'Critics will have to find a new target now' - Craig.

Byline: Rob Owen

CRAIG Bellamy has revealed his satisfaction at helping his Welsh teammates ram the stinging words of the critics back down their throats.

After going 12 games without a win, Bellamy reckons pundits were queuing up to put the boot into Mark Hughes and his team.

Defeat might have looked on the cards before Wales took to the Millennium Stadium turf for their last Group Five qualifier, against Belarus.

But in the end, Wales were so on top they should have won by a cricket score, and Bellamy himself could afford to miss two gilt-edge chances in another all-action display for his country.

"This will ram a few things down a few throats, " said Bellamy.

"All we've been hearing about is this negative statistic; how we haven't won a game for so many games.

"That's all people have wanted to talk about.

They're going to have to find something else to ask us about now.

"What people haven't said is that the win has been coming for some time in our group matches.

"I think you could see that from a number of our performances, and the fact that we have lost only a few games.

"All we've ever needed was a bit of confidence, and the negative publicity hasn't helped that.

"Maybe this now will prove to be the key to us going on a run, and underlining what we are really capable of as a squad."

Bellamy's pace on both flanks was a constant source of concern for the beleaguered Belarussians.

"I'm disappointed to have not scored from one of the chances that I did have, but there's no point in letting it get you down.

"The positives are we created a lot of opportunities as a team, we didn't give a lot away and didn't give them much chance to play."