Wales vs Northern Ireland, Euro 2016: Result, Match Report, MBM
Wales v Northern Ireland in the Euro 2016 second-round match at Parc des Princes, Paris, was historic before it even began, but by the end it was the Welsh singing loudest.
Wales 1 - 0 Northern Ireland
A close-fought, rugged encounter was decided by a single goal in the Parc des Princes, Gareth McAuley turning Gareth Bale's low driven cross into his own net in the 75th minute of the second half.
It was a match low on chances and moments of real quality, and it was one decisive ball into the box from Bale that made the difference. Wales will face Belgium or Hungary in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.
Here's how it happened:
Second Half
Min 95: Bale cleared the final ball into the box with a firm header, Michael McGovern up in the NI box for a last-chance push, the referee blew time but it's the Welsh dragon that carries on breathing fire..
Min 95: And that's it!! Wales are into the quarter finals of Euro 2016!!
Min 94: Magennis with another long throw into the box, Hennessey punches this time, Ramsey fouls on the half-way line and gets booked...
Min 93: The Welsh are singing loudest now as NI desperately ply their way forward, McGovern hoofs it long..
Min 91: 3 of 4 mins added-on left to play.
Min 90: NI pile forward and pump a long throw into the box, Hennessey rises highest and claims. Ashley Williams is still on the pitch with that arm begging for a sling..
Min 88: J Williams wins it on the left and finds Bale who plays a lovely touch around his marker and is blocked off from following it. The free is kept, Wales trying to run down the clock, but they only succeed in running it out of play.
Min 87: Ashley Williams is down again, calling for a sub, but no-one's ready on the Welsh bench.. He's carrying his left arm as if he has a serious problem..
Min 84: Josh Magennis is on for unfortunate anti-hero McAuley, from the replay it was clear he had no other choice than to for that ball, O'Neill knows his team have to go for it now.. Wales have slowly asserted a slight superiority in the second half.
Min 82: Ow. Ashley Williams crashes into J Williams at full pelt with one of those win-it and get-up-and-win-it-again challenges. Had to hurt.
Min 81: NI smack a deep free kick to the back post put there's some monkey business and the ref blows for a free out.
Min 80: Most of the game being played in Northern Ireland's half now..
Min 77: Bale had to drop back to midfield to pick it up and drive Wales forward, he finally managed to stretch out that long stride and when Ramsey found him wide on the left with a return pass, his vicious low cross was deflected home by McAuley, with Welsh players behind him waiting to tap in.
Min 75: Gooooooooooooooollll!!! Wales take the lead!! Gareth Bale's quality cross forced Gareth McAuley to put it into his own net..
Min 73: Bale can't get on the ball under such close surveillance, and Ramsey's long searching ball is too close to McGovern.
Min 71: Another solid challenge from Jonny Evans stopping Ramsey in his tracks.. Evans is having another very good game in this tournament.
Min 69: Conor Washington is on for Jamie Ward, a positive move from O'Neil.
Min 68: Bale fouled again near midfield, the free is humped into the box, NI deal with it..
Min 67: Quality work from Ramsey as he puts his foot on the ball and plays a nice ball down the line for Gunter, Joe Allen and Ramsey again involved in the follow-up but then Williams dribbled into the box and fell over.
Min 65: Another NI cross is overplayed, poor quality delivery again.
Min 61: Bale still looks like the only player capable of doing something different here, set-pieces seem the only other likely source of a goal as Joe Ledley comes off and Jonathan Williams comes on.
Min 60: Oliver Norwood curls a corner over everyone and out of play, bit of a waste.
Min 58: Taylor is booked for breaking up the NI counter-attack.
Min 58: Uyyy... On target again from Wales' top man, but McGovern judged the flight well to his left and kept it out. Good save.
Min 57: Bale free-kick territory Klaxon!!
Min 55: Vokes gets hooked by Coleman, Robson-Kanu strides one.. One for one up front, but a different type of threat for Wales..
Min 53: Ufff... Vokes found with a raking crossfield ball, all alone but puts the wrong side of his head on it.. Should have done better and he holds his face realizing same..
Min 50: NI win a free-kick in a dangerous position and they work a routine that looks impressively designed but poorly executed, the shot at the end of it all comes off the hirsute Joe Ledley and flies into the crowd. The corner's cleared too..
Min 48: Good play from Steven Davis again, working space down the left, he gets two chances to cross but neither finds a NI man.
Min 46: Second half kicked off, NI on the attack, a place in the quarter finals of Euro 2016 at stake.
Half-Time chat
With so much at stake in a game that both of these teams consider winnable, no surprise that it's been quite tense and even. Both sides have, however, created chances, Ramsey's late runs and Vokes' aerial threat two targets for the Welsh, while Northern Ireland have found Lafferty in advanced positions and attacked from midfield through Steven Davis and Jamie Ward. Every time Bale gets the ball he's mobbed by three or four players, but you still get the feeling that he might be the one to decide this match.
