Allen just not your average Joe for Wales
GARETH BALE and Aaron Ramsey may steal the headlines, but Wales manager Chris Coleman has hailed Joe Allen as the glue that holds his side together.
The Liverpool midfi elder, 25, turned in his best performance in a Wales shirt as they took a major stride towards Euro 2016 with Saturday’s 3- 0 win in Israel.
“Joe is a great player. He was magnifi cent,” said Coleman. “He’s so important to the way we want to play – stopping attacks, linking our defensive play, linking to forwards.
“He’s so intelligent, incredibly brave in possession, his awareness is amazing.
“We speak about Gareth and ‘ Rambo’ because they are great players, but Joe and the job he does for us is crucial.
“We got a little bit sloppy after our second goal, it was a little too easy and we needed someone to get their foot on it and set the tempo. Joe was the man who did it.”
Coleman was also impressed by the performance of Ramsey, who was handed a more offensive role alongside Bale.
The Arsenal man has struggled for form and fi tness this season but looked more like his old self in Haifa.
“He was good for us in those offensive positions where he likes to be, and he got his goal,” said Coleman. “He was at the heart of everything good offensively, he enjoyed his new role for us and he is very important to us.”
The picture looks promising for all the home nations and the Republic of Ireland at the halfway point of qualifying.
Scotland next face Ireland in Dublin aiming to at least maintain their two- point lead over Martin O’Neill’s side. And the June 13 date holds no fears for Crystal Palace midfi elder Barry Bannan, despite the match falling weeks after the domestic season ends.
“It’s been like that the past couple of years,” said Bannan, who is on loan at Bolton. “We played Croatia over there and beat them 1- 0 [ in June 2013]. Footballers know how to prepare so you don’t go on holiday mode. We will be ready.”
Republic striker Shane Long, who came off the bench on Sunday to snatch a 1- 1 draw with Group D leaders Poland, says qualifi cation is in their own hands with three points separating the top four. “It’s within our grasp,” said the Southampton forward. “Getting that draw was obviously a big result for us. We are still in touching distance now and it’s still in our own hands.
“We are confi dent we have a good enough squad to get to the fi nals, it’s just a case of getting it done.”
A place in France next summer would be a remarkable achievement for Northern Ireland, who have never reached a European Championship fi nals.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves but if we keep playing like we are now it would be a disappointment if we didn’t get there,” said Kyle Lafferty, who scored both his side’s goals in Sunday’s 2- 1 win over Finland.
“We still have fi ve games to go and everyone is beating everyone.
“The next game against Romania in June is going to be massive for us because it’s a top- of- the- table clash.”