Cymru held to a draw by Türkiye

Cymru 0-0 Türkiye

• Craig Bellamy takes charge of first game
• Sorba Thomas sees goal ruled out
• Türkiye reduced to 10 players
• Montenegro next for Cymru

Craig Bellamy’s reign as Cymru manager is in full flow as the UEFA Nations League campaign got underway in Cardiff against Türkiye. 

Overall, Bellamy will be pleased with the display as the team played with the intensity and commitment he’d demanded in the build-up. The stats show Cymru had 62% possession in the game, with 512 completed passes to Türkiye’s 242. Cymru also  executed 46 attacks to just 14 by the visitors. 

Despite this dominance however, Cymru were frustrated in the second-half as Türkiye held on for a point despite being reduced to 10 players.

Cymru controlled the game in the first half with their pressing performance forcing their opponents to continuously give-up possession of the ball. Bellamy saw his team show creativity when on the attack with Sorba Thomas standing out with a player of the match display. 

Thomas got the ball in the back of the net with a chipped shot over Mert Günok but the goal was ruled out for offside. Briefly, The Red Wall were hopeful as a VAR goal check was indicated on the stadium’s big screens but the offside was swiftly verified. 

Türkiye were reduced to 10 players just after the hour mark when Barış Alper Yılmaz was shown a second yellow card, resulting in Vincenzo Montella instructing his team to get behind the ball to protect the point. 

Cymru pushed for a winner and mustered several attempts but the Türkiye defence, with some time wasting, held on for the draw. 

Cymru now travel to Niksic, where they will play Montenegro on Monday (9 September). Montenegro began their Nations League campaign with a 2-0 defeat in Iceland.