Wales vs Israel. European Championship Qualifying Group B.
Cardiff City Stadium.
Monday 7 September 2015 07:40, UK
Wales were forced to wait to qualify for their first major tournament since 1958 after being held to a 0-0 draw against Israel.
A win would have been enough to guarantee their place at Euro 2016 but it was to be a frustrating afternoon at the Cardiff City Stadium and that frustration was doubled later in the day when Belgium netted a late winner in Cyprus.
Israel came for a 0-0 and got it as Gareth Bale was marked out of the game and Andy King missed two presentable chances in either half but Wales could still have qualified if Belgium had failed to beat Cyprus - and it looked on the cards until Eden Hazard's 86th minute winner.
For now Chris Coleman's men remain one point away from securing qualification with two games to go against Bosnia (a) and Andorra (h).
The home fans were in party mood from the outset in Cardiff and their players responded to their call in the early stages.
Hal Robson-Kanu released King through the heart of the Israel defence on nine minutes but the Leicester City man was denied by a smart save from visiting goalkeeper Ofir Marciano. The ball broke quite kindly to Aaron Ramsey on the rebound but his header looped over the crossbar from 10 yards.
With Israel happy to place 11 men behind the ball and keep five at the back, it was going to be a tough task for Wales to breakthrough without the early goal and that played out for the remainder of the half.
A quite Bale, who had scored or assisted eight of Wales' nine goals in Euro 2016 qualification thus far, was snuffed out of the game by Bibras Natcho and Nir Bitton as the frustration grew and the game moved into the second-half.
The Real Madrid star did get a sight of goal on 57 minutes from a free-kick on the edge of the area but his effort drifted agonisingly over the crossbar.
There was only one team going for the victory and it took the visitors until 68 minutes to register their first shot on goal – a wild 35 yard effort from Natcho that sailed into the stands.
King was given a chance to atone for his earlier miss when he got free from a corner but planted his header from eight yards straight at Marciano, who smothered the ball on the line.
The home fans frustration grew just a couple of minutes later when a cross from the left by Neil Taylor was appeared to be handled in the box by an Israel defender but the referee was unmoved.
With the clock running down, it looked as though the resistance had been broken by substitute Simon Church, who headed home after a Bale flick on but the celebrations were cut short by the correctly raised assistant offside flag.
The wait goes on for Wales.
