GARETH BALE STRUGGLED to describe the wave of emotions experienced by the Wales squad as they earned a Euro 2016 quarter-final berth with a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.
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But Northern Ireland, which won plaudits for frustrating Germany in a 1-0 loss to the world champions earlier this week, certainly made the Welsh work hard for their first-ever tournament knockout stage win.
Bale’s wicked cross was turned into his own goal by Gareth McAuley in the 75th minute and Michael O’Neill’s men were unable to muster an equaliser, meaning Wales will face either Hungary or Belgium in the last eight. What we’ve done hopefully is break down the barrier that we would never get to a major tournament again and we want to try and get to the World Cup in 2018. I wasn’t looking forward to this game, I knew it was going to be a tough one.
“Geographically, we’re small, but if you judge it on passion, we’re a continent”, Coleman said in a statement that his Northern Ireland counterpart could also make his own.
In a side with the likes of Gareth Bale, Ashley Williams, and Aaron Ramsey – all of whom put in great performances for Wales on a regular basis – Allen was given the highest rating.
“We had that one moment of quality and forced them into a mistake”.
Emerging after each player had been given an individual welcome, captain Steve Davis told an electric and adoring crowd: “It has been an incredible experience, one that you have followed us through every single minute”.
“They had a chance to do that and I think it’s the same for managers”.
Coleman said he was glad to see the back of such fixtures.
“We are not comfortable being a team that is expected to win”, Coleman said. “They like to play a counter-attacking style of football and we wanted to stop that”. “To lose as we did, the nature of the goal is very disappointing”. “I’m sure all the lads will have a holiday, enjoy that and then there’s a month or so before we’re getting ready for the start of the season”.
“We tried to keep the ball, keep them moving, get them exhausted”.
“But we hung on in there when we needed to”.
“I think on a personal level I had a really good season for West Brom and I feel I have been playing probably the best football in my career to date”, he said.
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The Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill, described the result and the way it was inflicted as “very, very cruel”.
