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Wales 0 - Ireland 1: James McClean stuns Cardiff as Irish secure World Cup playoff spot
JAMES McCLEAN tore up the Welsh script in Cardiff on Monday night.
Wales v Ireland: James McClean celebrate his second-half goal
The West Brom winger, who is often on the receiving end of boos, turned this momentous World Cup clash on its head with a superbly taken 57th-minute goal.
Jeff Hendrick caused all sorts of problems for the home defence with a well-driven ball across the face of goal and Wales were suddenly all over the place.
Harry Arter furthered the confusion with a brilliant dummy and there was McClean to ram the ball home.
Wales were already without golden boy Gareth Bale who was left nervously chewing his nails in the stand after being ruled out of this game with a calf injury.
Republic manager Martin O’Neill highlighted Bale’s absence as big a miss as Argentina without Lionel Messi but was quick to point out that his side were without Seamus Coleman. And that was before striker Shane Long was ruled out on the morning of the game with a hip injury.
Wales v Ireland: McClean fires home inside the box
The Everton defender is recovering from the double leg fracture sustained after Neil Taylor’s horror tackle when these two sides met back in March.
But Coleman’s meticulous planning could not have taken into account losing inspirational midfielder Joe Allen so early on.
Both bosses had been at pains to point out that they were not expecting any fall out from that physical goalless clash in Dublin.
But with the atmosphere in the 33,000-seater stadium guaranteed to be electric and the chances of that crackling out on to the pitch must have been something both bosses warned their men about just before stepping out.
And they seemed to have heeded the instruction until mid-way through the first half the game started to take a darker hue.
The first half was an attritional affair in Cardiff
Ironically, it could be argued that Allen started all that, he was booked after clattering into Harry Arter with the visitors incensed and Wales furious at another yellow card on their record.
But his running battle with Chris Gunter was starting to get to the Wales man and then came Allen’s departure.
It was David Meyler collision with the midfielder that sent Allen to the floor and it gradually became clear that he would be taking no further part. He had to walk around half the pitch to get back to the tunnel.
It had all started so sedately with Wales having by far the better of the early exchanges.
Wales' Joe Allen came off injured
Hal Robson-Kanu flashed a header just wide of the mark from a Joe Ledley corner and Aaron Ramsey chanced his arm with a shot from distance which was always flying over.
And when Ledley swung a corner in towards the angle, Randolph had to move smartly to stop it flying into the top corner of his net.
But the Republic were not letting them have it all their own way and Ashley Williams was forced to intervene with a couple of superb clearances.
Tom Lawrence, the hero against Georgia, fired in a 20-yard shot which forced Randolph to smother low down on the half hour.
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At the other end, Shane Duffy caused panic from out wide with a speculative shot which rifled across the face of the goal.
Then Wales went close in unusual circumstances when Ciaran Clark took a wild slash at a ball driven in by substitute Jonathan Williams and so nearly corkscrewed it into his own net.
Right on half-time, O’Neill’s men so nearly struck a major blow when Tom Brady’s first-time shot had Hennessey scrambling to save at the foot of his left hand post.
After the break, Wales seized the early initiative and James Chester brought premature gasps from the crowd with a header that rippled the side netting.
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