Serbia 1 Wales 1
Aaron Ramsey could not have picked a better place to convert a Panenka penalty on a night when Wales secured a precious point against the Group D leaders to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals next summer. In the stadium where Antonin Panenka first produced that nonchalant chipped spot-kick, in the 1976 European Championship final for Czechoslovakia against West Germany, Ramsey showed nerves of steel to deliver his own version.
The only regret for Wales was that it never turned out to be the winning goal. Chris Coleman’s side held on until the 73rd minute, playing with courage and conviction on an evening when they were without the suspended Gareth Bale, but were eventually undone when Alexsandar Mitrovic equalised for Serbia, just as he did in Cardiff in November.
It was a result that Coleman would have taken beforehand, however, and keeps Wales within four points of Serbia and the Republic of Ireland. They face Austria and Moldova next and, realistically, will need to pick up maximum points from those fixtures after a run of five successive draws.
This was always going to be a test of mental fortitude as much as anything else for Wales. The home of Red Star Belgrade was a cauldron of noise before a ball had been kicked and the fact that Wales were missing such a long list of players – Neil Taylor, Hal Robson-Kanu, James Collins and Andy King were all absent along with Bale – made the task of turning down the volume in that partisan home support harder still.
Ramsey, however, succeeded with that remarkable penalty that gave Wales the lead. It was an outrageous piece of skill and came after a comedy of errors from Serbia’s point of view. Vladimir Stojkovic, the Serbia goalkeeper, made a pig’s ear of dealing with Ben Davies’s long pass and ended up bringing down Ramsey just outside the area when he realised that he was unable to shepherd the ball out of play.
Joe Ledley delivered the resultant free-kick and Manuel de Sousa, the Portuguese referee, penalised Luka Milivojevic for pulling Sam Vokes’s shirt as the Burnley striker headed over. It was a huge call from the official and one that Ramsey was determined to make the most of in style as he stepped forward and casually dinked the ball into the corner of the net, leaving Stojkovic looking on in despair as he dived in the opposite direction.
The goal could not have been better timed for Wales. Serbia, after starting slowly, had begun to play with a bit more tempo and belief, occasionally stretching a three-man Wales defence that was forced into some desperate defending at times. Mitrovic could and should have done better with a free header from eight yards that failed to trouble Wayne Hennessey.
Generally, though, Wales looked disciplined and well organised in the opening 45 minutes. Jazz Richards, playing out of position on the left-hand side, made some important interventions, Joe Allen was working tirelessly in midfield alongside Ledley, and Ramsey’s forward runs provided an outlet to relieve the pressure on a resilient Wales defence.
That backline would have known what was coming at the start of the second half as Serbia drove forward. The home side thought they should have had a penalty for handball when Dusan Tadic’s cross from the left was blocked by Chris Gunter, but De Sousa refused to point to the spot for a second time.
Wales were pinned in as Serbia kept pressing. Allen’s foul about 30 yards from goal led to a yellow card that rules him out of the Austria match in September and almost brought a Serbia equaliser as Aleksandar Kolarov struck a superb free-kick that was only inches away from finding the top corner.
Any hopes Wales had of keeping their opponents at bay disappeared 17 minutes from time when Mitrovic broke through on the left and swept a shot – Serbia’s first on target of the evening – inside Hennessey’s near post. Wales responded well and Ramsey, running in behind a static Serbia defence, came close to scoring again with an effort with the outside of his boot that was turned behind.
(Guardian service)