First Half
Min 46: Atkinson brings the first half to a close
Min 44: Stuart Dallas tries a spectacular sliding Hollywood challenge on Gareth Bale, completely missing the ball and clipping the Real Madrid man, drawing a yellow card from ref Martin Atkinson. Should NI go through, Dallas will miss the quarter finals.
Min 42: Bale again terrifies the NI support, dancing past Corry Evans and three other white shirts, but his cross is chested calmly back to McGovern. The green and white army roars its approval again.
Min 39: What do you want me to do?? protests Chris Gunter as he grapples with Kyle Lafferty who had a patronising hand in his chest, the free goes NI's way, and it's a dangerous one curling towards the back post, Chester takes it off Jonny Evan's head. Set-pieces could be crucial to this one..
Min 37: Good build-up play from Davis, Ward and Hughes, the final cross is headed out for a throw-in, Wales recover.
Min 34: Ledley finds space in the middle and runs straight at that NI backline, slipping a ball through for Vokes but Jonny Evans marshalls that well.
Min 31: Looks like handball from Jamie Ward, but the ref doesn't see it, his ball finds Lafferty running behind the Welsh defence, but Chester is there to clean up. Wales break back and the ball falls to Neil Taylor who can't keep his drop-volley on target.
Min 30: Wales 0 - 0 Northern ireland
Min 28: Lots of speculative forward balls from both sides, interspersed with the odd moment of quality, great atmosphere here in Paris..
Min 26: Bale trying to make something happen, turns and turns again on the left wing this time, then scruffs a shot across the box, the Northern Ireland fans greet that with a massive cheer.. The greens winning the battle of the stands at the moment.
Min 24: Jamie Ward snapping at Joe Allen's heels in the middle, not a minute to settle.. Free kick.
Min 23: Another good save from Hennessey as he tips Jamie Ward's dipping drive over, good effort and equally impressive save.
Min 21: Hennessey pumps it forward, Vokes flicks it on.. No dice..
Min 19: Goool!! No goal! Vokes headed it for Ramsey to tap in, but relief for the green and whites as the linesman's flag is up.
Min 16: Lots of free-kicks and stoppages, Ledley taken out in midfield..
Min 12: Bale gets on the ball, NI fans boo, three players surround him, he takes a step back and very nearly plays Aaron Ramsay through on goal, Bale should be the key factor here, his very presence will pull NI out of shape..
Min 10: Davis! Good save from Hennessy in goal, well-worked from Northern Ireland, Lafferty on the right hand edge of the box fed Davis who drove it left-footed, Hennessy in the right place.
Min 6: Norn Iron win a free-kick, pump it into the box, but the ref spots a foul, free out.
Min 3: Wales have the better players, but Northern Ireland have Michael O'Neil, and that song that they're already singing.. Fairly cagey opening, both look interested in protecting the ball when they have it..
Min 1: Underway here in Parc des Princes.. Wales in possession, looking forward to this one!
Team line-ups:
Wales XI: Hennessey, Gunter, Chester, Williams, Taylor, Davies, Ledley, Ramsey, Allen, Vokes and Bale
N. Ireland XI: McGovern, J Evans, Cathcart, McAuley, Hughes, Dallas, Norwood, C Evans, S Davis, Ward and K Lafferty
Welcome to the live online coverage, minute-by-minute updates and all the build-up to Wales against Northern Ireland, the second-round Euro 2016 match which kicks at 18.00 (CET) at the Parc des Princes, Paris.
Wales v Northern Ireland preview
Wales
Wales have gone from rank outsiders to one of the dark horses to win Euro 2016 thanks to their exploits in Group B (where they finished top ahead of England) and due to the fact they’ve ended up on the ‘easier’ side of the draw.
Chris Coleman’s charges managed to win their debut match in the European Championships, overcoming Slovakia 2-1. Although the Red Dragons fell to England in their next match, Wales came back in spectacular fashion, smashing a poor Russia side 3-0. Midfield maestros Aaron Ramsey and the ‘Welsh Xavi’ Joe Allen are in excellent form, while Gareth Bale is the tournament’s joint top scorer with three goals.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland are one of Euro 2016’s surprise packages, qualifying for the last 16 as one of the four best third placed teams. Michael O’Neil’s men lost their first game against Poland but secured all three points they needed to go through by seeing off Ukraine 2-0. Despite a 1-0 defeat by world champions Germany in their third and final Group C game, goalkeeper Michael McGovern became one of the competitions biggest revelations with a heroic performance between the posts. As with Wales, today is Northern Ireland’s date with history.