Euro 2016: Gareth Bale to the fore in Welsh win

Gareth Bale played a pivotal role as Wales made a triumphant return to a major competition following a 58-year absence.

Wales' forward Gareth Bale celebrates after his team’s win over Slovakia.

Substitute Hal Robson-Kanu scored a joyously celebrated 81st-minute winner as Wales marked their major tournament return by edging Slovakia 2-1 in yesterday’s Euro 2016 opener in Bordeaux.

Playing their first game at a major championship since the 1958 World Cup, Wales took a 10th-minute lead courtesy of Gareth Bale’s fine free-kick, only for Slovakia substitute Ondrej Duda to equalise.

But with nine minutes remaining, Robson-Kanu, recently released by English second-tier side Reading, scuffed a shot past goalkeeper Matus Kozacik to give Chris Coleman’s side a huge boost in their bid to reach the last 16.

“It was a memorable moment, a historic moment for our country,” Real Madrid star Bale said.

“Hal to get the winner is amazing. The subs have to make an impact and he was amazing when he came on.

“ Everyone has a part to play and we will keep fighting.” Robson-Kanu’s strike ended Wales’s four-game winless run and tees the European Championship debutants up perfectly for Thursday’s hotly anticipated second Group B fixture against neighbours England in Lens.

Jan Kozak’s Slovakia, previously unbeaten in eight games, tackle Russia in Lille on Wednesday knowing that a second defeat could be fatal.

The match at the elegant Stadium Bordeaux had been billed in some quarters as a battle between Bale and Marek Hamsik, and the Slovakia playmaker was the first of the pair to catch the eye.

When Bale’s moment arrived 10 minutes in, there was to be no such reprieve for Slovakia.

Presented with a free-kick 30 yards from goal, he slammed the ball over the wall and as Kozacik moved to his left, it darted in the other direction and plunged low into the net.

AP