Bale strikes to keep Wales’ dream alive
GARETH BALE last night had Wales daring to dream of a place at Euro 2020 after emerging as their saviour once again.
The Real Madrid superstar cancelled out Nikola Vlasic’s early opener with a superbly-placed strike on the stroke of half-time.
If Wales finish level on points with Slovakia, they will end the group above them thanks to a better head-to-head record. So victories against Azerbaijan and Hungary in their last two qualifiers are now paramount.
But this was an evening when Welsh hearts were often in mouths, not least when Daniel James suffered a sickening blow to the head that had players briefly fearing for his safety.
James fell awkwardly and lay motionless after a clash with Croatia’s Domagoj Vida. A stretcher was called for but the Manchester United winger was eventually allowed to play on after being assessed by medics.
The 21-year-old was lively in periods after that and missed a good chance to put Wales in front early in the second half.
World Cup finalists Croatia bossed the majority of the opening exchanges and took a ninth-minute lead through former Everton midfielder Vlasic, but they took their foot off the gas towards the end of the opening period, letting in Bale for the equaliser in first-half stoppage time.
The 30-year-old may be fed up at the Bernabeu but his celebrations left no doubt about his passion to play for his country.
Wales head coach Ryan Giggs still divides opinion in these parts but his willingness to embrace a more direct approach, with beanpole striker Kieffer Moore as the focal point, has made his team a little more resilient.
On a night when Wales were unchanged in Aaron Ramsey’s continued absence through injury, it did not take long for Croatia to show their quality.
The lively Josip Brekalo slalomed down the left before feeding centre-forward Bruno Petkovic. His lay-off to the edge of the box was struck first-time by Vlasic and the ball went in off the inside of the left post.
Moments earlier, Wales had appealed for a penalty for Dejan Lovren’s clumsy shove on James, with the Liverpool defender relieved to see referee Bjorn Kuipers indicate a goal-kick.
James was involved in a moment of genuine alarm in the 14th minute when he challenged Vida for a high ball and fell heavily, flat on his back. Thankfully, he was able to continue but Vida was booked for his part in the incident.
James later said of his injury: ‘I’m fine. He caught me in the head but I didn’t get knocked out.’
Soon afterwards, Wales won a free-kick 30 yards from goal when Luka Modric shoved Moore in the back, only for Bale to hammer the attempt into the wall.
Croatia let their intensity drop and were made to pay in first-half stoppage time when Ben Davies swapped passes with Bale and then released the Real Madrid man.
He slipped cleverly away from Lovren and drilled the ball across Dominik Livakovic to score.
Croatia were furious as Mateo Kovacic looked to have been fouled by Davies in the build-up and Lovren was booked for his protestations.
Shortly after half-time, another Wales player hit the deck after clashing with an opponent. This time, Ethan Ampadu was the injured party as Petkovic led with his forearm into the back of the midfielder’s head.
There was another long delay — this time of two minutes — as Ampadu was helped to his feet by medics and substituted for Joe Morrell. Petkovic was perhaps lucky to receive only a yellow card.
Modric tried to run the ball from defence but had his pocket picked by Jonny Williams, who sent James clear for an angled shot that Livakovic gathered at the second attempt with Moore closing in.
Williams was again impressive, running his heart out and pestering Modric throughout. Modric’s frustration showed when he shoved Connor Roberts off the ball after a decision went against him.
Wales boss Giggs was delighted with his side’s character, saying: ‘I’m very pleased. I thought the concentration was superb. The work ethic was amazing — team spirit, staying together against a very good team.
‘We’ve got to win both games and rely on others. But we’re in it. I wanted to be in it after these games. We’ve shown our quality and concentration in these games.’