Thursday Sep 29 2005 21:11
Wales suffered a major blow to their hopes of automatic qualification for the Euro 2004 finals when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Serbia & Montenegro in Belgrade.
Despite the fact that the Red Star Stadium was far from a sell out the Wales side were treated to a hostile welcome and, seemingly inspired by their fans, the home side camped in the opposing half in the early stages, only to find Danny Gabbidon and Robert Page in fine form at the heart of the visiting defence.
In the tenth minute Dejan Stankovic saw a header deflected over the cross bar and Wales keeper Paul Jones produced a fine reflex save to deny Mateja Kezman from the resulting corner.
As the game continued Wales began to gain a foothold and Craig Bellamy won a series of free kicks, but poor delivery prevented any chances being created.
Ryan Giggs put his pace to use on several occasions, sweeping down the left flank and forcing desperate clearances from the Serbian defence, but the home side continued to look dangerous on the break.
On the 30-minute mark Stankovic was inches away from opening the scoring with a long-range effort that beat Jones before crashing against the post and away for a corner.
After soaking up the early pressure the Wales side more than held their own in the final 15 minutes of the first half, restricting the hosts to long-range efforts and even creating a good chance for Nathan Blake.
But the Wolves striker was denied by home goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric and the half finished goalless.
The Serbians dominated possession in the early stages of the second half but couldn't create any clear chances to break the deadlock.
Stankovic again went close with a long-range effort but in the main the outstanding Gabbidon was able to keep the best of the home attacks at bay, while Bellamy and Giggs worked tirelessly to try and find a winner for Wales.
But with 17 minutes remaining the Serbians won a corner and Pedrag Mlazanovic headed in Stankovic's flag kick to put the home side ahead.
With time running out Mark Hughes brought on Cardiff City forward Robert Earnshaw and the youngster thought he'd levelled the scores when he went round the keeper only to see his shot cleared off the line by Mladen Krastajic.
Gabbidon headed over the bar from a corner and Gary Speed fired over as Wales camped in the opposing half in search of a vital goal.
In the closing stages Hughes' team threw everyone forward but they were unable to find an equaliser.
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