- Wales held on to earn a draw away in Kayseri after facing 25 shots from Turkey
- Kerem Akturkoglu narrowly missed a penalty for the hosts in the 89th minute
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Wales delivered the dictionary definition of a backs-to-the-wall display, defying a missed penalty, a glut of home chances and 90 minutes of hostility to snatch a point in Turkey.
Boss Craig Bellamy was the width of a post away from losing his unbeaten record in Kayseri. Yet Wales go into their final Nations League B game at home to Iceland on Tuesday knowing they can still win promotion to the top tier.
They probably needed to beat Turkey to have any realistic hope of overhauling Vincenzo Montella’s Euro 2024 quarter-finalists — they still trail the Turks by two points.
But given how events unfolded in Kayseri Bellamy still has to believe. Turkey racked up 25 chances to Wales’s four, none better than the last-minute penalty they were handed for a foul by Neco Williams. A crowd who had been hostility itself for nigh-on 90 minutes fell silent only for Kerem Akturkoglu, handed the role of hero-elect, to fluff his lines by hitting the post.
‘It would have been a huge shame had that gone in,’ said Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow. ‘With the way we defended and the determination we showed, I thought we deserved a point.’
The tight, 33,000-capacity Kadir Has Stadium may not be one of Turkey’s better-known venues but the people of Kayseri, a city closer to Syria than Europe, were determined to mark the rare presence of the national team by sending shivers down Welsh spines.
Wales’ slim hopes of promotion from Group B remain alive after edging a 0-0 draw in Kayseri
Kerem Akturkoglu missed a penalty in the 89th minute, squandering Turkey’s best chance to win
And while Wales didn’t wilt, the first half could not have been more one-sided. Yet the best chance fell to Wales.
Harry Wilson was the width of a post away from becoming Wales’s first man since Ian Rush to score in four successive internationals.
After the break Bournemouth striker Enes Unal missed a sitter, further Turkish chances came and went until the gilt-edged one arrived on 89 minutes when Spanish referee Juan Martinez Munuera gave a penalty for Williams’ sliding tackle on Yunus Akgun.
Akturkoglu’s miss means Wales live to fight another day.
