Thanks for joining me for the intermittent action. Here is Ben Fisher’s report.
Pure Neco reaction.
"Being part of this team is like being part of a family." 🤝
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 6, 2020
Neco Williams reflects on a dramatic home debut for Wales in today's win against Bulgaria and explains what it's like to be part of Ryan Giggs' squad. 🏴 pic.twitter.com/rcYBh2bAeC
If you want more football, Rob Smyth has you covered.
Here is the goal ...
What a moment for Neco Williams! 🔥🏴
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 6, 2020
The #LFC right-back grabs a late, late winner on his home debut for @Cymru as they make it 2 wins from 2 in the UEFA Nations League! ✅💯
Watch live reaction on Sky Sports Football now: https://t.co/N7ulkFjPVO pic.twitter.com/AudkBZzNmQ
Neco Williams: “I can’t really sum it up at the minute. I think we must have made 25 passes before the goal actually went in. The buildup was the main thing. Scoring my first goal for Wales will be a day I will remember for the rest of my life.
“When you’re a kid you dream of playing for your country and to get the opportunity is just a surreal moment. If I keep working hard, keep doing what I am doing and show the gaffer what I will do, then hopefully I will get more goals.
“The talent we have got around this squad is unbelievable.”
Gareth Bale on the win: “Fantastic for him [Neco Williams], fantastic for us. We’ve been working towards keep going; be patient, be patient.”
On younger players: “They’ve come in and we’re trying to get everybody going in the same direction. We’ve tried to teach them what we’ve learned.”
On today’s performance: “I think we were a little bit sloppy in the first half.
On fitness: “I was struggling in the last game and those 45 minutes did me well. I am happy to get through 90.”
Bulgaria worked incredibly hard to keep Wales out but they tired late on and Neco Williams took advantage of that. There is no getting away from the fact that the game was utterly dreadful, but Wales will not care. That’s two in two for them.
Full-time: Wales 1-0 Bulgaria
And that’s the end of that chapter. Bulgaria kick-off and the referee blows up.
GOAL! Wales 1-0 Bulgaria (Neco Williams, 90+4)
A truly dreadful game is decided in the last 90 seconds of injury-time as Neco Williams ghosts in at the back post to head home a Jonny Williams header.
Updated
90+2 mins: Bale gets the ball 25 yards from goal, spins and fires a fizzing shot just over the bar.
90 mins: Five more minutes of gold to come.
87 mins: A lovely couple of touches gets Robson-Kanu away from Dimitrov who takes him down 30 yards from goal. The free-kick, needless to say, comes to nothing.
85 mins: Iliev pings in a flat cross which Karagaren attempts to head towards goal but sends it around 10 yards wide.
Bulgaria’s players are dropping like flies in order to get treatment and waste time.
83 mins: Georgiev has flapped at every cross that has come near him today but the referee has saved him every single time by blowing for a free-kick. This ref bores the hell out of me.
81 mins: Bulgaria are bringing on Krastev for his debut. The 18-year-old has just signed for Manchester City and been loaned out to one of their 474893 satellite clubs.
79 mins: A Bulgarian defender is down with cramp, which is proof that they have worked very hard throughout this match and also how unfit all these players are currently.
77 mins: Jonny Williams shows quick feet and determination to bulldoze through three Bulgarians. This is what we need!
75 mins: Off the post! Bale pings a ball to James who lays it into the path of Brooks, allowing him to smash a shot towards the near post from around 16 yards but it bounces off the post and wide. That’s Brooks’ last action as Jonny Williams replaces him.
Updated
73 mins: Bulgaria have defended well throughout, keeping a solid shape and not allowing Wales’ attacking talent any space to play in.
71 mins: Wales spend a whole minute passing it around in the final third but it comes to nothing as James kindly passes it to a Bulgarian.
69 mins: Wales have a shot! James plays a one-two with Brooks 20 yards from goal, allowing the Manchester United winger to curl in a first-time shot but it’s straight at the goalkeeper. I am just pleased something happened.
67 mins: Wales think they have a cunning routine for corners, where four attackers form an orderly queue at the penalty spot. Sadly, it makes no difference when the ball does not go anywhere near them.
Updated
65 mins: Neco Williams is on for Wales in place of Connor Roberts.
63 mins: Nothing has happened so I will count this has a chance. A deep free-kick is pumped in from the left to Karabelyov, who heads over. Something to tell my parents later, at least.
61 mins: Smith is booked for pulling back Goranov.
Robson-Kanu us on for Moore and Bulgarian have also made a change with Iliev replacing Kraev.
59 mins: Brooks and James combine, allowing the latter to pull the ball back for Bale to fire in a shot but it’s blocked. The Real Madrid man recovers to win a free-kick on the left flank but it’s easily cleared.
Hal Robson-Kanu is coming on for his first cap since 2017.
