' DISAPPOINTING WALES HELD BY GEORGIA '

WALES 1-1 GEORGIA

BBC REPORT :

Wales' winless run against Georgia continued as Chris Coleman's side were held to a disappointing draw in their 2018 World Cup qualifying match at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Gareth Bale gave the hosts hope of a first win in four attempts against their opponents with an early header from Joe Ledley's corner.

However, Georgia stunned Wales when Tornike Okriashvili nodded in unmarked.

The visitors then finished strongly as Valeri Kazaishvili hit the bar late on.

The draw means Wales have five points from three games in Group D.


SPORTS MOLE REPORT :

Wales took an early lead but failed to make their advantage count as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Georgia at the Cardiff City Stadium this evening.

The Dragons, now without a win over their opponents in four attempts, were fortunate to even take a point from the game after seeing the Crusaders come closest to scoring a decisive third of the night.

Chris Coleman's side temporarily extend their lead at the top of Group D but, with Austria, Republic of Ireland and Serbia still to play their third round of fixtures, this will be seen as two points dropped.

The hosts started the game very brightly and were looking to get at their opponents right from the off, with their breakthrough moment taking just 10 minutes to arrive.

A Joe Ledley corner was met by Gareth Bale in a central position for the Real Madrid forward to head home his 25th goal for Wales, leaving him just three behind record scorer Ian Rush.

Wales showed no real signs of slowing down after edging ahead, coming close to adding a second to their tally when Bale's free kick dipped off the surface but was easily handled by Giorgi Loria.

Georgia are certainly no whipping boys, though, as their Group D results have gone to show, and they arguably had the better of the remainder of the first half.

Valeri Qazaishvili blasted away the visitors' first shot of the match following a quickly taken free kick, which did little to trouble Wayne Hennessey between the sticks.

The Crusaders had pushed Republic of Ireland all the way just a few days ago, even hitting the woodwork a few times as they fell to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat, and they once again skimmed the frame of the goal through Jano Ananidze's free kick 34 minutes in.

If any side was going to find a second goal of the contest prior to the break then it was Georgia, ranked 137 in the world, as Valeriane Gvilia was the latest to test Hennessey with a fairly tame attempt.

Wales did slowly begin to find their way once again as the half reached its conclusion, with Andy King - filling in for the injured Aaron Ramsey for the third game running - taking range from 20 yards out when he perhaps would have had better luck slotting in teammate Chris Gunter.

Nearly two years had passed since Wales last conceded a competitive goal on home soil, but a slack start to the second half saw Georgia find a way through thanks to Tornike Okriashvili's header.

It's a shame this result but not the end of the world.

For me, Coleman let himself down with some random (panicked) substitutions after they scored.

Can't afford anymore slip ups now, serbia game has now become even bigger next month

Don't know what Coleman is saying to them at halftime but they come out like slugs again!!

Wales defender Chris Gunter: "We're obviously disappointed but it's not the end of the world. There are plenty more points to play for."

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It's a shame this result but not the end of the world.

For me, Coleman let himself down with some random (panicked) substitutions after they scored.

Can't afford anymore slip ups now, serbia game has now become even bigger next month

Very poor 2nd half, but they are a good team, we were lucky to get a draw in the end......

We will need Ramsey and Allen back for the remaining games....

Absolutely rubbish I'm afraid. We are shocking in defence Taylor and gunter are clueless, Georgia are ranked 137 and to be honest could've won tonight. The way we are playing is sporadic and we won't qualify unless there is a major change

It's a shame this result but not the end of the world.

For me, Coleman let himself down with some random (panicked) substitutions after they scored.

Can't afford anymore slip ups now, serbia game has now become even bigger next month

Very poor 2nd half, but they are a good team, we were lucky to get a draw in the end......

We will need Ramsey and Allen back for the remaining games....

Mate they're f*cking shit! We should not have given them a sniff. Butt just goes to go that without key players how average we are.

It's a shame but if you take Bale,Rambo and Allen out of our team were no different from the other small nations. Weve got 100%ers but our cm looked so one dimensional today it was like watching the city!!! Georgia looked far more fluid and to be fair if they had Bale up top they would have knocked us for 6!!! We can get away with losing one but not 2 of the 3!!!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it might have been better to shut up shop in the second half swap Vokes for Kanu and just hit them on the counter.

Anyway actually buzzing to get back to club football.... makes a change!!! Bluebirds!!!

We need to give Georgia respect. Yes, we were favourites but the chances they had, I'm surprised they didn't take the 3 points.
Bale needs to play wide and not up front in my opinion.

That result has ruined our world cup hopes especially as Ireland and Serbia both won.

Its still a long way to go,if we can beat Serbia and Austria beat Ireland ,in the next round we will be top and a point clear.
It can change so quickly,of course we could lose and then be in 4th place and 5 points off the top , so fine margins.
Badly need Rambo , Allen and Bale to play in every game for the rest of the tournament .

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

We lack quality in midfield big time. Rambo obviously a miss but with Allen out we looked very poor in mid section.

Andy King is a passenger at best, prob had 10 touches in his last 10 games.

