'Job done, get on the plane, get back' -
Sun Sep 05, 2021 6:51 pm
'Job done, get on the plane, get back' - Wales' boss Rob Page's relief as Gareth Bale heroics keep World Cup hopes alive
Gareth Bale's hat-trick rescued Wales from defeat to Belarus with World Cup qualification still very much on after late winner
By Ian Mitchelmore
Sunday 4th September 2021
Wales' coach Robert Page was a relieved man after the late win over Belarus (Image: VLADIMIR KRAINOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Rob Page admits relief was his overriding emotion after Wales secured a dramatic 3-2 win over Belarus.
Gareth Bale struck twice from the penalty spot before netting a last-gasp winner to complete his hat-trick as Rob Page’s men claimed three points in the World Cup qualifier.
But for long periods, Wales looked set to miss out on victory over a side who are ranked 89th in FIFA’s world rankings after goals from Vitali Lisakovich and Pavel Sedko put Belarus 2-1 up in the first half.
However, Wales go into Wednesday night’s contest with Estonia at Cardiff City Stadium firmly in the mix for a top two spot in Group E after securing their second qualifying win.
“Relief at the end to get three points,” said Page.
“Job done, get on the plane, get back, everybody prepared and ready for a big game on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand says Daniel James is 'going to be a problem'
“The standards we’ve set, we fell short of that tonight, but good teams find a way to win.
“We knew we were in for a tough game. I’m disappointed with how we dealt with the counter attack. They always looked a threat.
“I thought we lost our discipline in the first half with our shape and we didn’t stick to the plan. We addressed it at half time and in the end, we found a way to win, the captain stepped up to the mark and gave a captain’s performance and scored a hat-trick to get us the three points.”
Bale’s fifth-minute penalty ended the Real Madrid star’s run of 16 matches without a goal for his country.
And his 93rd-minute strike saw him complete his second hat-trick for the Red Dragons following his trio of strikes against China in 2018.
“I’ve said it all along, everybody’s been talking about scoring goals, but I’ve said it’s not just about that,” admitted Page when asked about Bale.
“We got off to the perfect start and I think they changed their mindset a little bit then and threw caution to the wind.
“But with regards to Gareth, we’ve always known he’s got that ability and thankfully tonight he’s shown it to get us the win.”
Wales take on Estonia in Cardiff at 7:45pm on Wednesday.
Gareth Bale's hat-trick rescued Wales from defeat to Belarus with World Cup qualification still very much on after late winner
By Ian Mitchelmore
Sunday 4th September 2021
Wales' coach Robert Page was a relieved man after the late win over Belarus (Image: VLADIMIR KRAINOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Rob Page admits relief was his overriding emotion after Wales secured a dramatic 3-2 win over Belarus.
Gareth Bale struck twice from the penalty spot before netting a last-gasp winner to complete his hat-trick as Rob Page’s men claimed three points in the World Cup qualifier.
But for long periods, Wales looked set to miss out on victory over a side who are ranked 89th in FIFA’s world rankings after goals from Vitali Lisakovich and Pavel Sedko put Belarus 2-1 up in the first half.
However, Wales go into Wednesday night’s contest with Estonia at Cardiff City Stadium firmly in the mix for a top two spot in Group E after securing their second qualifying win.
“Relief at the end to get three points,” said Page.
“Job done, get on the plane, get back, everybody prepared and ready for a big game on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand says Daniel James is 'going to be a problem'
“The standards we’ve set, we fell short of that tonight, but good teams find a way to win.
“We knew we were in for a tough game. I’m disappointed with how we dealt with the counter attack. They always looked a threat.
“I thought we lost our discipline in the first half with our shape and we didn’t stick to the plan. We addressed it at half time and in the end, we found a way to win, the captain stepped up to the mark and gave a captain’s performance and scored a hat-trick to get us the three points.”
Bale’s fifth-minute penalty ended the Real Madrid star’s run of 16 matches without a goal for his country.
And his 93rd-minute strike saw him complete his second hat-trick for the Red Dragons following his trio of strikes against China in 2018.
“I’ve said it all along, everybody’s been talking about scoring goals, but I’ve said it’s not just about that,” admitted Page when asked about Bale.
“We got off to the perfect start and I think they changed their mindset a little bit then and threw caution to the wind.
“But with regards to Gareth, we’ve always known he’s got that ability and thankfully tonight he’s shown it to get us the win.”
Wales take on Estonia in Cardiff at 7:45pm on Wednesday.
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Re: 'Job done, get on the plane, get back' -
Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:19 pm
Still think Page is not the answer.
Re: 'Job done, get on the plane, get back' -
Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:40 pm
That’s was a good win considering all the problems that rob page and the team had to go through keeps us right in the mix now
Re: 'Job done, get on the plane, get back' -
Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:57 pm
New Day Rising wrote:Still think Page is not the answer.
Agree with you there.
Think that Giggs was doing a much better job. If he gets found not guilty (which I can't see to be honest having seen some of the evidence) then he'd probably get his job back.
But when/if Giggs gets found guilty, I think it's clear to almost everyone that Page shouldn't get the job full time. He's a good person to have on the coaching team, but he's not a good enough manager.
It won't surprise me if Bellamy gets the job. He still wants the job and he was the second choice last time.
There's no other obvious options out there. I can't see us going for a foreign manager, partly due to the fact it would be too expensive.
I also don't think Cooper wants to go into international management yet. He'll want to carry on at club level for the time being.
If they give the job to Page permanently then it will be a big mistake a could set us back several years.
Re: 'Job done, get on the plane, get back' -
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:18 am
Massive turnaround for Wales but agree with most saying that Page is really not the answer.
Shouldn't have played Colwill as striker on his own.
Constantly gets the mix of midfield players wrong
Technically naïve - when belarus changed their formation and started to hit us on the break, he had no answer
Doesn't drop out of form players
Bale got him off the hook on the weekend, but eventually Page will be caught out big time.
Northampton Town fans think he was one of the worst managers they ever had.
Sooner the Giggs issue is sorted out one way or another and the FAW can appoint someone else, the better - although I think they may give Page the job.
Shouldn't have played Colwill as striker on his own.
Constantly gets the mix of midfield players wrong
Technically naïve - when belarus changed their formation and started to hit us on the break, he had no answer
Doesn't drop out of form players
Bale got him off the hook on the weekend, but eventually Page will be caught out big time.
Northampton Town fans think he was one of the worst managers they ever had.
Sooner the Giggs issue is sorted out one way or another and the FAW can appoint someone else, the better - although I think they may give Page the job.