Wales reliant on 'special' Gareth Bale
By Ian Rush
Ian Rush praised Gareth Bale's performance against Andorra, but says Wales are too reliant on the Real Madrid man.
Bale twice found the back of the net in his country's first European Qualifier, coupling a neat header with a deft free kick to help his team claim a much-needed win against the team ranked 199th in the world.
In a game marred by poor 3G pitch conditions that Bale later described as the ‘worst ever’, it was down to the world's most expensive player to snatch a 2-1 victory after his side went a goal down after just six minutes, and Rush, Wales' all-time leading goalscorer, was the first to offer his plaudits.
“He was absolutely fantastic,” the former Liverpool striker told Sky Sports, “I don’t think anyone else in the world could have done what he did tonight.”
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Andorra's artificial pitch was passed fit for the game by UEFA last week after laboratory and field tests were carried out, but it was soon the centre of unwanted attention when it became clear that it was not up to international standards with players struggling to control the ball and rubber being thrown up .
Because of this Rush was sympathetic to the plight of Wales, for whom a loss to such a low-ranked side would have been considered a disaster, but still felt the standard of football from the team was not up to scratch.
He added: “I wouldn’t say we played great, and yes the pitch had something to do with it but again, for me, the most important thing is the three points.”
“I think it was a very difficult game. Firstly it was three points in the bag, which was needed, but again we didn’t have enough shots in the game.
“But one special person gets you out of trouble.”
Rush, who scored 28 international goals in his career, concluded that Wales are too reliant on Bale to rescue them and the rest of the team must step up in the next game.
“It was summed up tonight, really – we are relying on him.
“I think it’s a big boost when he’s in the Wales team," he said, "If he’s not playing for Wales the opposition must think hang on, we’ve got a chance here.
“Hopefully when they’re playing on a better pitch, when they’re playing at home, maybe other players will come in to play.”