Wales 0-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wayne Hennessey made some fine saves and Ashley Williams missed a late chance as the spoils were shared in Group B.
• Points shared after intriguing goalless draw
• Wayne Hennessey's saves frustrate Bosnians in second half
• Ashley Williams puts late header over
• Bosnia and Herzegovina still winless in Group B
• Next games: Wales v Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina v Belgium (13 October)
Wales cancelled out Bosnia and Herzegovina in an intriguing UEFA EURO 2016 Group B qualifier in Cardiff.
There was a vibrant atmosphere, with around 2,300 Bosnian fans among the 30,741 crowd at Cardiff City Stadium. It was an expectant atmosphere too. Captain Ashley Williams' programme notes spoke of Wales's desire to live up to their "golden generation" billing in these qualifiers, yet the task of building on their opening win over Andorra was made harder by a long injury list, headed by key midfielders Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen.
Chris Coleman was not the only one hampered by injuries, though, as his Bosnian counterpart Safet Sušić was forced to select an inexperienced central defensive pairing of Anel Hadžić and Toni Šunjić. Šunjić made an important early contribution, sliding in to steal Chris Gunter's low cross off the toes of Gareth Bale. In an intriguing subplot, deep-lying midfielder Muhamed Bešić handled impressively the role of shadowing the Real Madrid CF star, encapsulated by one brilliantly timed second-half tackle just as Bale threatened to accelerate away.
Wales had the better first-half chances, Bale lifting a speculative lob off target before the unmarked Gunter failed to keep his volley down at the far post. Home goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was not overworked, but that changed on the restart as the visitors, looking to bounce back from their shock home loss to Cyprus last month, stepped up a gear. After denying Haris Medunjanin from point-blank range at the near post, Hennessey had to deny Edin Džeko twice and then foiled Miralem Pjanić.
As the game opened up in the closing stages, Williams missed Wales' clearest opening when heading a Bale free-kick over from close range in the 78th minute. Yet the Bosnians could feel equally frustrated as Pjanić, a threat with his long-range shooting all night, drew a flying save from Hennessey with another free-kick. Bale also went close in the closing stages.
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