Wales were hoping to get life after Craig Bellamy off to a winning start tonight when they welcomed Finland to the Cardiff City Stadium in the first game since their former captain's international retirement.
Dragons boss Chris Coleman, who signed an extended contract with the FAW this week, was able to start the world's most expensive player Gareth Bale for the first time since he made his £86m switch to Real Madrid.
The Los Blancos star could not inspire Wales into a half-time lead, but the hosts did open the scoring after the interval when Andy King headed in a 58th-minute cross from Hal Robson-Kanu for his second international goal.
It was Coleman's side who looked the most likely to add to the scores until Riku Riski raced onto Roman Eremenko's through ball to poke a shot under Wayne Hennessey in stoppage time, snatching Finland a draw.
Below, you can read how the action unfolded in the Welsh capital.
Evening, all. Wales begin life after Craig Bellamy at the retired forward's home stadium in Cardiff against Finland tonight. Team news coming your way shortly...
Wales: Hennessey; Gunter, Ricketts, Williams, Taylor; Robson-Kanu, Allen, King, Ledley; Bale; Church
Subs: Fon Williams, Huws, Richards, Cotterill, Tudor Jones, Easter, Davies, Vokes, Wiggins, Ward
Finland: Hradecky; Moisander, Ojala, Eremenko, Pukki, Riski, Arkivuo, Sparv, Schüller, Uronen, Ring
The omission of Aaron Ramsey will be a concern to those Arsenal fans whom have watched the midfielder produce by far the best form of his career this season.
The 22-year-old was expected to start in Cardiff tonight, but is not included in the entire Welsh squad, which suggests that it is injury preventing him from featuring.
Andy King is charged with replacing the Gunners star, who has scored 11 goals in 18 club appearances this season. He will play alongside Liverpool's Joe Allen in the centre of the park.
Allen's beginning to this term has been a stark contrast to Ramsey's, with injury and competition for places at Anfield limiting him to four appearances, none of which have been top-flight starts.
The only other Premier League players that line up alongside Allen this evening are Swansea City duo Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams, who takes back the captain's armband.
He missed the last round of internationals with injury, the same fate which falls upon David Vaughan and Andrew Crofts this time around. Taylor is selected ahead of fellow Swan Ben Davies at left-back.
Simon Church, a scorer in the qualifier against Macedonia last month, is once again preferred to in-form Burnley striker Sam Vokes, who has nine Championship goals to his name this campaign.
West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill withdrew from the squad this week, and therefore Wayne Hennessey, who has been on loan at Yeovil Town, gets a chance to reclaim his number-one spot.
And then, of course, there is Gareth Bale, who starts an international for Wales for the first time since completing his £86m move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.
He will likely be employed in a free role behind Church, where he excelled for Spurs. Coleman must be frustrated though, that he cannot play him alongside Ramsey tonight.
The Wales manager claimed this week that the two of them together could inspire the Dragons to qualification for the 2016 European Championships, where 24 teams will be competing.
He told reporters: "We need Gareth and Aaron at their best for the majority of the games if we are going to mount a challenge. Our players aren't daft and they know how good these players are.
"When I played we had stand-out players like Ian Rush, Mark Hughes, Dean Saunders, Ryan Giggs and Neville Southall and we knew we had a chance. It's the same now. We have two world-class performers now and I want to work with that.
"Equally, there is a responsibility on Baley and Rambo to make sure that when they are with us, they continue their club form - which they do."
The problem for Wales, though, has been getting both players on the pitch at the same time. Coleman has not been able to name both players in the same side in any of his last six games.
Now onto the Finns, who are in somewhat of a transition period. Not long ago, their team would have included familiar names such as Sami Hyypia, Mikael Forssell, Jonatan Johansson and Jussi Jaaskelainen and Teemu Tainio, all of whom graced the Premier League with success.
However, this is a much different squad, with manager Mixu Paatelainen, formerly boss at Hibernian, concentrating on selecting the best young players available to him. Experienced former Ajax and Portsmouth defender, Petri Pasanen, is the only outfield player in the Finland squad over the age of 30.
Just over 10 minutes until kickoff in the Welsh capital...
Celtic striker Teemu Pukki is charged with leading the visiting line, while Rubin Kazan's Roman Eremenko, who has 57 international caps to his name, is a tidy player in the middle of the park.
ONE TO WATCH: Joe Allen this week said that he was hoping to use this rare starting opportunity tonight to impress Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. Let's see what you can do then, Joe!
PREDICTION: Wales should have enough about them to see off this Finland side. The winning margin may depend on how much space and time they allow Bale, or how much space and time he can create for himself. I'll plump for 2-0 to the Dragons.
Wales get the action underway, sporting a new kit. Red of course...
Allen's first involvement is not a good one, as his slack pass is intercepted by Eremenko, who chips a ball over the top to Pukki. The Celtic forward strikes across goal, but it ends up some distance wide. Very much hit and hope.
