Craig Bellamy played his final home international for Wales this evening as they defeated Macedonia 1-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The 34-year-old set up Simon Church to score the winning goal in the second half, which sees Chris Coleman's side move off the bottom of Group A of World Cup qualifying.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look to see if the result was fair.

Match statistics:

Wales:
Shots: 10
On target: 5
Possession: 50%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 11

Macedonia:
Shots: 14
On target: 4
Possession: 50%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 11

Was the result fair?

Yes. Wales were the better team throughout, although they could easily have been behind at half time. Macedonia were better after the break but the win for Chris Coleman's men is well deserved.

Wales's performance:

The took a while to get settled in the first half but once they did they created a few opportunities. Hal Robson-Kanu was a particular threat down the right, and he was denied in two penalty appeals. Replays showed that the first incident happened just outside the area, but still he was refused the free kick. The second one was a definite penalty.Aaron Ramsey stepped up to the plate in the second half and played a cracking ball into Craig Bellamy in the build-up to Simon Church's goal.

Macedonia's performance:

The visitors only looked threatening on the counter-attack in the first half. They were able to transition defence into attack at quick speed but all their moves broke down once they entered the final third. Goran Pandev was the only man who looked capable of scoring, but his finishing was found wanting.

Sports Mole's man of the match:

Aaron Ramsey: The Arsenal midfielder took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and was the driving force behind their win. He did miss a penalty late on, which will be a disappointment for him. Hal Robson-Kanu also gets a mention for his first-half performance, but he faded a bit after the break.

Biggest gaffe:

This has to go to Nikolce Noveski for his miss in the first half. He beat the offside flag and rounded Wayne Hennessey, but fired over from close range with two Welsh defenders covering the line. He should have at least hit the target.

Referee performance:

Suren Baliyan missed two fouls on Hal Robson-Kanu, one of which was a clear penalty. He finally gave one for a foul on Aaron Ramsey, but still not the best of games for the Armenian official.

What next?

Wales: Chris Coleman takes his team to Belgium for their final match on Tuesday.

Macedonia: Meanwhile, Zoran Stratev's men take on Serbia in Belgrade needing a win to have any hope of avoiding finishing bottom.

Written by
Michael Penkman