Wales defeats Azerbaijan 1-0

Wales defeated a feisty Azerbaijan squad 1-0 in Cardiff on the strength of Sam Vokes goal with seven minutes left in the match. While Wales had most of possession and scoring opportunities but couldn’t seem to break through and the match seemed destined to go to a nil draw.

With Rob Earnshaw as the lone striker in a 4-5-1, John Toshack’s squad lacked the final punch although Gareth Bale served-up a number of close calls and I question if they simply were too cautious. After a scoreless first forty-five, the visiting Azerbaijan squad were playing deep behind the ball and it looked like Wales was going to miss a golden opportunity for three points. Twenty-two minutes after the break, Jason Koumas was awarded a penalty kick, albeit a dubious one for those of us able to look at the replay but was easily saved. To add insult to the moment, the rebound went directly to young Mr. Koumas who plunked it back to ‘keeper Kamran Arhayev. At the sixty-seventh minute Man City Ched Evans entered the match and was joined a few minutes later with Wolverhampton’ Sam Vokes and the two teenagers seemed to light an spark in the attack. Finally, a curling Gareth Bale corner barged into the box and the young striker pounced on it, sending it the back of the net and saving the day for Wales.

It was a great victory for the black and blue Wales squad. They have dealt with a massive injury issue and with truthfully existed on the strength of “tomorrows” players. As Wales head towards a titanic battle against Russia this week, not only does this squad need to be more aggressive in its formation and play to win as opposed to playing not to lose, it needs support. To gain a spot in the World Cup, you must win and finishing third or fourth in your draw will quickly be forgotten. Additionally with only 18,000 in cavernous Millennium Stadium, support was an embarrassment and should never happen in Cardiff. If you’re in the area, get out and support the Dragons and if not join in and lets push Wales onto the World Cup.