Ramsey and Bale spark Wales party
ARAPTUROUS rout to boost claims Wales can make an i mpact at Euro 2016 this was not. But the sell-out crowd who came to share the experience did not care in the end.
They wanted to have fun, and while the scoreline against the fifth-worst side in world football was slender, t here was enough c ause f or merriment.
Aaron Ramsey’s goal early in the second half and a late Gareth Bale strike allowed the match to end with festivity rather that friction and the bouncing dance of a celebration by the touchline after the first goal showed the unity of this group.
Bale’s commitment gives encouragement, too. The Real Madrid forward started the match and kept focus throughout, sweeping in from a cross by Ben Davies for his seventh goal of a campaign in which he has only missed three minutes of action.
Welsh supporters have been used to dead rubbers at the end of qualifying campaigns, but never before because qualification had been secured. Pressure off, it was time to party.
As promised, Chris Coleman changed formation and tweaked personnel. Sam Vokes, David Vaughan, James Chester and Jonathan Williams came in for Joe Ledley, Joe Allen, Neil Taylor and Jazz Richards.
The idea was that goals would be easier to come by in a 4-3-3 system than the usual back five. Bale started in midfield but with licence to roam but the plan failed to work as Andorra proved stubborn opposition.
Wales had required an 81st minute free-kick from Bale to win the reverse fixture and the visitors’ technique of every man behind the ball frustrated Coleman’s side hugely.
An early injury to Victor Moreira that took eight minutes to sort frac- tured the mood and Hal RobsonKanu was then forced off, too.
Despite facing a team with 53 consecutive losses in competitive football, Wales struggled to run riot. Their best chance came courtesy of Andorra defender Ildefons Lima, who miscued a clearing header to send his goalkeeper Ferran Pol scampering back to clear acrobatically.
As fears of an embarrassing result began to surface, Arsenal midfielder Ramsey finally shattered Andorra’s resistance in the 50th minute. Bale was instrumental, winning possession high up field and whipping a cross. Ashley Williams should have scored with his header but Pol saved, only for Ramsey to slide in the rebound. WALES (4-3-3): Hennessey 6; Gunter 6, A Williams 6, Chester 6, Davies 6.5; Ramsey 7, Vaughan 6, Bale 6.5; J Williams 6.5 (Church 86), Vokes 6, Robson-Kanu 5 (Edwards 23, 5; Lawrence 46, 6). Booked: A Williams, Vaughan.