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Video: Wales fans silence commentators with song

Former Wales captain Barry Horne has spoken of the awe-inspiring moment that forced him and Sky Sport co-commentator Bill Leslie into a stunned silence during the Gareth Bale-led 1-0 victory over Belgium.

Midway through the second half, Bale and his team-mates were out on their feet and in need of inspiration... and suddenly they received it as 30,000 passionate Welsh supporters burst into song with Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau echoing around the Cardiff City Stadium, twice.

During the second rendition of the anthem, in the closing minutes of the match, silence ensued in the Sky commentary box as Horne and Lesley let the inspirational singing do the talking.

It was a surreal TV moment... the commentators deliberately not uttering a word because they didn’t want to ruin the very special moment.

The Welsh players were visibly lifted by the atmosphere throughout and this moment gave their tired bodies an extra spring.

Some Belgian stars also appeared to be a little overawed and could not fail to be impressed by the sheer Welsh passion emanating from the stands which swirled around the whole stadium.

Pictures: The remarkable celebration images

More:The twelfth man carries Bale and co to the verge of Euro 2016 qualification

More:Wales could rise above old foe England in FIFA rankings after stunning triumph

The traditional pre-match anthem was also sung with gusto, but this was impromptu.

“It was very spontaneous and it sort of built and built. I’ve never heard anything like it,” said Horne.

“The first thing was, I did not want Bill Leslie to say anything, I was hoping that nothing too significant would happen on the pitch so that Bill and myself didn’t have to say a word.

“I just really wanted to let it finish before either of us spoke.

“The atmosphere in football grounds often gets built up, it gets hyped up, but that was just a very, very special moment.”

The effect it had on both sets of players was visible as Chris Coleman’s men battled through to the final whistle, protecting that all important one-goal lead.

(Image: David Davies/PA Wire)

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Horne, who was captain of Terry Yorath’s class of 1993, believes that the ‘12th man’ cliche is overused, but insists the crowd played a significant part in the outcome of this particular Euro qualifier.

“It seemed to stop the Belgians in their tracks, I don’t think they’d have heard anything like that,” he explained.

“People talk too much about the role of the ground, the twelfth man, and most of the time it’s nonsense.

“But I genuinely feel that it did have an impact on both sets of players. It had to have, it was just remarkable.”

Ahead of the game, Horne reveals he had fears that the supporters may have been hoping for too much from the players, Wales were playing against one of the best teams in the world after all.

But he admits that his fears were misplaced and the atmosphere before the game was just right.

“I was a bit concerned that the expectations were running a little high.

“Baring in mind we were playing Belgium, I felt we just needed a bit of reality, if we hadn’t got a result then it wouldn’t have been the end of the world.

“But I got the impression before the game that the fans realised this was an occasion to be enjoyed and savoured.

“There was a real party atmosphere, it didn’t feel like the build up to a really important, highly pressurised game.

Horne added: “It felt like a celebration and quite relaxed, which I thought was perfect.”

You can follow Wales on their quest to France 2016 by watching all their remaining qualifying matches live on Sky Sports, continuing on September 3rd when they face Cyprus.