Tom Lawrence was the hero as Wales boosted their World Cup qualification prospects with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.
Lawrence’s first Wales goal came four minutes into the second half when his 25-yard shot flew past Giorgi Loria in the Georgia goal.
It was the first time that Wales had managed a victory in 11 games when their star man Gareth Bale had been absent, the Real Madrid forward missing out with a calf strain.
Tom Lawrence celebrates scoring for Wales
Tweet of the match
Brilliant win Wales.. now onto Monday !! 👍🏻 — John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) October 6, 2017
Star man – Aaron Ramsey
📷 Ramsey has come the closest for Wales so far. 0-0 #GEOWAL pic.twitter.com/LrwtBWL6uL — Wales (@FAWales) October 6, 2017
Tom Lawrence caused the hosts plenty of problems with his purposeful and pacey runs but it was the influential display of Arsenal midfielder Ramsey on the occasion of his 50th cap which drove Chris Coleman’s side forward to earn an important victory.
Moment of the match
📸 Tom Lawrence opens the scoring for @FAWales with a brilliant strike from range 🚀 #GEOWAL pic.twitter.com/7fSxh3L3ps — PA Dugout (@PAdugout) October 6, 2017
Derby forward Lawrence broke the deadlock in style to claim his first international goal. The 23-year-old collected Ramsey’s pass 35 yards from goal, turned defender Solomon Kvirkvelia with ease and then unleashed a powerful drive from the edge of the box which flew into the bottom left corner via the fingertips of goalkeeper Giorgi Loria.
Data point
TFW you put @FAWales ahead with your first international goal...
Tom Lawrence ⚽️💪 https://t.co/GzLxKTQFxT — European Qualifiers (@EuroQualifiers) October 6, 2017
Lawrence’s strike was his first in 18 matches for club and country and means six of his last 10 competitive goals have come from outside the penalty area.
Ratings
: Wayne Hennessey: 7, Chris Gunter: 7, James Chester: 7, Ashley Williams: 8, Ben Davies: 7, Joe Allen: 8, Joe Ledley: 7, Andy King: 7, Aaron Ramsey: 9, Tom Lawrence: 9, Sam Vokes: 7.: Hal Robson-Kanu (for Vokes, 74mins): 6, David Edwards (for Ledley, 81mins): 6, Ben Woodburn (for Lawrence, 90+1mins): 5
Who’s up next?
The Group D table as it stands, with Ireland still to play tonight.
Monday is set up to be a cracker! 😳
➡️https://t.co/qkP83QE5LT #GetIN pic.twitter.com/kDpPVZk2IS — Vauxhall Wales (@VauxhallWales) October 6, 2017
Serbia v Georgia (World Cup Qualifying, October 9)
Wales v Republic of Ireland (World Cup Qualifying, October 9)