Welsh dragons breathe fire

Azerbaijan 0 Wales 2

Goals from Gary Speed and John Hartson had the records tumbling as Wales maintained their 100% record at the head of Group Nine, significantly now five points clear of Italy and with the return against the battered Azeri side next up in Cardiff in March.

But by making their run eight games without defeat, stretching back 14 months, Wales have now matched their nation’s best-ever run.

Mike England’s side went eight undefeated in 1981 but the real feather in the caps of Hughes’ men is that they have also equalled the eight games undefeated that the Welsh World Cup finalists of 1958 achieved before being beaten by Brazil in the quarter-finals in Sweden.

Wales have also never won their first three qualifying group games in any tournament in their history, and only twice before in 1985 and 1975 have they won three successive qualifying matches.

This was achieved with another display of dogged determination, guts and running.

It was never pretty but the end result was another victory with Portugal edging just that little bit closer.

Wales looked nervous at the start. Paul Jones sliced a clearance, then Page fouled Gurban Gurbanov and from the free-kick Samir Aliyev saw a shot just miss the far post.

But from Wales’ first genuine attack they caused havoc in the host’s defence. Hartson brushed aside two players inside the box and set up Giggs 10 yards out but his close-range drive was superbly saved by Djahangir Hasanzadekh but he knew nothing about Giggs’ follow-up that cannoned off him and went for a corner.

But from the resulting set-piece delivered by Davies, Speed appeared unmarked beyond the far post to head Wales ahead, his first goal for his country since September 2000, and only his fifth in 71 internationals.

Wales continued to exploit the width and another Davies corner on 37 minutes again found Speed arriving unmarked but this time Hasanzadekh pulled down the effort.

Early in the second half a sweeping move by Azerbaijan down the right produced a fine cross by Vadim Vasilyev which reached Mahmud Gurbanov in space but an outstanding tackle by Speed snuffed out the danger. Substitute Fizulu Mamedov then fired in a swerving, low centre from the right, but Jones made an excellent plunging save.

Wales doggedly hung onto their lead with some solid displays from the lesser lights of Barnard and Delaney, with Carl Robinson scuffling and battling away in midfield. But Wales did get their priceless second on 67 minutes when Davies curled in another free-kick and Hartson rose unchallenged to power a header to the net.

AZERBAIJAN: Hasanzadekh, Neftaliyev, Kerimov (Fizuli Mamedov 46), Akhmedov (Asadov 75), Imamaliyev, Yadullaev, Makhmud Gurbanov (Farukh Ismaylov 61), Sadygov, Gurban Gurbanov, Vasilyev, Aliyev.

WALES: Paul Jones, Delaney (Weston 71), Melville, Page, Barnard, Davies, Speed, Carl Robinson (Trollope 90), Giggs, Hartson, Earnshaw (Neil Roberts 90).

Referee: Luc Huyghe (Belgium).