fight for a World Cup dream.
But it has motivated players and manager since, used to remind of how bad it felt, how low it can be when you haven’t done everything you can for your country.
There will be new faces, but all have since carried the lessons and forged the identity of a team who leave everything on the pitch rather than in their heads.
There will be five Serbian starters from Novi Sad in the hosts’ squad, Allen one of eight who will travel knowing that the flashbacks will come the moment they touch down in Belgrade.
“Some of the lads are still in the squad. Some of us are new players, but we are a different team to that one,” says Allen. “That’s the positive and I think we can draw on that for this game.
“But also as players you can’t help but carry that feeling of wanting to set the record straight. I don’t know about all the lads, but I think I’ll be using that to help me.” As have Wales ever since. Coleman knows what’s at stake in Serbia: Page 58