Wales goalkeeper Danny Coyne apologised to his team-mates after his blunder handed Austria a late winner away in the Ernst Happel Stadium on Wednesday. The Burnley stopper inexplicably let Rene Aufhauser's weak shot squirm under him with three minutes remaining.
"I saw it all the way, it bounced just in front of me and I thought I had everything behind it," Coyne said.
"It went straight through me, I've no excuse and I've let down all the lads who worked so hard in the game."
Coyne bizarrely committed the same error, in the same stadium and against the same opponents as England's David James did in the same World Cup qualifying Group last September.
That allowed Austria to claim a surprise 2-2 draw and James swiftly lost his place to Paul Robinson.
However, Wales boss John Toshack has vowed not to hand out a similar punishment to Coyne for his one mistake.
"The England keeper David James did something very similar in this same stadium earlier in the campaign and it cost him his position in the team," Toshack said.
"But we don't do things like that, I certainly will not be leaving Danny out.
"We are not as harsh on people as that. It is difficult for him because he is not playing regular first-team football [for Burnley], but nobody is blaming him.
"The strikers should have settled it long before that incident."
 |  It is better to make these sort of errors now |
Although the hosts also hit the woodwork twice, Wales - just like in Saturday's match with Austria in Cardiff - had plenty of chances to score and were again denied by a combination of poor finishing and Austria keeper Helge Payer's brilliance.
"This was a cruel defeat, at half-time I did not feel that the 0-0 scoreline was anywhere near a fair reflection of what happened," Toshack added.
"I knew Helge Payer's name beforehand, now he has proved to be the difference between the sides over two matches with a string of fine saves.
"We kept pushing forward, we made countless chances and their keeper produced some excellent saves.
"Over the two matches he was by far the busier so it is tough to blame Danny Coyne for what happened.
"But it is better to make these sort of errors now rather than 18 months down the line in a new [European Championship] qualifying tournament."
MMIX
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