Jamie Jackson’s report has landed. Here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night. A relieved but satisfied Karl Darlow talks to S4C. “I thought it was a big shame … it looked like the challenge was a fair one … we would have been hard done by to lose by that goal … the way we defended, the grit and determination, we deserved a point here … we’re hard to beat … you can go a long way being hard to beat … we’re unbeaten … that speaks to our commitment … the lads and the staff … the effort everyone puts in … I’m loving it … this is why I’ve come to play international football … to come away with a clean sheet, I’m delighted!” That was great prime-time Saturday-evening televised entertainment in the grand tradition of the Generation Game, Big Night and Strictly. Craig Bellamy the Brucie de nos jours? Both sides had plenty of chances to win; all that was missing tonight was the final ball. A draw seems only fair and right, especially as that penalty decision was on the soft side. It’s going to be one hell of a night on Tuesday. Let’s get the network together! Straight down to brass tacks, then. Turkey still look likely to win the group and automatic promotion to League A, as they just need to win in Montenegro on Tuesday. But Wales can pip them if they beat Iceland in Cardiff, and events in Montenegro don’t go Turkey’s way. However Iceland’s win this evening keeps their hopes of a place in the promotion play-offs alive; should they triumph in Cardiff on Tuesday, they’ll condemn Wales to the relegation play-offs. The automatic relegation place aside – it’s all yours, Montenegro – everything is still up for grabs! Turkey P5 W3 D2 L0 F8 A3 Pts 11 Wales P5 W2 D3 L0 F5 A3 Pts 9 Iceland P5 W2 D1 L2 F9 A9 Pts 7 Montenegro P5 W0 D0 L5 F1 A8 Pts 0 FULL TIME: Turkey 0-0 Wales No goals, but what entertainment … and what drama! 90 min +4: Akgün drives down the right. The ball pinballs around the Wales box. Aktürkoğlu tries to make good by forcing a shot goalwards, but he can’t do it. Wales are so close now to keeping their hopes of automatic promotion alive. 90 min +3: Justice might have been served by that penalty miss, because Williams looked to have got a nick on the ball while making his challenge. Either way, here we are. 90 min +2: There’s barely a sound in the stadium right now. The small pocket of Wales fans making all the noise. It’s finished 2-0 to Iceland in Montenegro, by the way. 90 min: The Turkish fans are utterly stunned. Victory was so close. But Wales breathe again! Lewis Koumas comes on for Brennan Johnson. There will be five additional minutes. Turkey miss penalty 89 min: Aktürkoğlu misses the spot kick! He gives Darlow the eyes, sending the keeper the wrong way … but in aiming for the empty right-hand side of the goal, can only ping the ball off the base of the post and out for a goal kick! Penalty for Turkey 87 min: Ünal plays a ball down the inside-right channel and into the Wales box. Akgün takes up possession and looks to cut inside for a shot. He’s upended by Williams. The referee points to the spot. Rodon is booked for complaining. 87 min: Nothing comes of the Turkey corner. But … 86 min: Kökçü drives a shot goalwards from the edge of the box. Roberts blocks. But Wales can’t stop the ball going out for a corner on the left. Before it can be taken, Kaan Ayhan replaces the disappointing Arda Güler. 85 min: Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson has scored a second goal for Iceland in Montenegro. That game’s already gone into stoppage time. 83 min: A lot of whistling as Wales do the patient thing. A reminder that a draw keeps their hopes of automatic promotion alive. 81 min: Iceland are leading in Montenegro, incidentally. Orri Óskarsson with the game’s only goal after 74 minutes. Just a couple of minutes left on the clock there. A win for Iceland will keep their hopes of promotion alive, and make Tuesday’s match in Cardiff very interesting indeed. Unless Wales can find a winner here, of course. 