Wales skipper Gareth Bale says his team showed plenty of ‘heart and desire’ in their eventful 1-0 win over Czech Republic.
The Spurs loanee had a great chance to open the scoring in the first half.
He appeared at the back post to connect with a Neco Williams cross. But Tomas Vaclik rose to the occasion to tip Bale’s shot over.
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The Czechs went down to ten men in the 48th minute as Patrik Schick saw red for a collision with Connor Roberts.
Roberts was himself sent off in the 77th minute as he picked up a second yellow card for an elbow on Tomas Soucek.
Dan James scored what proved to be the winner not long afterwards. He connected well with a brilliant Bale cross to beat Vaclik in the 81st minute.
Joe Rodon produced an important block in the dying minutes as Wales held on to win.
Reacting to the victory, Bale told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport): “It was a massive result, we didn’t get off to the best start against Belgium so it was massively important to get the win tonight.
“We showed a lot of heart and desire to match a very physical team.
“It was very chaotic, especially second half, but we were ready and kept going until the end and the most important thing is to get that winner.
“We need to win games to qualify and we want to win every game, football doesn’t always go the way you expect it to.
“Pagey [Wales’ caretaker manager] has kept us focused despite what is going on off the field.
“The win is just what we needed. We were focused and we stuck to our gameplan and got the win.”
The result gives the Dragons their first points in World Cup qualifying. They lost 3-1 in their first game against number one ranked Belgium.
Czech Republic were expected to provide a stern test after holding Belgium to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Their attacking prowess was reduced by Schick’s red card, although they still had chances to score.
Jakub Jankto sent his shot into the side netting and Lukas Provod was denied by a great James Lawrence tackle.
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