WALES V SLOVAKIA, 2PM CARDIFF CITY STADIUM, TOMORROW
stellar talents as Giggs, Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Neville Southall never made it.
Suddenly, the torment was to be wiped away. This was Wales’ moment in the sun, literally as well as metaphorically speaking, as 25,000 fans clad in red descended in bright sunshine upon the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux to watch dramatic events unfold.
Many were happy simply to be there, ambitions realised the moment the anthem was sung and the whistle blown. If they were being greedy, a first Welsh tournament goal since Terry Medwin would be nice. A win would be a beautiful bonus.
A future semi-final? Don’t be silly.
The noise that afternoon was so loud, the atmosphere so full of fervour, the anthem sung with such gusto, that Wales’ players could have been forgiven for closing their eyes and thinking they were back home in Cardiff.
Yet amidst the hope and anticipation, there was also trepidation. We had waited so many years for this, the last thing Wales needed was to flop with big stage nerves.
There were one or two nagging doubts. Goalkeeping rock Wayne Hennessey succumbed to a last-minute back injury which meant Danny Ward had to be suddenly thrust into action.
The form wasn’t great either. Wales had only beaten Andorra in their previous six games. Their other results included defeats to Ukraine and Bosnia, draws with Israel and Northern Ireland and a 3-0 thumping in Sweden just six days before the Euros kicked off.
However, Chris Coleman remained ice cool. He was confident his players would peak when it mattered. How right he was.
THE ANTHEM
It was almost as if those six decades of frustration were wiped away just before kick-off when the Welsh national anthem was sung perhaps like never before.
Proud, passionate, to a person, Welsh fans who took over more than half the stadium belted out every single word.
It wasn’t just in the stands where Welsh folk were overcome. Down on the pitch, overwhelmed by what they were hearing, the Wales players admitted their eyes too began welling up.
THE BEN DAVIES GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE
Amidst the joy of the 2-1 victory, and the headline-grabbing goals by Gareth Bale and Hal Robson-Kanu, it’s easy to overlook the brilliant Ben Davies defending that proved just as crucial.
His fifth-minute clearance off the line from Marek Hamsik, who had just drifted beyond Ashley Williams, James Chester and David Edwards, kind of defined Wales’ whole approach to the Euros – give absolutely everything to the cause, and then somehow find a little bit more on top, too.
Davies had no right to get back and stop that goal. But he did. It was instinct. Who knows how the Euros would have panned out if he hadn’t?
BALE’S GOAL – AND CELEBRATION
Just 10 minutes had gone when Wales’ talisman delivered – a dipping free kick which