57 mins: Ooof! Karabelyov and Morrell jump for the ball, resulting in the Bulgarian heading the back of the Welshman’s head. It looks a painful one but he looks to have recovered from the shock.
55 mins: Moore is getting repeatedly penalised for challenging for the ball purely because he is quite tall, making this game even more tedious than it needs to be.
53 mins: Wales are keeping the ball well here but doing nothing of note with it.
51 mins: Brooks whips in a free-kick from the left after Ben Davies is fouled, but the keeps comes to collect despite being clattered by Moore.
49 mins: Bale is down! He seems to have some issue with his knee but he is quickly back up. What a whirlwind fee moments they were.
Alun Pugh has some excitement to bring to the table: “You could increase the entertainment value of the second half by pointing out some fascinating features of grammar in Welsh. There is no verb for possession for example unlike in English “I have” French “J’ ai” or German “Ich habe”.”
I now have some knowledge to impress Elis James with.
47 mins: It is no longer raining, which is probably good news.
Second half
Here we go again! Please be better.
Mark Sydney has a theory about why Wales won’t win: “No Jones, Thomas, Evans, Roberts, Hughes, Lewis, Morgan, or Griffiths in the Welsh squad! That’s almost 50% of the Welsh population, and a sure recipe for failure.”
There is a Roberts, to be fair.
JR says: “In order to make this game interesting I think you’ve got to incorporate both first and last names of the Bulgaria defenders. That gives you a GACK back four. And just by last names now their front four is KINK. And they are facing a Wales back line of LARD. As for the Wales front four, ain’t nothing you can do with that.
“Because I believe in the goodness of humanity I fully trust that Ol’ Wayno used all of his time in lockdown to brush up on 20th century history.”
Define “interesting”, JR.
Half-time
Not much happened, to be honest. I am off to make a coffee.
44 mins: Bulgaria skipper Kostadinov goes into the book for completely cleaning out Connor Roberts 35 yards from goal. Bale lines it up ... but his low free-kick kindly bounces into the goalkeeper’s arms.
Moments later Ampadu whacks a long ball down the pitch, which gets partially cleared to an onrushing Brooks but he sends his volley from 20 yards well wide.
42 mins: Cicinho takes down James after catching him quite late on the left touchline.
40 mins: The rain is making the ball zip around at greater pace, not that it’s helping the quality of play.
Ben Fisher is reading the Bible in Cardiff to pass the time.
Biblical showers in Cardiff: pic.twitter.com/mMe99YedK2
— Ben Fisher (@benfisherj) September 6, 2020
38 mins: Speaking of rain! Sam writes: “The most interesting thing about this match for me is that there have been periods when it’s not raining on the pitch but tipping it down chez moi in Cyncoed, on the other side of town. Fascinating stuff.
“Don’t blame you for walking away from this one.”
We are now laughing at drizzle. I might make a coffee at half-time - an Irish one.
36 mins: It is now raining in Cardiff, which should add a little je ne sais quoi to the match.
Updated
34 mins: Goranov has time to send in a cross from the left but just lifts it into the arms of Hennessey.
32 mins: Brooks adds some much-needed impetus to proceedings as he drives forward with the ball, before engaging in some smart interplay with Bale, allowing the Wales captain to fire off a shot from inside the area which is blocked. Good to finally see some intent.
Ben Fisher update from Cardiff: “It’s chilly here.”
30 mins: Gareth Bale takes a foul throw. I think the game has now been summed up.
“I really hope that Bulgaria can nick this away from Wales,” says Anis Aslaam. “Even though they’re nothing more than minnows these days, they gave me my first memory of international football when they got thumped 5-0 by Sweden in Euro 2004.
“For that reason alone, I wish I can see them in an international tournament again.”
28 mins: I like the Wales kit, that is the main take home so far.
Updated
26 mins: A lovely crossfield ball finds Ivanov on the left, he cuts in and swings a fine cross to the backpost which is turned behind by Connor Roberts. The corner ends in mild controversy as Lockyer wrestles a Bulgarian to the floor but the referee does not see it and there is no VAR.
24 mins: Matt Dony emails: “Biscuits? Surely a welsh cake? Or a slice of bara brith? Yeah, it’s not the most pulsating game, but I’ll take a stodgy 1-0 with a scruffy late goal quite happily. And I’m not concerned about Bale being quiet. It only takes one moment to do something special. Hopefully he’ll earn a nice relaxing round of golf...”
Naturally for the sake of Welsh football the quality of the match is insignificant if they get the win. They would need to have a shot to give them a chance of doing that.
In terms of sweet sundries, I do not sadly have access to Welsh baked goods. Feel free to send some.
22 mins: Barry McAuley asks: “Are Bulgaria playing 4-3-3 with the intimidating KKK in the middle of the park?”