Bale takes a nasty blow on the ankle as he tracks back to thwart the overlapping run of Uronen, who caught the Madrid forward on his follow through as he went to cross a ball which Bale reached first.
Finland are having much of the early possession, but Wales are pressing high up the pitch and force a couple of risky passes from the visiting defence. Robson-Kanu eventually gets the ball on the left flank but runs it out of play.
Joe Ledley, making his 50th international appearance tonight, makes a good run forward but then fails to see the run of Robson-Kanu on the left. Tim Sparv pokes the ball from under Ledley's feet and out for a corner, from which the Celtic midfielder heads into a wall of Finland bodies.
The visiting full-backs are certainly showing a willingness to get forward. Kari Arkivuo is found charging down the right, but his attempted ball inside to Pukki is cut out by Taylor.
Gunter takes a quick throw to Bale before collecting a return pass and whipping a cross into the box, from which Moisander's flick on could have landed anywhere.
WOODWORK! Ojala's tame shot from 20 yards is controlled by Pukki in the box, who somehow finds space between three Wales bodies to get a strike away which comes back off the far post. Hennessey was beaten. Poor defending from the hosts to allow Pukki that effort on goal.
A delightful corner from Uronen travels all the way across the six-yard box without anyone making contact. Ojala stretched to try and get a head on it, but Coleman will be furious that his defenders weren't attacking the ball to nod it clear.
Gunter makes an encouraging run down the right and Uronen slides in to concede a throw near the byline. Bale collects the ball before cutting inside and slicing a shot out for a throw on the other touchline! That's certainly not the shooting of an £86m player! It hit a bobble, he'll tell you.
SHOTS! Robson-Kanu and Ledley follow Bale in trying their luck from range, with the Reading winger's effort ending up in the second tier. Ledley's strike is just as wild, but it's inaccuracy was disguised by a block from Sparv on the edge of the box.
As of yet, Wales have been unable to work the ball through a Finland defence which conceded just nine times in eight qualifying matches. Another forward venture from Gunter wins them a corner.
CHANCE! Bale's mis-hit set-piece delivery flies across the near post, where Ricketts tries to guide it into the net by angling his left foot, but he does not get enough on the effort which drifts wide.
SHOT! Full-back Ulonen takes up an advanced position on the left again, but this time fools King by coming inside and unleashing a right-footed shot which was always rising over Hennessey's goal.
Good defending from Allen, who cleanly muscles Pukki off the ball inside the area after the Celtic man controlled a pass inside from Ulonen and shaped to get a shot away.
SAVE! Arkivuo's shirt tugging on Bale gifts Wales a free kick, which the Madrid man delivers beautifully to the back post. Robson-Kanu meets it with a side-foot volley, which Hradecky gets down well to save. Not a costly miss, as a foul is given for pushing by Williams.
Bale makes a surging run down the left, the kind that still gives Maicon nightmares, and then fizzes a cross into a good area, but behind Church and in front of Ledley, who had made a late run into the box.
BOOKING: Finland holding midfielder Sparv is shown the first yellow card of the evening, and it appeared a harsh one as he got some of his foot on the ball when sliding in on Gunter.
From the resulting free kick, Bale attempts an very ambitious 35-yard strike which cannons into the lower regions of a four-man Finland wall.
Finland have regained control of possession in the final stages of this half. Coleman will be pondering whether to make any changes at the break. He's allowed six substitution in total.
We are entering first-half stoppage time, of which there will be one minute...
HALF TIME: Wales 0-0 Finland
A fairly toothless first-half performance from both sides, who are comfortable in possession until it comes to creating an opening in the final third. Any 'shots' statistics suggesting that we have had plenty of goalmouth action will be misleading, as the shooting from both sides has been wayward, to put it politely.
The closest we have come to a goal is when Finland's Teemu Pukki struck the post on 15 minutes, as he intercepted a shot from his teammate Ojala, turned and shot through three Wales defenders but against the post.
STATS: The half-time figures reinforce my earlier point, with neither side managing to register a shot on target despite Wales having four attempts and Finland five. The hosts have enjoyed slightly more of the ball with 53% possession, which each team has had two corners.
BENCH WATCH: With it being a friendly, expect Chris Coleman to turn to his bench on plenty of occasions in the second period. If he wants to push for a result, Burnley striker Vokes could be his best option, but if he is more concerned with giving players an opportunity, then Manchester City youngster Emyr Huws may get a debut run out.
The action resumes in Cardiff, where the visitors have made two changes for the second period...
SUBSTITUTIONS: Paatelainen makes two alterations to his back line, with Arkivuo and Ojala making way for Veli Lampi and Joona Toivio, who plays his club football for Ole Gunner Solskjaer's Molde in Norway.
Ricketts clatters into the back of Pukki on the edge of the box, presenting Finland with a free kick opportunity which Eremenko wastes by blazing the set piece high into the stands.
