Wales vs Azerbaijan. European Championship Qualifying Group E.
Cardiff City StadiumAttendance28,385.
Wales 2-1 Azerbaijan: Gareth Bale header gives Wales vital win in Group E
Wales in third in Group E on six points, three points behind top two teams Hungary and Croatia
Saturday 7 September 2019 07:21, UK
Gareth Bale spared Wales a humiliating night in Euro 2020 qualifying with a late winner in a 2-1 home victory over Azerbaijan.
Bale struck his 32nd goal for Wales six minutes from time, rising to head home after Joe Allen's shot had been deflected high into the Cardiff air.
Wales had been gifted a first-half lead when Pavlo Pashayev scored a bizarre own goal, but Mahir Emreli punished a sloppy home display with a 58th-minute equaliser.
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Azerbaijan are ranked 109th in the world - a whopping 85 places below Wales - and their only competitive away wins came in the Faroe Islands and San Marino.
Following a frustrating opening, Bale dropped deeper as Wales sought a route to goal, but there was little cause for optimism until Pashayev's bizarre intervention.
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The Wales captain turned infield to strike a shot which hit Dmitry Nazarov and spun into the air. Azerbaijan appeared to have little to worry about, but Salahat Agayev came rushing out of his goal and the ball struck Pasahayev's head and trickled in to an unguarded net.
Azerbaijan had their own moment of good fortune when Emreli escaped with a swinging arm on Chris Mepham, the Maltese referee again showing his lenient side.
Wales were still struggling to get out of first gear when Azerbaijan landed a sucker punch. Neil Taylor's mistake allowed Ramil Sheydaev to release Emreli, who had the freedom of the Wales half to run into.
Emreli's effort was tame, but Wayne Hennessey failed to hold the shot and the rebound was summarily dispatched.
Wales poured forward in search of a winner, but time was running out until Bale - as he has so often done in the past - proved their saviour.
Reaction
Ryan Giggs: Too many Wales players didn't turn up
Gareth Bale: Hopefully this is our turning point
What's next?
Wales host Belarus on Monday night, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7.40pm; kick-off at 7.45pm. Azerbaijan's next game at home to Croatia is also live on Sky Sports Football from 4.55pm on Monday; kick-off at 5pm.
