Neil Taylor hailed Gareth Bale’s long throw as “another weapon in our armoury” and insisted Wales will have no qualms about using the tactic again after the Real Madrid striker showed he can be every bit as dangerous with the ball in his hands during Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Austria in Vienna.
Renowned for his blistering pace and thunderbolt of a left foot, Bale turned into Rory Delap for the night as he set up the second goal with a long throw and, in the words of Taylor, “caused chaos” on numerous other occasions as he propelled the ball into the Austria penalty area from the touchline.
It is something that has rarely been seen before with Bale, certainly in a Wales shirt, although Taylor was quick to highlight a goal that his team-mate created for Jermain Defoe while playing for Tottenham Hotspur against Stevenage in 2012. “Gareth has always had that long throw,” the Wales and Swansea full-back said. “Does no one remember when he did it for Tottenham, he threw it from the halfway line and someone was in on goal?”
Wales did their homework on Austria and felt the combination of Bale’s long throw and Sam Vokes’s aerial presence would trouble Marcel Koller’s side. The plan worked to perfection when the pair combined on the stroke of half-time and Kevin Wimmer ended up turning the ball into his own net.
“We talked about it before the Austria game and thought it was something we would use and get a goal from,” Taylor said. “It’s not nice to play against, it’s a horrible thing to deal with – ask Tony Pulis at Stoke. So it gives us another weapon in our armoury. We have to keep finding different ways to score and I think that’s massive for us.”
While it is not particularly easy on the eye and there is something rather strange about seeing the second most expensive footballer in the world hurling the ball into the opposition area, Taylor views it as a positive that Wales “weren’t too proud” to go down that route against Austria.
“You could see in the last 20 minutes we started playing more direct, more British so to speak and they were pressing very well and we were almost playing into their hands with the chances we were giving. I think it was key that we weren’t afraid, that we weren’t too proud to do it and not say: ‘We are a semi-finalist, we have got to play a certain way.’ I think we knew we had to do something different against a very good team away from home.
“It did surprise them, it’s not nice, it causes chaos, it can work from time to time. I am not saying we will use it in every game, maybe we won’t need to and there will be other games we are on top with the football at our feet and creating chances. Against Austria we weren’t and we needed to use it.”
While the point that Wales picked up against Austria, the second-highest ranked team in Group D, may well be viewed as crucial, it came at a cost. Joe Allen, who opened the scoring with his third goal in as many games for club and country, limped off with a hamstring injury in the second half and will almost certainly miss Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Georgia at Cardiff City Stadium.
“It’s a massive loss because he is a massive player for us but I think we’ve got players who can step in and are ready and eager to play,” Taylor said. “Obviously we know Joe is going to be a miss, he played fantastically, got a goal and is in great form, but hopefully we can get the three points and have him in the next game.”
