Serbia 1 Wales 1: Aaron Ramsey’s sublime Panenka penalty cancelled out by Newcastle hard man Aleksandar Mitrovic
Arsenal man chipped his 35th minute penalty in tribute to Antonin Panenka in stadium he started spot-kick craze
AARON RAMSEY won Wales a World Cup point against Serbia with a Panenka penalty in tribute to the Czech hero who scored the famous spot-kick in the same stadium.
With Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale suspended, the Arsenal man channelled the talents of Euro 1976 hero Antonin Panenka to dink a spot-kick home.
And it looked like that would be enough for Chris Coleman’s inexperienced to take maximum points before Newcastle hardman Aleksandar Mitrovic broke Welsh hearts with a late strike.
Coleman had to name six uncapped lads in his squad in the imposing stadium and it was the cool head of Ramsey who set the example with the opening goal.
The Welsh boss claimed in the build-up would be like a chess match and king Ramsey produced the move of the match on 35 minutes to put the home side in check.
But they were undone with 17 minutes remaining when Serbia slashed through Wales’ famously miserly defence.
Aleksandar Prijovic provided a classy assist with a Cruyff-like pass and the Toon terror ruined the night for the visitors.
The shared points leave Serbia at the summit of Group D with Wales now moving up to third on goal difference.
The draw was Wales' fifth consecutive tie on the spin and they need to do better to qualify for Russia.