NORTH MACEDONIA 1-1 WALES: Bojan Miovski's 91st minute goal looked as though it was going to condemn Craig Bellamy to a first defeat as Wales boss, until David Brooks struck a dramatic equaliser
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22:08, 25 Mar 2025
David Brooks scored an equaliser for Wales in the 96th minute of the match
David Brooks scored an equaliser for Wales in the 96th minute of the match
(Image: AP)
David Brooks snatched an equaliser in the most dramatic of circumstances to spare team-mate Joe Allen’s blushes on an emotionally-charged night.
The Bournemouth forward pounced with the scrappiest of finishes two minutes beyond the allotted injury time to extend head coach Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten record amid heightened drama in Skopje. Kieffer Moore flicked on a long ball as the Red Dragons tried desperately to rescue a situation that appeared beyond them following a monstrous gaffe by veteran Allen. The midfielder had misplaced a backpass towards Joe Rodon, leaving Bojan Miovski with the simplest of tasks to slip the ball beyond stranded keeper Karl Darlow.
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That happened in the first minute of overtime - and the clock was approaching six minutes when a long ball was lumped forward towards Moore. He nodded it down, Visar Musliu made a hash of clearing it - and when it came down Brooks prodded the ball goalwards.
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Somehow, it went between the legs of covering defender Bojan Dimoski and rolled over the goalline, sparking wild scenes of celebration on the visiting bench. Until then, it looked as though Allen’s contribution was to prove decisive.
He had been brought off the bench six minutes from time and looked off the pace, narrowly avoiding a booking with his first involvement. And when he took a pass in the centre of the pitch, just in front of his back four, options ahead of him were limited, gifting a goal that looked for all the world like it would be the winner.
Bojan Miovski looked as though he'd won it for North Macedonia in the 91st minute
Bojan Miovski looked as though he'd won it for North Macedonia in the 91st minute
The home crowd went wild with jubilation as this match was billed as a chance to pay tribute to the 59 lives that were lost in a nightclub fire last week. The strength of feeling welled up in the Tose Proeski Arena during the anthems and continued throughout as a capacity crowd made public their grief.
With Blagoja Milevski’s men coming into this fixture on the back of a six-game streak without conceding a goal, all the signs were pointing towards a tricky 90 minutes. Yet Wales were on the front foot for the majority of the game - making most of the running.
And they came closest to snatching the one goal that always looked likely to decide this encounter when Musliu cleared Brennan Johnson’s shot off the line with 20 minutes to go.
Craig Bellamy's unbeaten record as Wales boss remains intact
Craig Bellamy's unbeaten record as Wales boss remains intact
Until then, chances had been few and far between. The atmosphere inside the stadium was raised after one minute’s applause in the 59th minute for the victims of the nightclub disaster.
And keeper Karl Darlow had to be at his best to deny Darko Churlinov, whose snapshot was the first real effort the hosts had posted on target.
That appeared to be that as Wales negotiated a nervy few final whistle until Allen’s intervention - with Brooks’s late effort earning Bellamy’s side a deserved share of the spoils.
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