Wales hold on after first-half double to record win over Montenegro
Against the backdrop of a rain-soaked Nikšić, Wales made the perfect start to just his second-ever game in charge.
A mere 37 seconds was all it took for Kieffer Moore to break the deadlock, slamming home a loose ball inside the area to score the first goal of the Bellamy era.
And just two minutes later, the travelling Welsh faithful were left in a state of disbelief when Harry Wilson arrowed into the top corner from all of 30 yards to double the visitors’ advantage.
Suddenly, Bellamy’s claim that their 0-0 draw against Turkey on Friday was the worst performance you’ll ever see from his side seemed to be ringing true.
Wales didn’t have it all their own way though, and in fact their lead came close to being halved twice in a matter of minutes.
First, Nikola Krstović fired wide following a sweeping Montenegro counter, before Stevan Jovetić spotted Karl Darlow off his line from halfway, but his spectacular effort bounced back off the crossbar.
The Welsh goal was living a charmed life at times, never more so than on the half-hour when Darlow made a stunning double save from point-blank range to deny Jovetić before Ben Davies cleared Driton Camaj’s follow-up off the line.
Torrential conditions were certainly helping make the game a spectacle, and substitute Brennan Johnson looked to use those to his advantage when he let fly from 25 yards, but his stinging drive was repelled by Milan Mijatović.
The Montenegro stopper was hopeless moments later when Moore slid in at the far post to seemingly finish off a silky team move that deserved a goal, but the hosts remained in the game thanks to a mishap that saw his effort loop over the bar.
That left the door open for Montenegro, and although Wales had one huge let off when Vladimir Jovović rattled the post, Darlow was soon picking the ball out the back of his net when Nikola Krstović broke in behind and squared for Camaj to halve the deficit.
Bellamy’s side had to survive some hairy moments from then on, and after five minutes of stoppage time, they held on valiantly to end a seven match winless run in the Nations League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ben Davies (Wales)