79 min: Güler wears the look of someone who knows that could, possibly should, have secured Turkey’s passage to League A. The hosts get on with it, though, and Akgün has a dig from distance. This one flies over too. 77 min: Williams carelessly ships possession on the Turkey right. Çelik pulls the ball back to Güler, with time and space on the edge of the Wales box. He’s got to work Darlow at the very least … in fact, there’s anticipation of a goal … but the young man leans back and launches a dreadful effort miles over the bar. What A Chance (pt. XXXVIII in a continuing series). 76 min: Space for Johnson down the right. He crosses low and hard. Brooks, coming in at the far stick, doesn’t expect the ball to reach him. But it does. He clanks wide of goal. A shame for Wales the roles weren’t reversed there. 75 min: Zeki Çelik replaces Eren Elmalı. 73 min: The two subs are immediately in the thick of it, Cullen teeing up Brooks on the right-hand edge of the Turkey D. Brooks carves a wild shot high and wide left. On the touchline, Craig Bellamy holds his head in his hands as a decent chance flies into the night sky. 72 min: David Brooks and Liam Cullen come on for Jordan James and Sorba Thomas. 70 min: Elmalı crosses from the left. Akgün cushions a header down for Ünal, who attempts a scissor kick from ten yards. It’s heading in, but Davies gets in the road to deflect over for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece. It’s still 0-0! Somehow. 68 min: … and it’s a big chance for Wilson, who scampers clear down the inside-right channel, only to get the ball stuck between his legs upon feeling Bardakcı closing in from behind. Instead of shooting, which he surely should do after reaching the box, he attempts to flick infield for Johnson. It’s a weak pass, and flopped on by Günok. These teams are doing everything but score. 67 min: Akgün dribbles gracefully down the right, burning past Williams and cutting back dangerously from the byline. Ünal, not yet up to speed, clanks carelessly wide right. A huge chance. 65 min: Yılmaz crosses from the left. Thomas leaps to block and sticks out an arm. He’s penalised for that. Before the free kick can be taken, Yılmaz is replaced by Ünal … and then Kökçü shanks the set piece out for a goal kick. 63 min: Yılmaz is penalised for sticking a strong arm in Roberts’ face. For some reason, Bardakcı gets involved in a discussion with the officials, and goes into the book. He’ll miss Turkey’s final game, in Montenegro. 61 min: The other game in this group between Montenegro and Iceland remains 0-0 as well, by the way. It can’t be as good as this one. It just can’t be. 59 min: Wilson chases a long bouncing ball. Günok claims. Turkey look the more likely, but Wales are still carrying a threat. 57 min: Aktürkoğlu lurks behind Rodon and Darlow, as the keeper prepares to bowl out. Is he planning on doing a Gary Crosby? Darlow is no Andy Dibble style patsy, and turns around, wise to the potential of a grift. Aktürkoğlu gives the keeper a cheeky wink and the beginning of a smile plays on the edge of his mouth. All good fun. 55 min: Akgün sends Kökçü into space down the right with a clever backheel. Kökçü whips a cross to the near post, where Darlow claims without fuss. No idea how this 101mph game hasn’t produced a goal yet. It’s great fun nonetheless. 54 min: Wilson attempts to release Roberts into the Turkey box with a cute roll down the inside-right channel, but the pair lose communication somewhere down the line. Turkey mop up. 53 min: Yılmaz drives hard down the left and finds Aktürkoğlu on the edge of the box. Aktürkoğlu tries to return the pass but Roberts and Rodon aren’t having any of it, shutting the door just in time. Turkey are beginning to relocate their straps, if not fully hitting them yet. 51 min: Wilson plays a daft blind pass across the face of his own box, left to right, allowing Akgün to intercept and slap a shot wide right. Akgün should have done better. So should Wilson, who has got away with one there. 50 min: Yılmaz crosses from the right. Some real whip on that. But there’s nobody in the middle to take advantage. Darlow comes out and flaps at the ball anyway. 49 min: Güler has the opportunity to release Aktürkoğlu down the inside-left channel, but inexplicably faffs around with a drag-back on the edge of the box, presumably in the hope of finding Yılmaz to his right. Not the correct decision. Wales breathe again. 