With tears in his eyes, Gareth Bale said his goodbyes to a grateful stadium on Tuesday night. With a tentative stride, Wales then continued their progress in the scary new era without him.

It wasn't a convincing win and it was also of limited value to any grand judgements, considering Latvia's standing at 133rd in the world. But for now the Welsh are dealing with the retirement of their greatest star by making solid headway through Group D.

Kieffer Moore's header shortly before half-time was sufficient and by adding a victory to the more striking achievement of a draw in Croatia, Wales' four points exceed most projections for this stage of their qualification push.

How well they go over the course of the campaign remains to be seen. And likewise their adeptness at breaking through deep-sitting defences, now that their lock picker-in-chief has departed.

On this occasion, it was a struggle. Rob Page's side had around 75 per cent of the possession, and faced only one decent chance in each half, but they too often lacked the ingenuity to squeeze through the gaps in Latvia's backline.

When they did, it was semi-promising, most notably when Harry Wilson crashed an early volley against the shins of Pavels Steinbors, and again when Aaron Ramsey floated a lovely ball to Moore at the back post. 

Unlike Moore's winner a short while later, the header was poor.

There was also a curler from Neco Williams early in the second half that was nudged onto the bar by Steinbors, but generally it was a night when the result outweighed the performance, particularly in terms of Welsh creativity.

Page was upbeat. Referring to Bale's pre-match salute and speech to the crowd, he said: 'Gareth was with us last night and had a meal with us. 

'He might have had a round of golf today and saw the lads before the game. We all know what he thinks of the nation and to have that moment was special for him.'

On the game, Page added: 'We hoped for four points from two and the minimum we expected was three, no disrespect to them. A point in Croatia and a win was job done.

'We would have liked more goals but to keep a clean sheet and win 1-0 is good.'

For Wales, next up is Armenia and a further chance for post-Bale momentum before the more reliable barometer of a clash with Turkey.