GROUP FOUR Wales 2 Liechtenstein 0: JOHN TOSHACK was entitled to claim Craig Bellamy should have departed with the match ball, but the Wales captain did not sound like someone who was struggling to come to terms with his contribution.
Numerous chances were spurned against a country ranked 135th in the world but relief and not regret was Bellamy's overriding emotion as he celebrated his return from injury and pointed to a record that promises a more rewarding evening in Germany on Wednesday.
On another occasion and against less forgiving opposition it might have been difficult to adopt such a positive approach. But after starting his first competitive match for Wales in almost 12 months, the striker was not about to let a bout of profligacy, including an embarrassing first-half penalty miss - "It was that bad the 'keeper nearly dived over it," he joked - overshadow the satisfaction he took from completing 81 minutes without once looking in the direction of the medical staff.
"If I scored a hat-trick and played as well as I could have, and I ran into the corner and pulled up lame, that would have destroyed me," said the West Ham forward on Saturday night. "So to come off and feel I am ready to play on Wednesday is great, as I have not been able to play consecutive matches for a long time. Not for one minute did I feel I winced. But do I think that I will be running corners, coming deep and running at people and looking a million dollars? Of course not."
While his match-sharpness is likely to return over the coming weeks, Wales need Bellamy to rediscover his scoring touch in time for the meeting with the Group Four leaders in Monchengladbach. There was a feeling it was not going to be his day here long before Peter Jehle, the impressive Liechtenstein goalkeeper, produced a one-handed save to turn over a near-post flick in the 71st minute following Simon Davies's adroit cut-back.
"I've missed bigger chances in games," said Bellamy, who will relinquish penalty duties after he became the third Wales player to miss in this campaign. "It is like San Marino [ last October] where the 'keeper got a hand to everything. It just seems to happen to me in these games. I don't seem to score against these teams. My goals have been against the decent sides at international level and there is no more decent team than Germany."
With Bellamy's tally of 15 for his country including strikes against Italy and Argentina, it is a claim that is not without foundation. Either way, there is little doubt the captain and his team-mates will need to be in more ruthless mood against Germany, when chances are sure to be at a premium.
David Edwards provided good energy, the Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder marking his eighth cap with his first goal when he swept home after Davies and Chris Gunter combined on the right.
A second should have arrived when Gareth Bale was upended but Jehle's save from Bellamy's weak penalty meant that Wales had to wait until Mario Frick deflected a header from the substitute Ched Evans into his own net 10 minutes from time.
It can be assumed the Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, who had described Liechtenstein as "a pub team", was expecting a more convincing victory. "I told my team-mates about [McCarthy's comments] and it is a question about respect," said Franz Burgmeier, the Liechtenstein midfielder who plays his club football for Darlington. "He was the Ireland coach 10 years ago when they drew in Liechtenstein, so maybe he didn't remember that."
• Guardian Service
