Fierce encounter in Cardiff
Wednesday, 8 September 2004
By Trevor Haylett at the Millennium Stadium
[1] Nine-man Northern Ireland were denied a remarkable victory at the Millennium Stadium when Robert Earnshaw headed a Welsh equaliser with 15 minutes remaining to give his side a share of the spoils in this FIFA World Cup Group 6 qualifier.
Sendings-off
[2] Lawrie Sanchez's men lost Michael Hughes on nine minutes and David Healy followed just over ten minutes later, after putting Northern Ireland two up. Although Wales admittedly had Robbie Savage sent off in the earlier incident, they made hard work of pegging back the depleted visitors.
Whitley goal
[3] The game exploded into life in the ninth minute when Savage and Hughes tangled near the touchline. Less than two minutes later, as they both made their way down the tunnel, Jeff Whitley scored his first international goal in five years, chesting down a free-kick from Mark Clyde to fire the Irish ahead.
Up and down
[4] The second goal came after 21 minutes when a long clearance upfield was missed by James Collins, making his first start in a competitive international for Wales, and that enabled Healy to run on and lob Paul Jones to score. It was Healy's last touch of the ball. His overzealous celebration earned him a booking before a triumphant gesture to the crowd earned him a second yellow and Northern Ireland were 2-0 up but two men down.
Hartson header
[5] Wales brought off defender Mark Delaney for Earnshaw and began a siege on the visitors' goal that would not relent until the final whistle. Mark Hughes's side pulled a goal back in the 32nd minute when a sweet move involving Gary Speed and Craig Bellamy ended with John Hartson heading the latter's lofted ball wide of Maik Taylor. The Millennium Stadium breathed a sigh of relief and anticipated that the floodgates would now open wide.
Steely defiance
[6] But the vociferous home crowd had not reckoned with the steely defiance of the Northern Irish who were defending for their lives. Earnshaw came fractionally close before half-time and a Hartson header flew centimetres too high. Northern Ireland reached the interval still holding their advantage and then managed to restrict Wales's chances in the second half. They thought they had done enough to gain a rare victory but Earnshaw's late headed goal saved the home team's blushes.