Allen: We showed what we are about
Joe Allen hailed the spirit and attitude of the Wales team as they got Euro 2016 off to a brilliant start with a 2-1 win over Martin Skrtel’s Slovakia on Saturday.
The Liverpool midfielder was brilliant in midfield as he picked up the Man-of-the-Match award while Danny Ward made his first start for his country between the posts.
Gareth Bale fired Chris Coleman’s side in front with a brilliant free-kick, and although substitute Ondrej Duda levelled matters, another player from the bench grabbed the winner when Hal Robson-Kanu ensured it a winning start for Wales.
Playing down his Man-of-the-Match display, Allen was keen to reserve praise for the overall performance of everybody in a red shirt.
Allen said: “Never mind my performance, the team was brilliant.
“We showed great grit. To go 1-0 up, then get pegged back and for a spell we were against the ropes for a bit, but we dug deep like we always do and that is what this team is all about.
“When we got the second goal we were confident we could hang onto it.”
Explaining the key to victory, Liverpool’s No.24 insists hard work and playing as a team was a pivotal factor.
He added: “We wanted the same approach that we had during the qualifying campaign with the understanding that we would have to work hard off the ball.
“Everyone put a shift in and we know we are a massive threat on the counter-attack with the likes of Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Jonny Williams and Hal when he came on to get the winner.
“We can hurt teams and this was the type of performance I think our fans have come to expect from us, and we have got to make sure we go into our next two games with the same mindset.”
Allen and Ward will now turn their attentions to England when the two sides meet on Thursday afternoon in Lens.
The midfielder insists the tactics will remain the same as Wales will approach the game with their usual positive outlook.
He said: “The message was if we lost the opening game we wouldn’t have been out of the tournament but now we have won we are not through, so we have one game ticked off with three points which is the best case scenario.
“Our focus now is to make sure complacency doesn’t set in with our preparations for the next game.”
Allen was also keen to praise the Welsh support as the supporters sang their hearts out for the team cause throughout the entire 90 minutes.
He added: “From start to finish they were fully behind us and they were brilliant.
“They stayed with us and created a fantastic atmosphere and it helped get that extra five to 10 per cent out of all the lads which does help to make a difference.”