You what?
We only just managed to beat that???
Another international another thoroughly depressing spectacle as Wales somehow managed to only squeeze home by the odd goal against a side with a goal difference of -50 and also allowed the hosts only their 2nd goal of the campaign.
This against a team who earned Captain Craig Bellamy's pre-match respect that, "there are no easy matches in international football but this is one". Welsh football currently languishes in a very dark place and you just cannot see any way out right now.
Playing the smallest football nation in Europe - only the Vatican and Monaco are smaller - and undoubtedly the worse, they've never won a match, Wales did appear stung by Tosh's public slagging of them - plus whatever else he said privately in one to one meetings.
Team selection did a few stories. Freddie Eastwood, loved and lavishly praised by Tosh before the weekend, banished to the bench and Earnie, the little guy who he was sounded out, starting in his place. Sam Ricketts dropped - hoo fecking ray! - but then brought on as a second half sub - you fecking what! True to form, Ricketts gave away a stupid free-kick that produced San Marino's moment of glory. And goalkeeper Danny Coyne - another who shouldn't be starting - was dropped for Lewis Price - someone who should if Hennessey is unavailable.
Wales' 1st half performance was good and pleasing. It is a no-win situation but they passed and moved very well, had over 70% of possession, scored two, had two disallowed, the San Marino keeper was their star making a couple of great stops and City's Joe Ledley was looking superb in all he did.
The goals came on 13 - Earnie meeting Bellamy's through ball with a shot that hit the keepers legs but had the power to roll in - and 35 as Simon Davies and Bellamy combined superbly to open up San Marino on the right, Bellers low ball beat the keeper and Ledley bundled into an open goal from a couple of yards for his first Welsh goal and one that incredibly turned out to be the winner. In between, the keeper made an outstanding stop for Joe, another from Bellamy and got the ball out of his net twice more but for free-kicks with Earnie clearly offside but unlucky with a challenge against the keeper. All the boys were playing well and seemed to be on a mission to make amends.
So I settled down for the 2nd half thinking more of the same please and this should be a 5 goal victory minimum. What followed was abysmal, they stopped playing, they stopped moving, they stopped passing, they took all of the pace out of the game and it was car crash football, just horrible viewing. Once again, it had me flicking channels and I'm a diehard Welsh follower.
All of a sudden Gabbidon was missing tackles, San Marino were getting forward and we were conceding free-kicks. Everyone saw Captain Selva shoot on goal but they were so far out, it was little more than catching practise for Price until the useless Ricketts intervened and gave him one on the edge of the box. Price deceived, 2-1.
Wales were never in danger of conceding again, San Marino's key tactic was 10 behind the ball which became 9 as a centre-half was dismissed for two yellow cards, the latter for a needless handball. However they were inept and impotent. After one way traffic and a barrage of efforts 1st half, all we saw 2nd half was a Bellamy half-chance and a last gasp shot both matched by good saves.
Throughout the painful 2nd period, Welsh fans chants of "we're shit and we know we are", "what the **** is going on?" and "you don't know what you're doing" could be heard as well as the usual supportive chants. Clearly uptight by the result, performance, the Toshack slagging and the tv interview, Bellamy was prickly calling the Welsh fans "vicious" in their chants which he said also took place in the 1st half when things were going well and refused to react to Tosh's words.
Wales fans rarely jeer the team and have had enough reasons too over the years and in this campaign. Think Bellers also knows that had it not been for Tosh's public outbursts, it's unlikely there would have been that reaction. As much as I nod and thoroughly agree with Tosh's comments, I can only see it causing more harm, distrust and fall out. We're too small a nation with too thin a squad to be having this. It got a reaction for 45 minutes, the other 45 was no better at all than the weekend and that itself is means bloody awful. It's clearly am very unhappy camp, why do I get the feeling there's a lot more to come and we haven't heard the last of it by any means? Thoroughly depressing time to be a Welsh football fan but at least for now, it's thoroughly depressing to be an Irish, Scottish or English fan too! Nobody has bragging rights tonight.
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