Wales 0-0 Turkey: Craig Bellamy era begins with a draw despite promise

Craig Bellamy's reign as Wales manager began with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Turkey in Cardiff on Friday night.

The hosts were the better side on the night and did all but finish off their chances.

During the opening exchanges, watching the new Wales manager caged inside his technical area was as enthralling as the action on the pitch.

The former striker was playing every pass and making every tackle, constantly barking orders, gesturing tactical messages and consulting with his assistants.

And he was almost celebrating an early goal. That much-anticipated high press saw Brennan Johnson earn Wales possession high up the pitch. Connor Roberts' cross found Aaron Ramsey in a dangerous area. But the headed effort was miscued, with the ball eventually coming off the captain's shoulder and missing its intended target.

Minutes later, Ramsey's clever near-post run from a corner almost proved fruitful but, again, he couldn't get it on target.

With 17 minutes on the clock, Wales had their biggest chance yet. A clever corner ended with Sorba Thomas clipping the ball to the back post. Turkey didn't get out fast enough to play offside and Joe Rodon scooped an effort from over the bar from six yards out.

The Bellamy era was yet to take flight but his side had dominated the opening quarter, with goalkeeper Danny Ward nothing but a bystander.

On the half hour mark came a flashpoint. Turkey striker Baris Yilmaz went down in the box with Rodon nearby but appeals for a penalty were waved away.

As play moved on, the Welsh defender let Yilmaz know what he thought of the visitor going down easily, which provoked an angry response, with Ethan Ampadu stepping in to play peacemaker. Play was stopped and players from both descended on the incident.

It all ended with Yilmaz and a member of Turkey's backroom staff ending up in referee Rohit Saggi's book.

As the first half ticked towards its conclusion, Thomas looking to have beaten the offside trap as he latched onto Ramsey's long ball over the top. The winger poked beyond Mert Gunok in the Turkish goal.

Just as he was about to erupt, Bellamy glanced down the touchline to see the assistant's flag go up for offside. Quickly the rest of the stadium realised.

Wales had been the more threatening and dominated possession but the teams were level going in at half time.

The new directive to play out from the back almost stung the hosts early in the second half when Ward gave the ball away in his own box. Ben Davies came to the rescue and blocked the shot but this was the risk Bellamy had asked his players to take.

Wales settled and chances fell to Johnson and Harry Wilson but neither could hit the target.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men just after the hour mark. Their frustrations with the referee were becoming evident and Yilmaz was shown a second yellow card when he went over the ball and caught Neco Williams.

Wales continued to control proceedings and worked half-chances but were unable to test Gunok. It was beginning to feel like it might be one of those nights.

Play was stopped for a number of minutes after substitute Kieffer Moore took an accidental boot to the face. When play resumed, the visitors put numbers behind the ball, giving Wales very few avenues to attack.

At times, every player apart from goalkeeper Ward was within 30 yards of the Turkey goal but still the deadlock remained in tact.

The last chance fell to Johnson deep into injury time but once again the effort was wide of the target.

For all their dominance and promise, Wales failed to add the finishing touches and had to settle for a draw.

Wales XI: Danny Ward; Connor Roberts, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Neco Williams; Ethan Ampadu, Jordan James, Aaron Ramsey; Sorba Thomas, Harry Wilson, Brennan Johnson.

Turkey XI: Mert Gunok; Zeki Celik, Caglar Soyuncu, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Mert Muldur; Arda Guler, Kaan Ayhan, Ismail Yuksek, Kenan Yildiz; Orkun Kokcu, Baris Yilmaz.

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