48 min: Wales are gifted a corner, which Thomas swings in from the right. Davies wins a header on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box, but it’s all downwards direction and no power, and the hosts clear their lines. 47 min: Joe Rodon is still in the game, by the way, and now sports what looks like a very secure black headband. Turkey get the second half started. They’ve replaced their captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu with İsmail Yüksek, while Dan James has come on for Mark Harris. Half-time reading. Other entertainment-infused Welsh football stories are available. HALF TIME: Turkey 0-0 Wales That was such good fun. Who needs goals? 45 min +8: A ball swung into the Wales box from the left. Güler guides a header straight at Darlow. It’s hardly stopped. 45 min +6: Wales hit the post! Harris advances down the left and crosses low for Wilson, who swivels and crashes a low drive off the base of the right-hand post! Günok was beaten all ends up. The rebound does not favour Wales. Well, it didn’t take long for things to pick up again, did it? 45 min +5: The game restarts but for the first time this evening, the pace has dropped. Understandable after the long stoppage while Rodon was getting patched up. 45 min +3: In other naked-eye-misinformation news, Rodon wasn’t whacked on the nose. Like Harris, he’s taken a bash to the brow, though blood has been drawn. Thankfully he’s good to continue, having presumably passed concussion checks, but he’s now wearing a very large bandage around his head. 45 min +1: Harris is back up, sporting quite the shiner. 45 min: Harris was only just offside in the build-up to that disallowed goal. The gap looked much bigger to the naked eye, so that’s the power of VAR for you. There will be five additional first-half minutes. Probably more, because Rodon is still receiving treatment. 43 min: Harris and Rodon stick the nut on each other while competing for a high ball. Ooyah, oof, that looked super-painful, and poor Rodon looks to have come off significantly worse. Think his team-mate caught him on the bridge of the nose there. Some of the red stuff already seeping through his fingers. On come the medical folk. 41 min: Harris is sent scampering down the right. He cuts back for James, who sweeps into the net from 12 yards! But it’s not going to be a goal, because the assistant referee has put her flag up. The end of the move wasn’t initially televised, either, because the Turkish director stayed on the official rather than following the action, just so everyone knew what was what. Everyone doing their bit. Replays showed, etc., and so on. 39 min: There’s a VAR check over the Aktürkoğlu incident, but it’s not a penalty. 37 min: Akgün is sent scampering into acres down the right by Güler’s sprayed pass. He looks for Aktürkoğlu in the middle. Aktürkoğlu is barged by Davies and clanks into Darlow. He wants a penalty as Wales clear their lines and counter. He’s not getting one. Up the other end, Wilson nearly gets on the end of Johnson’s clever pass down the right, but Günok races out of his box to bash away from danger. 35 min: This is a greased piglet of a match. Çalhanoğlu crosses from the left. Yılmaz wins a header but can’t get any power on it. Darlow claims. Williams goes down in search of breath. A brief pause. 33 min: Aktürkoğlu splits the Welsh back line in two with a simple pass down the middle. Akgün is clear, one on one with Darlow! He has to score … but Darlow spreads himself large, and smothers the shot! What a save. Turkey redouble their efforts, Çalhanoğlu winning a corner down the left. Nothing comes of that. 31 min: In totally contradictory news, Thomas bombs down the left at warp speed. He reaches the edge of the Turkey box, thinks about shooting, tries to slip Wilson in on the overlap instead, and gets it all wrong. A fine opportunity wasted. A shame after such a blistering run. 30 min: James attempts to take a quick throw. His manager tells him in no uncertain terms to slow things down so his team-mates can take a breather. There’s gung-ho, and there’s looking for trouble. 