Ivanov is playing in midfield, making it IKK in the centre of the park. But a good try, Barry, to make this game interesting.
20 mins: Smith fouls Ivanov, forcing the referee to wake everyone up by blowing his whistle to signal the infringement.
18 mins: Ben Fisher would like a malted milk, so he is also engrossed in this match.
16 mins: Ben Davies swings in a deep cross to the backpost but Moore cannot control his volley back into the danger area, instead shinning it behind.
14 mins: There has been no shots in the match, so feel free to send in your questions about anything so we at least have something to talk about. I am debating whether to have a biscuit at half-time.
12 mins: Bale has done nothing of note thus far, maybe playing football last season would have helped him not look so rusty.
Updated
10 mins: Bulgaria are showing a little bit of intent now as they look to work the ball into the box. Nedelev looks like the dangerman when he gets onto the ball. Wales might want to limit how much time he is allowed to pick a pass.
8 mins: The referee seems very picky about where free-kicks are taken from, which is very boring of him. Needless to say, not much is happening.
6 mins: James is fouled by Cicinho, who you will be surprised to hear is Brazilian-born. The full-back is making his Bulgaria debut aged 31 having played for Ludogorets since 2015.
4 mins: Brooks is operating behind Moore at the moment for Wales, with Bale on the right and James on the left. Wales are enjoying plenty of the ball but it’s all in their half of the pitch.
2 mins: Both teams have had a feel of the ball as the look to suss each other out.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Singing the national anthem in an empty stadium just seems a little sad. You could probably speed up the process and sack this bit off.
I have mainly seen Ampadu play in midfield for Wales in recent times, so it will be interesting to see how he does at centre-back. I suspect he will be sent out on loan again this season in what will be a crucial one for his development as he looks to nail down his position for years to come.
“Wayne is a bit of a character,” says James Collins about Wales’ goalkeeper on Sky.
Our man Ben Fisher is at the game, you will be pleased to know. I can confirm he has arrived safely as he sent me a photo of the car park on WhatsApp.
A busy day in the Nations League yesterday.
Friend of the show Adam Hurrey knows a good goal when he sees one. Will we get similar today?
🏴 + 🇧🇬 = pic.twitter.com/VcvBhozBb7
— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) September 6, 2020
Ryan Giggs feels the win over Finland has given a boost to his team going into this match. Two victories on the trot would be a huge step towards topping the group.
“Confidence is high because of the three wins even though they’re obviously not close together,” said Giggs.
“We’ve revisited the last games and what we could do better. I’m really pleased with the momentum we’ve got at the moment which is hard to get in international football.
“It wasn’t a classic performance the other day but I was really happy with the win because we had to grind it out.”
Stat attack ...
2 - Wales have won two of their last three matches against Bulgaria in all competitions (L1), winning last time out in October 2011 in a Euro 2012 qualifier - Gareth Bale scored the only goal that day. Fairway. pic.twitter.com/z3w5k71ns1
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 6, 2020
A trio of Brooks, Bale and James makes Wales a very dangerous proposition. The amount of pace and trickier would scare any opposition defence and, if you believe everything you read, they could all be club teammates next season (that will never happen).
Last time out ...
Starting lineups
Wales: Hennessey, C Roberts, Ampadu, Lockyer, B Davies, Morrell, Smith, Bale, Brooks, James, Moore
Subs: Ward, A Davies, Gunter, N Williams, Cabango, Lawrence, Levitt, J Williams, Robson-Kanu. Wilson, Matondo, Vaulks
Bulgaria: G. Georgiev, Cicinho, Kr. Dimitrov, Nedyalkov, Goranov, Kostadinov, Karabelyov, Karagaren, Nedelev, G. Ivanov, Kraev
Subs: Mihaylov, Lukov, S. Popov, V. Popov, Delev, Rabotov, Galabov, Kovachev, Isa, Iliev, Krastev, Tsvetkov.
Updated
Preamble
Good afternoon!
Welcome to a few hours of analysing everything Gareth Bale does in order to work out if he is still any good at football. It has been a strange few months for the Welshman as he does his level best to get out of Real Madrid, mainly irking Zinedine Zidane by saying he did not fancy a trip to Manchester for a Champions League game, which is insulting. Bale is his country’s talisman, unsurprisingly, and his influence is all the more important considering the list of absentees in Ryan Giggs’ squad. Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon and Tom Lawrence are all unavailable, so Bale will need to step things up after an underwhelming time against Finland.
Giggs will be looking to build on the win against Finland and should be relatively optimistic of doing so against a Bulgaria side short of star names and any top international quality. They did, however, draw against Republic of Ireland in the week, so they should also have a touch of confidence about themselves as they enter a new chapter.
Anyway ... let us all hope for a cracker.
Kick-off: 2pm (BST)
