North Macedonia 1-1 Wales: The Dragons had fallen behind in stoppage time but clawed back a late equaliser
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David Brooks salvaged Wales a precious 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw against North Macedonia with all but the last kick of the match in Skopje.
Wales were the better side throughout but they suffered a sucker punch in a dramatic finish that saw North Macedonia score in the first minute of stoppage time.
Substitute Joe Allen’s horrible back pass was intended for Joe Rodon but was cut out by Bojan Miovski and he finished brilliantly, slotting the ball under Karl Darlow.
Wales seemed down and out but in the sixth extra minute Kieffer Moore got his head to a long ball and Brooks squeezed the ball across the line.
With favourites Belgium yet to kick a ball in Group J, it could still prove a costly draw for Wales in the race for an automatic place at the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and United States.
Brennan Johnson came closest to breaking the deadlock but his well-struck shot was hacked off the line by Visar Musliu.
Emotions were running high as this was North Macedonia’s first home fixture since 59 people died in a nightclub fire in the town of Kocani earlier this month.
A seven-day period of national mourning concluded on Sunday and the home players warmed up in black T-shirts remembering the victims.
A perfectly-observed minute’s silence was held before kick-off, both sides wore black armbands and Wales manager Craig Bellamy donned a black suit as a mark of respect.
Bellamy made three changes to the side that overcame Kazakhstan 3-1 in Cardiff on Saturday.
Chris Mepham, Jordan James and Nathan Broadhead were included as Connor Roberts, Brooks and Liam Cullen dropped out.
Skipper Ben Davies was the solitary survivor from the Wales side beaten 2-1 by North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in 2013, a game which was among Bellamy’s last appearances for his country.
North Macedonia had claimed a sixth consecutive win – the longest run of victories in their history – by brushing aside Liechtenstein on Saturday to make a strong start in World Cup qualifying.
Stole Dimitrievski had not conceded in those six games but the Valencia goalkeeper was required inside 30 seconds to push aside James’ effort.
Brennan Johnson (right) goes close for Wales against North Macedonia (Boris Grdanoski/AP)
Brennan Johnson (right) goes close for Wales against North Macedonia (Boris Grdanoski/AP)
Tihomir Kostadinov soon advanced unchallenged to send a shot wide from 25 yards but an open start gave way to a stop-start affair hindered by the fussy refereeing of French official Jerome Brisard.
There was a lengthy stoppage as Dimitrievski sat down outside his penalty area with play at the other end but the goalkeeper continued and was grateful for Sorba Thomas wasting the best chance of the half.
Daniel James slipped in his namesake Jordan and Thomas made a hash of a dangerous ball to the far post and misdirected it back across goal.
Josh Sheehan forced Dimitrievski into a goal-line collection from 25 yards before North Macedonia, who had been content to sit deep and wait for attacking moments, showed rare adventure from a corner.
Kostadinov’s kick went deep for Ezgjan Alioski to try his luck with an audacious volley from outside the box.
Wales pressed on after the break but chances were rare until Darko Churlinov tested Darlow and Johnson went close.
But the match reached it’s crescendo in dramatic fashion as Miovski and Brooks both struck in stoppage time, with the teams sharing the spoils come the final whistle.