WALES passed their first test as members of European football’s elite with a comfortable victory over minnows Moldova.

There will be sterner tests than this on the road to Russia and the 2018 World Cup but manager Chris Coleman will be delighted that his team kept the Euro 2016 feel-good factor going in Cardiff.

It was by no means a walkover for the hosts, particularly in the first 40 minutes.

Coleman had warned his players to expect teams to sit back and defend in the hope of taking a point when they come to Wales and Moldova didn’t disappoint in that respect.

But goals from Sam Vokes and Joe Allen in the seven minutes before the break settled any Welsh nerves and the party that the nation enjoyed in France this summer rolled on in the stands of a packed Cardiff City Stadium as Gareth Bale added a third after the break and a stoppage time penalty.

It was a mere 61 days on from that agonising semi-final defeat to eventual winners Portugal in Lyon and Coleman made two changes from that match.

Ben Davies returned from suspension in place of James Collins and Vokes replacing Hal Robson-Kanu, who hasn’t kicked a ball in a competitive match since the semi.

Aaron Ramsey, who was so badly missed in Lyon through suspension, was absent with an injury this time.

And again Wales missed his creativity early on as they dominated possession but found it hard to break the Moldovans down.

Thankfully the team ranked 165th in the world didn’t boast a player of Cristiano Ronaldo’s pedigree to punish Wales at the other end and finally the pressure told – after nearly 40 minutes of frustration.

Chris Gunter thought he should have had a penalty in the seventh minute when he appeared to be bundled over by Alexandru Dedov but the Israeli referee gave only a goal-kick.

And, after a quarter of an hour, Gunter’s cross from the right found Joe Ledley on the edge of the box and he danced around one challenge before shooting low and hard but Moldovan goalkeeper Ilie Cebenu was equal to it.

That was that as far as clear cut chances until seven minutes before the break when Bale produced a moment of magic with an inch perfect cross from the right touchline that sat up and begged to be headed into the net by Vokes.

And the Burnley striker duly obliged from inside the six-yard box, much to the relief of the Red Wall.

That gave Vokes the distinction of scoring his nation’s final goal of the European adventure – in that unforgettable 3-1 win over Belgium in Lille – and the first of the World Cup campaign.

There was always the suspicion that once the visitors’ stubborn resistance was broken the floodgates would open and Wales essentially had the three points wrapped up on 44 minutes as Allen lashed in his first goal in international football.

Ledley’s corner from the left was punched away by Cebenu but only as far as the Stoke City playmaker on the edge of the area and his low drive was too powerful for the goalkeeper and the defender on the line.

And it really was game over when Bale latched on to a wayward pass from Moldovan defender Ion Jardan and raced through to loft the ball over Cebenu five minutes after the break.

That strike took Bale’s Wales tally to 23 goals from 62 appearances and his late fourth took him to 24 - above Trevor Ford and Ivor Allchurch and now just four behind record holder Ian Rush.

Newport's Collins came on to win his 50th cap and Robson-Kanu, the other hero from Lille, replaced Vokes with 15 minutes left on the clock and received a rapturous reception from the fans.

But it was Andy King who went closest to adding a fourth, before Bale's last-gasp spot kick, with a fizzing drive that just climbed too high.

Wales will hope their ascent continues when they travel to Austria next month.

Wales: Hennessey, Taylor, Davies, Williams (Collins, 82), Chester, Gunter, Ledley (Huws, 67), King, Allen, Bale, Vokes (Robson-Kanu, 75)

Subs not used: Fon Williams, Ward, G. Williams, MacDonald, Richards, Cotterill, Lawrence, Dummett, Church

Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)

Attendance: 31,731

Argus star man: Joe Allen