29 min: Demiral tries to spring Aktürkoğlu clear down the inside-left channel with a long pass, but overhits it. Just as well for Wales, who were wide open there. 27 min: This game is fair flying by. Now Wales faff about at the back, gifting Çalhanoğlu the opportunity to shoot from distance. His effort is deflected, and nothing comes of the corner that results. 26 min: … so having said that, Wilson romps down the left and crosses long for Johnson, who can’t control at the far stick. Had he managed to do so, he’s have been shooting at goal from six yards, unopposed, with just the keeper to beat. 25 min: The corner from the left is worked long. Akgün shoots from a tight angle on the right. Another corner. This one’s laid off to Güler, who can’t find anyone with a cutback from the right. Wales hanging on a bit here. 24 min: Güler has a bash from distance. The shot’s deflected wide right, where Müldür picks up possession. He crosses low and hard, forcing Roberts to slide in and hook behind with red shirts lurking. Another corner, and Turkey are really cranking up the pressure here. 23 min: Nothing comes from the set piece. But once again Turkey barely draw breath before launching another attack, snaffling the ball from a Wales throw, Yılmaz then running slap-bang into Roberts, 30 yards from goal. Free kick. 22 min: Yılmaz, tight on the left touchline and spotting Darlow out of position, takes an outrageous shy at goal. The shot nearly creeps into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle, as well. Darlow does pretty well to spot the danger, adjust, and turn the ball out for a corner. 20 min: Some broad-brush comedy as Kökçü cuts in from the left and drives a low shot goalwards, only for it to ping off the heel of his own player Aktürkoğlu and out for a goal kick. Turkey come again, and Aktürkoğlu, clearly frustrated, opens his body and sends a shot into the top-left corner of the stand behind the goal. That was wild. 18 min: Güler tries to release Yılmaz down the inside-right channel with an ambitious raking pass; Yılmaz nearly reaches it as well, but Davies sticks out a leg to intercept. That was a crucial intervention. Wales counter, and Williams crosses from the left; by the far stick, Demiral calmly chests back to his keeper. More end-to-end fun. 16 min: … and now Demiral has a whack from long range. That one goes over the bar as well. Possibly an even wilder attempt. Good work by Güler down the right to set it up. 14 min: Aktürkoğlu blazes a shot over the bar from distance. Turkey are beginning to find their rhythm now; they just need to locate their range. 13 min: That wasn’t a million miles away from the challenge Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer got away with on Mikel Merino in the Champions League the other week. Just as well Mikel Arteta doesn’t manage Turkey in his spare time. 11 min: Yılmaz is down again, flattened by Darlow who was busy punching clear a ball bouncing on the edge of his six-yard box. Turkey want a penalty but the referee shows no interest whatsoever. “Can’t help thinking Bellamy has missed a trick by playing Harry Wilson from the start,” opines Richard Hirst. “As any fule kno, even us Fulham supporters, he’s best left till the end.” 9 min: Johnson goes into the book for a fairly brazen kick at Yılmaz. No real need for that, and now he’s on the disciplinary tightrope for the next hour and 20 minutes. 7 min: Akgün twists the blood of Williams as he advances down the right. He nearly bursts clear into the Wales box but Davies comes over to get in the way and usher the ball out of play for a goal kick. This game is rattling along nicely. 