Bellamy starts Wales reign with draw against Turkey despite Yilmaz red
The day after Craig Bellamy smiled and apologised to a Turkish translator for rambling his way to the end of an answer, his passion for the Wales job spilled over on to the pitch. In the buildup there was an understandable, first-day-at-school nervous energy to Bellamy and no wonder his excitement given the buzz his team emitted. Officially, this was a Nations League opener against a team four places above them in the rankings but, in simple terms, it was Bellamy’s first examination as a manager.
There was still a touch of the old Bellamy – the fourth official Sigurd Kringstad was never too far from a glare – but he will have been chuffed with this showing. As first impressions go, this was a resounding if not imperfect performance against a Turkey team who played more than 35 minutes with 10 men after Baris Alper Yilmaz was sent off.