Eremenko shifts the ball inside to Pukki, who may have looked to play in Riski to his right, but he dwells on the ball and Ricketts forces him away from goal before eventually clearing to Bale.
PENALTY APPEAL! Several Wales players make strong appeals for a penalty after Church goes to ground under the challenge of Tovio, but the referee is very quick to shake his head.
SHOT! Space opens up in front of Bale, and he needs no invitation to burst inside from the right. He sprints past three players and gets a dipping shot off which Hradecky palms away. It was straight at the Finnish goalkeeper and a nice height too. Our first shot on target of the evening!
GOAL! WALES 1-0 FINLAND (ANDY KING)
Wales get the breakthrough, and it is a nicely-worked goal finished off by King! Allen makes a great tackle in midfield and then releases Ledley to launch a counter attack. He plays the ball wide to Robson-Kanu, who stands a cross up into a perfect area for King to head, albeit off his shoulder, into the bottom corner.
SAVE! Wayne Hennessey ensures that Wales's lead is not short lived as he gets down well to get a strong parry to a shot from Riski, who had been allowed space to turn and get a 20-yard effort away.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Three changes in all, with Coleman replacing Church with Vokes in attack. The Finns also swap their lone striker, with Pukki making way for Kasper Hamalainen. They make another defensive alteration, too bringing on ex-West Ham defender Petri Pasanen, who takes the captain's armband from Moisander.
Bale's free-kick delivery is just behind Vokes, who can only loop a head over the crossbar.
Brilliant play by the Dragons, as Bale rolls the ball into the path of Gunter near the right byline, and the Reading full-back delivers a superb first-time cross which is bound for King at the back post before Lampi turns the ball away, but perhaps at the cost of an injury.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Finland make their final two changes of the evening, one of them enforced as half-time substitute Lampi is forced off and replaced by Jukka Raitala. Perparim Hetemaj for Rasmus Schuller is the other.
SUBSTITUTIONS: The player merry-go-round continues as Coleman swaps both of his full-backs. Taylor and the excellent Gunter come off for Davies and Jazz Richards, both of Swansea.
CHANCE! Davies gives the ball away in his own area with one of his first touches, and Riski shoots tamely into the side netting. It was a fairly tight angle, but he should have done much better.
If Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is watching Joe Allen tonight he will be fairly pleased with what he has seen. The midfielder's passing hasn't been particularly explorative, but he has done some excellent work protecting his back four, breaking up play and making important interceptions.
CLOSE! Two great touches from Bale, as he controls a pass into his feet before shoving off his marker and rolling the ball into space. His shot is again slightly wild, though, and finishes a couple of yards wide. It had Finland goalkeeper Hradecky worried for a moment.
BOOKING: A red shirt sees yellow for the first time in this contest as goalscorer King is cautioned for what the referee must have deemed to by a cynical tug on the shirt of Hetemaj.
SHOT! Patient Welsh build-up play results in another Bale effort on goal and this one tests Hradecky, who does well to hold a powerful 20-yard shot which bounces just in front of him.
SUBSTITUTION: David Cotterill wins his 20th Wales cap by coming off the bench to replace the injured Hal Robson-Kanu, who seems to have pulled a muscle while stretching for the ball.
CHANCE! The Finns are committing more men forward now in search of an equaliser, and full-back Uronen gets down the left touchline to cross for Riski, whose near post flick is blocked by Ricketts before deflecting back of the Finland forward and behind for a goal kick.
Lovely play by the visitors as they string together several purposeful passes before releasing Riski down the left channel. He chips the ball into the box for Hamalainen to attack, but Davies just leaned on the Finnish substitute and prevented him from making clean contact with his header.
SUBSTITUTION: Owain Tudur Jones will get the FOUR minutes of stoppage time here in Cardiff, as he comes on for Joe Allen, a definite contender for man of the match.
GOAL! WALES 1-1 FINLAND (RIKU RISKI)
Finland snatch an equaliser in stoppage time, out of nothing! Andy King gets underneath a punt forward and can only head the ball to Hamalainen, who laid the ball off for Eremenko to release Riski through the middle with a cracking first-time through ball. The Finnish forward has the pace to go clear of Ricketts and Williams, and pokes the ball under Hennessey. Coleman looks devastated!
FULL TIME: WALES 1-1 FINLAND
That will infuriate Coleman. In the second minute of stoppage time, Wales surrender a lead at home to a Finland side that had barley threatened throughout the match, particularly after the break.
Andy King gave the Dragons the lead with his second international goal on 58 minutes, heading in from Hal Robson-Kanu's cross. From that moment on, it was the hosts, mostly through Gareth Bale, who seemed likely to add to the scores, but Riku Riski stunned the crowd in Cardiff by snatching them a late draw.
That's it from me on a night which had a twist in the tale for Chris Coleman. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for live coverage of this international friendly. Until next time...
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
