THE ‘Kilgetty Messi’ inspired Wales to a stunning Nations League comeback win against Iceland at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Automatic promotion to league A did not look likely before kick off as Türkiye were in the driving seat but their shock defeat in Montenegro opened the door for Cymru.
However, Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten start to his tenure as manager was under threat when the visitors took the lead through Andri Gudjohnsen after just eight minutes.
Åge Hareide’s side looked the more potent attacking unit in the first half and could have added to their tally but Wales improved as the half wore on.
Up stepped Kilgetty’s Liam Cullen with the equaliser, and his first senior goal for his country, just after the half hour mark.
Brennan Johnson sent an inviting cross into the box and Cullen stole the march on his marker to guide a header past Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson.
And, with Wales looking more and more dangerous, the 25-year-old bagged his brace on the stroke of half time, showing his striker’s instinct to slot the ball home from close range after Dan James’ initial effort was blocked by the keeper.
With the home side in the ascendancy and Iceland throwing players forward in the second half, Cullen was involved in the third goal as his exquisite through pass was weighted perfectly into Brennan Johnson’s path to finish confidently into the far corner.
And a memorable evening in the capital was capped by a stunning strike by the influential Harry Wilson to finally break the visitors’ spirits.
Swansea City forward Cullen said: “It’s a dream come true for me. Going in to this game knowing that I was starting I was thinking it was about time I got my first international goal and nicely I got two and an assist for Bren as well.
“A perfect night for me really.”
On securing promotion he added: “It’s something we set out to do. We knew we couldn’t control what was going on in the Turkey game but we really wanted to put our stamp on this game and put on a performance like that and win convincingly
“So I’m really happy we’ve done that.”
Craig Bellamy is enjoying his start as manager of his country, still undefeated and promoted to the top of the UEFA Nations League.
Cullen said: “Its’s a credit to him and his staff, the amount of work they put in day-to-day in between camps, it’s nothing more than they deserve.
“They make it so enjoyable for us, we want to go out there for the fans and especially for the staff to put on performances that they can be proud of.”