I actually welcomed the fact Coleman went all out for the win with the subs, but needed to be more solid about the personnel. Left back/mid we were so badly exposed and it could have cost us.

How anyone can Georgia are shit is beyond me? Yes, they are not a Germany or an Italy but if anyone has seen them in qualification so far they are a dangerous side. Yes, we should have still won because our performance was below par but they will take points off other teams in this group. They always do. They are renowned for their giant killings. You only need to go back to June before Euro 2016 to see they beat Spain 1-0 in Getafe. The same lad who scored against us scored against them.

In recent years, they've also beaten Scotland, drawn with France, and only lost 2 of their 7 competitive matches between 2011 and 2012. They are no mugs. As expected, if we didn't perform to our best they were going to punish us which they will do to other teams.

Still, as disappointing as last night was it showed we are a small nation that lacks depth. I thought Edwards and King looked lost a lot of the time yesterday showing how much we missed the cohesion and composure that Ramsey and Allen give us. I think the defence are taking heat for their distribution but the available options in midfield were limited due to poor movement. That completely went when Ledley went off.

Yesterday doesn't change a thing. If we get the right results against Austria, Ireland, and Serbia then we will be fine. As someone said the other day, it wasn't that long ago that 5 points from our first 3 games in a qualifiers would have been seen as a positive start and every game we have left is winnable.

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

Well if you don't like women kids at football best you stay home then. As for talking shite you are pretty good at it you miserable sod

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

Well if you don't like women kids at football best you stay home then. As for talking shite you are pretty good at it you miserable sod

Nah I'll go when I want Miss. Time of month is it?

Wales have had the same problem for as long as I've watched football. One, two, sometimes three top quality players but not much else. As soon as we lose those players through injury or suspension we become a less than average team. There is only so much that can be achieved through hard graft, you still need a bit of quality as well.

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

Well if you don't like women kids at football best you stay home then. As for talking shite you are pretty good at it you miserable sod

Nah I'll go when I want Miss. Time of month is it?

Childish sods like you make me laugh always trying to say stupid remarks just to get attention get a grip and try not to give any remarks as previous post cos you might think their funny I find very immature ffs

Georgia were technically proficient whereas some of our players can hardly control a football. Kanu Robson looked at least a stone overweight, as did others very worrying I am afraid.Georgia threw away two points last night, as for the rankings well they are just silly nonsense

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

Well if you don't like women kids at football best you stay home then. As for talking shite you are pretty good at it you miserable sod

Nah I'll go when I want Miss. Time of month is it?

Childish sods like you make me laugh always trying to say stupid remarks just to get attention get a grip and try not to give any remarks as previous post cos you might think their funny I find very immature ffs

Ah as long as you can have a laugh then little miss serious.

Georgia were technically proficient whereas some of our players can hardly control a football. Kanu Robson looked at least a stone overweight, as did others very worrying I am afraid.Georgia threw away two points last night, as for the rankings well they are just silly nonsense

You're quite right, I honestly thought they deserved to win. They played it so simple, epecially second half - up to their big centre forward on the floor who held it up, laid it back and then the runners were off for the return. Caught us several times on the break. Technically they were much better than us.

That was the first time I've watched Wales live for years, certainly since everybody joined the bandwagon of recent times.
I was very disappointed. A bit like watching the City - some good passages of play followed by long periods of everything going flat.
Basically we have so few quality players to choose from that we lose a couple in key areas then we can't cope.

And bloody hell - all those women and kids screaming and talking shite!!

So you've also jumped on the bandwagon, then.

Wales have had the same problem for as long as I've watched football. One, two, sometimes three top quality players but not much else. As soon as we lose those players through injury or suspension we become a less than average team. There is only so much that can be achieved through hard graft, you still need a bit of quality as well.

Nonsense.

How anyone can Georgia are shit is beyond me? Yes, they are not a Germany or an Italy but if anyone has seen them in qualification so far they are a dangerous side. Yes, we should have still won because our performance was below par but they will take points off other teams in this group. They always do. They are renowned for their giant killings. You only need to go back to June before Euro 2016 to see they beat Spain 1-0 in Getafe. The same lad who scored against us scored against them.

In recent years, they've also beaten Scotland, drawn with France, and only lost 2 of their 7 competitive matches between 2011 and 2012. They are no mugs. As expected, if we didn't perform to our best they were going to punish us which they will do to other teams.

Still, as disappointing as last night was it showed we are a small nation that lacks depth. I thought Edwards and King looked lost a lot of the time yesterday showing how much we missed the cohesion and composure that Ramsey and Allen give us. I think the defence are taking heat for their distribution but the available options in midfield were limited due to poor movement. That completely went when Ledley went off.

Yesterday doesn't change a thing. If we get the right results against Austria, Ireland, and Serbia then we will be fine. As someone said the other day, it wasn't that long ago that 5 points from our first 3 games in a qualifiers would have been seen as a positive start and every game we have left is winnable.

Game changed when Ledley went off. Should've taken King/Edwards off and replaced either of those with Huws.