Wales star Gareth Bale reveals he has always had the long throw in his locker… and he even bend them too
Real Madrid ace discusses his new weapon of bending throws and hails mentality of the Dragons after Austria draw
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GARETH BALE says Wales showed how their character is evolving as he unleashed his new secret weapon of long bending throws against Austria.
The Euro 2016 semi-finalists picked up a vital point away to Austria on Thursday as Joe Ledley and a Kevin Wimmer own goal secured a 2-2 draw in Vienna.
Real Madrid star Bale, so often the talisman for the Welsh, showed off another array of his talents with a number of long throws into the box during the World Cup qualifier.
And it was from this form of attack that Wales grabbed their second.
The 27-year-old launched a ball into Austria's box and, after Sam Vokes' flick, James Chester had a header saved by Robert Almer - but the ball bounced backed off Wimmer and into the net.
Bale said: “I've had a long throw for a while but we've only just brought it out.
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“It was a nice surprise to use and worked to help us get that point.”
The away trip to Austria was, on paper, Wales’ hardest test on the road to Russia.
The hosts had won their last 10 qualifiers and were unbeaten on their own soil since 2012.
And although he admits he and his team-mates were not at their best, Bale believes the result shows that Chris Coleman’s side are still progressing.
Bale added: It wasn't the best but it could be an important point for us. We know we didn't play well with the ball.
“They're a very good team with the ball and made it very difficult for us. But we showed our determination and character again and sometimes it's important to grind out a draw.
“We've worked on different things in training. Some days you don't have your best games but we've learned how to dig deep over the years.
“This isn't an easy place to come, they haven't lost here in a long while or even dropped points so to get a point is massive, especially when we're not playing at our best.
“That's the difference of this team now. When we're not playing well we know how to dig deep and grind results out and we can show what a good team we are even when we don't play well.”
Wales will be hoping to build on the point last night by defeating Georgia at home on Sunday.
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