ONCE again Wales concluded a qualifying campaign with a meaningless match – but this time a full house at the Cardiff City Stadium was delighted with that.

This time it was different for Chris Coleman’s men.

This was an occasion that was resolutely not about the football.

From the Super Furry Animals whipping up the crowd before kick-off to the jubilant scenes after the final whistle this was a party.

This was a celebration, an explosion of joy and relief almost six decades in the making.

The fans, all 33,000 of them, danced manically to Zombie Nation as they waited for their heroes to emerge from the tunnel.

The great and the good of Welsh football past and present, and Robbie Savage, watched on as the nation honoured the players who have finally ended the 58-year wait for tournament football.

Sophie Evans led the crowd in an extra special rendition of the national anthem, which was followed by cries of ‘we’re going to France’ that continued after kick-off.

The mood was dampened temporarily by a serious head injury to Andorra’s Victor Moreira after a clash of heads with James Chester in the opening minutes.

The visiting player looked to have been knocked out cold before he hit the ground and after a delay of around eight minutes he was stretchered off with an oxygen mask strapped to his face.

The home fans stood to applaud him down the tunnel and on came Gabriel Riera – the man who helped start Wales on their journey to France.

Riera, who fits car stereos for a living back home, was the man who jumped out of the wall and enabled Bale’s free-kick a clear passage into the back of the net as Wales came from a goal down to win in the Pyrenees.

That brace from Bale to secure a 2-1 win back in September 2014 probably saved Chris Coleman’s job.

But here he was thoroughly enjoying his new role as a national hero, saluting the fans as they sang his name and rightly basking in the glory.

As the fiesta restarted it was inevitably Bale who had the first shot on target as he raced down the left-hand side of the area and unleashed a rasping effort that Ferran Pol could only parry to safety.

Jonny Williams, recalled to the starting XI in a switch to 4-3-3, should have had a penalty after being accosted in the box.

And Bale should have done better with a free-kick on the edge of the box after he was cynically chopped down when sizing up another piledriver.

Hal Robson-Kanu, the unsung hero with a song of his own, was forced off with an injury and replaced by David Edwards as Wales toiled without success.

Not that the fans cared at all, as their songbook next paid tribute to Joe Ledley and his beard, both of whom started on the bench.

Aaron Ramsey’s header was tipped onto the bar and Ben Davies curled an effort just over the top as Coleman’s men set up camp in the Andorran half.

The goal didn’t come until five minutes after the break when Bale clipped a ball into the box, captain Ashley Williams saw his header palmed out and Ramsey was on hand to smash it into the back of the net from close range.

The Arsenal man and his teammates raced towards the bench to celebrate not with Coleman but with Ledley and a mass rendition of his infamous robot dance first performed in Bosnia on Saturday night.

After another spine tingling rendition of the national anthem Ramsey almost added a second with a sublime turn and shot.

Four minutes from time Bale finally got the goal he craved, sweeping home a Davies cross at the far post to cap off a night that will live long in the memory for everyone lucky enough to be inside the ground.

Not that the fans needed more goals to carry on the party – they’ll be dancing and singing all the way to France next summer.

Wales: Hennessey, Gunter, A.Williams, Chester, Davies, Vaughan, J.Williams (Church, 86), Ramsey, Robson-Kanu (Edwards, 23, Lawrence, 46), Vokes, Bale

Booked: Vaughan, A.Williams

Subs not used: Ward, O.Williams, Taylor, Richards, Allen, King, Ledley, Collins, Henley

Andorra: Pol, Nicolas, Sonejee (Ayala, 70), Llovera, Lima, Vieira, Sanchez, Rodrigues, Moreira (Riera, 12), Lorenzo (Garcia, 81), Rubio

Booked: Lima, Lorenzo, Rubio, Vieira, Pol, Rodrigues, Ayala

Subs not used: Gomes, Moreno, Peppe, Gomez

Referee: Kevin Blom

Attendance: 33,500

Argus star man: Jonny Williams