Smoke bombs and flares in an away end can make for a striking visual, but nothing burns quite like the déjà vu of a near miss. For the Welsh, a second major championship in succession has been lost to the dramatic agonies of a penalty shootout.
Precisely two years after they lost to Poland by such means in a play-off for Euro 2024, they were edged by the Bosnians here in pursuit of the World Cup. A skied effort from Brennan Johnson and a saved one off the boot of Neco Williams proved decisive.
Instead of a date with the Italians at this ground on Tuesday, they will now have to process a truly galling end to their campaign.
The sting for Wales and Craig Bellamy will be considerable, especially as between the 51st and 85th minutes they led and, more often than not, they dominated.
What’s more, their goal was a 30-yard screamer from Dan James, whose miss in that Polish shootout proved decisive. A redemption story was being written.
But then it went wrong, starting with a Bosnian awakening, driven on by an away corner that waved flags and paid no great attention to FIFA directives around pyrotechnics. From pressure came chances and from chances came the sight of Edin Dzeko, 40 years young, rising to nail a free header at the death. Goodness, the fella was briefly part of the same Manchester City squad as Bellamy once upon a time.
Wales were knocked out of contention for the World Cup finals this summer in agonising fashion
Visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina saw out the gritty win after holding their nerve in the shootout
40-year-old Edin Dzeko was once again the hero as his bulleted header provided the equaliser
Manager Craig Bellamy was once a team-mate of Dzeko’s and will remember his capacity for danger in front of goal
But how he broke his heart and boiled his blood here – a touchline row between the men in extra-time, once Dzeko had been substituted, was merely one example of the bedlam. Indeed, Bellamy had told his players to avoid ‘chaos’ at all costs, but he, more than anyone knows that is easier said than done.
Alas, it was not to be for him, and yet Bellamy deserves credit for how well he has revived the team, even if this campaign ended in disappointment. He built a side greater than the sum of its parts and, more often than not, it has found a way to thrive in the post-Gareth Bale era, riding a combination of vibes, pace and solid tactics.
Bellamy’s hope was that such an approach would work again this time. ‘We’re going all out,’ he had said. ‘We ain’t sitting back.’
As a mission statement it was clear. Uncluttered. But the planning was complicated by key absences – Ben Davies’s broken ankle earlier this year meant Bellamy was down a captain and the more recent loss of Kieffer Moore cost him a solid focal point in attack. Harry Wilson, so effective on the right for Fulham, was rescripted as a false nine.
The upshot was that Wales dominated possession in the first half but their cut-through was limited. Occasionally, Brennan Johnson switched to the central role, as did David Brooks, and none of it offered an answer. Too often, Wales lacked wit in the final third.
A notable exception was Wilson who, in keeping with his work at Fulham this season, was the source of their best moments. The closest of them was a 22nd-minute strike that bent around Nikola Vasilj and rebounded off the post.
The rest of the Welsh surges crashed against the rocks of a physically huge Bosnian defence. They were a white wall in red country, but even walls are vulnerable to rockets.
Brennan Johnson skied his penalty (pictured) while team-mate Neco Williams was also stopped
The visitors had been frustrated for spells during the first 90 minutes as the Welsh ran the midfield
Dan James’ opener was a long-range thing of beauty and looked for some time the winner
Enter James. He had not started a game of any description for Leeds since injuring his hamstring in November, but he had a stunning moment here with the opener.
The origin of his goal was actually fairly ugly, with a Jay Dasilva clearance triggering a back-and-forth of headers in the middle before Benjamin Tahirovic over-cooked a back-pass into James’s path.
The Wales forward took one touch off his forehead and unleashed hell with his right boot from 30 yards. If we to be a little dull about it, we might note that Vasilj slipped as he was stepping across his line, but the finish was immense.
A quick word on Tahirovic – he was central to a peculiar sabotage row prior to this match, owing to his inactivity at Brondby, who happen to be managed by a Welshman in Steve Cooper. Barbarez floated his conspiracy theory on the subject earlier in the week and no apology has been forthcoming; Tahirovic’s error in the build-up might only harden the feelings.
From that moment, Wales pushed on. James came close to a second when he drilled against the bar, before Bosnia caused an almighty scare shortly after the hour – their first real chance. Ermedin Demirovic, presented with a free header, flushed the connection but Karl Darlow responded with an exceptional save.
The Leeds keeper repeated the trick to then block a drive from Kerim Alajbegovic, but by then it was clear that Wales were feeling the pressure.
Bellamy reacted by swapping Brooks for Oxford’s Mark Harris, pinning some hope on fresh energies, but the momentum was hard to retrieve. That much was illustrated when Dzeko launched himself high into the air to meet Alajbegovic’s corner – the marking was slack, the finish precise, the score 1-1.
It stayed that way through extra-time, meaning a chance for the exorcism of a ghost from the spot. Darlow struck first by saving from Demirovic on the opening kick, but Brennan Johnson’s skied Wales’s third. Neco Williams then had the fourth saved, leaving it to Alajbegovic to settle it – he did. The Welsh have seen this movie before.
Bellamy said: ‘My heart hurts for the players. I feel the disappointment now, but tomorrow the sun rises, and we have to rise with it.
‘I only see a bright future for Wales.’