6 min: Wales are definitely up for this. It’s all a bit frantic. Wilson dribbles down the middle and draws a foul from Müldür. Johnson and Roberts combine down the right in the hope of earning a corner. Not quite, but full marks for full-throttle ambition. Turkey counter through the prodigy Güler, who glides in from the right and takes the evening’s first shot in anger. Darlow behind it all the way. The crowd are whistling quite a lot. 4 min: Wales, every atom their manager’s creation, continue to pile forward with determination. It nearly costs them, though, as Akgün breaks clear down the right on the counter. The visitors are fortunate his attempt to find Yılmaz in the centre with a low cross is no good. 2 min: … but then Thomas comes again down the left and goes over having brushed Yılmaz. There doesn’t look to be a great deal in it, and Yılmaz is livid, so it’s probably for the best that nothing comes of the resulting free kick. 1 min: … but nothing comes of it … 33 secs: A fast start by Wales, with Thomas barrelling down the left wing at speed to win the first corner of the match … Wales get the ball rolling. “Wales will be lucky to escape without a roasting this afternoon,” predicts Jeremy Boyce. “The crowd and atmosphere will be cranked up to ten, it will be hot despite the fact that it’s nearly winter. I used to play a bit on Hackney Marshes, back in the day before they demolished the tower blocks, and if you were up against a Türkiye Spor Kulübü team, there were plenty in northeast London, you knew you were in for a tough match and should have maybe said no to the last pint the night before. I’m sure nothing has changed.” The teams are out! Turkey in red, Wales in second-choice [squints, adjusts pince-nez, holds press release at different angle to catch light] pearl citrine. A fine atmosphere in Kayseri, the city hosting the national team for the first time since 2013. Turkey beat Andorra 5-0 that day, it’s probably worth pointing that out. Anyway, we’ll be off in a minute! Craig Bellamy talks to S4C with the atmosphere in the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri already bubbling up nicely. “Mark Harris is a dangerous profile … speed, looking to stretch the game … definitely a player for this type of game … the first 15-20 minutes will be massive but it will settle down … there’s a lot of scenarios that could arise … you have to embrace it … we’ve done enough meetings … hopefully we’ll be able to find solutions when they occur … adapt to situations … that’s really the test for tonight … this is football, it’s why it’s the greatest game in the world … I have full trust in the players, I believe they’re a lot better than I was … these moments … you have to take a step back .. this is why, to come here in an atmosphere like this … it’s going to be a test of course … but life’s about that, surely … whatever the outcome, I’m looking forward to what happens!” Turkey – or Türkiye, to give them their Fifa-recognised name; the FAW haven’t pushed the button on Cymru yet – are much changed from the team sent out for the 0-0 draw in Cardiff back in early September. Merih Demiral, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Eren Elmalı, Yunus Akgün and captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu all start, replacing that day’s selection of Zeki Çelik, İsmail Yüksek and Kaan Ayhan, who are on the bench, and Çağlar Söyüncü and Kenan Yıldız, who are not in the squad. Craig Bellamy makes four changes to the team that started the 1-0 win over Montenegro last month. Connor Roberts, Sorba Thomas, Jordan James and Brennan Johnson are in, taking the places of Ben Cabango, Liam Cullen and David Brooks, who are on the bench, and the absent Wes Burns. The teams Turkey: Günok, Müldür, Demiral, Bardakci, Elmali, Kökçü, Çalhanoglu, Akgün, Güler, Aktürkoglu, Yilmaz. Subs: Akaydin, Ayhan, Bayındır, Haspolatm Kılıçsoy, Topçu, Yokuşlu, Yüksek, Yıldırım, Çakır, Çelik, Ünal. Wales: Darlow, N Williams, Roberts, Rodon, B Davies, Thomas, J James, Sheehan, Wilson, Johnson, Harris. Subs: Ward, King, Mepham, Norrington-Davies, Allen, Koumas, Brooks, Colwill, Cullen, Cabango, D James, Dasilva. Preamble With a win in Kayseri tonight, Wales can take a big step towards automatic promotion to League A. Defeat however would rule that opportunity out, while potentially bringing a relegation play-off into the equation. Plenty for Craig Bellamy’s ever-entertaining side to play for in Kayseri tonight, then! Kick-off is at 5pm GMT. It’s on! Turkey P4 W3 D1 L0 F8 A3 Pts 10 Wales P4 W2 D2 L0 F5 A3 Pts 8 Iceland P4 W1 D1 L2 F7 A9 Pts 4 Montenegro P4 W0 D0 L4 F1 A6 Pts 0