Wales robbed by Jones misjudgement

The Wolves keeper was unable to keep out Rashad Sadikhov's swerving 35-yard free-kick, as Mark Hughes's side failed to get their World Cup Group Six qualifiers off to a winning start.

Wales were forced to settle for a point after Gary Speed had given them the lead at the Tofig Republican Stadium in Baku.

Robert Page should not have conceded a weak free kick and Wales's defensive wall was a shambles, but Jones still felt, after getting his hands to the ball, that he could have stopped the equaliser.

"The free kick swerved a lot, but it was disappointing to see it go in.

"I should keep things like that out. No goalkeeper likes getting beaten from long range.

"Up until then, they had not created an on-target shot and we had got ourselves in front.

"I am afraid that, these days, when a goalkeeper makes a mistake it means a goal and we all have to live with that, there is nothing easy about the job. I will just continue to cope with that sort of pressure.

"We put a wall up and he shouldn't have been able to get it around it, but he did and struck lucky. That is the way it goes.

"It had pace and swerved a lot, but the disappointing thing is that I got hands on it and, at this level, I know that it should have been stopped.

"The swerve sent me one way and then back the other and I just could not keep it out. I'll weigh it up after having a look at the video, but I know that I probably should have done better.

"We are talking about inches, but unfortunately that is my game and that is what makes the difference at this level."

Jones, who was winning his 40th cap in Baku, is convinced that Wales can retrieve the situation against Northern Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday.

He said: "We all have the mental strength to come back from this, considering how far we have come as a team together. We want to bounce back now and put things right.

"We should have won games like this, but we haven't and we will have to all pull together to have another crack on Wednesday against the Irish.

"This side is different these days. I have been in games away from home that we would have lost after something like that happening.

"You could have seen us crumble after that, but we don't do that anymore and we managed a crucial point in an away World Cup qualifier. If we can beat Northern Ireland everybody will be happy with four points from these two opening games.

"But we realise that the Irish have lost 3-0 to Poland and I am sure that Lawrie Sanchez will have them right up for the game against us because they will want to make amends as well."

Wales held the lead for just eight minutes after Speed had finished well following John Hartson's inviting downward header from Jason Koumas' cross.

But the equaliser soon came and it left Wales hanging on for a point.
• Also on Saturday, Ireland opened their World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over group four Mediterranean minnows Cyprus at Landsdowne Road.