Owain Fon Williams column: Euro 2016 adventure shows how far Wales have come
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During this summer’s European Championships, Caley Thistle and Wales goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams will be penning an exclusive column for The Inverness Courier. He looks back at the aftermath of the Russia game and their massive clash with Northern Ireland tomorrow.
THIS week has just been unbelievable.
Topping the group on Monday night with a performance like that against Russia had everybody buzzing. Everyone is still full of life.
Before the game, I remember the gaffer told us to go out there without fear and do your thing. Play the Wales way. He said this could be us going home or staying in the competition and whatever happens, we come back into the dressing room having played our way and not let anyone dictate to us how to play. The boys went out and did that.
Over the following couple of days we were left wondering who we would face, whether it would be Turkey, Northern Ireland or Albania, and obviously it was eventually confirmed as Albania.
We played them in a friendly a couple of games before the tournament. They probably had their best team out, whereas we had a bit of a mixed bag.
I guess they will say they’re glad to get Wales rather than France but after our performance against Russia, they wouldn’t say that again. I’m not being biased but that performance was spectacular. We completed 365 passes in that game and were dominant. It could have been four or five.
Against Northern Ireland it will be very tough because they get everyone behind the ball and will probably look to counter-attack on us. They’re strong at set pieces and after watching them against Germany, teams find it hard to goals against them. They’ll be difficult to break down but we’re in good spirits – everyone is full of confidence.
It’s a massive chance to progress in the competition but when you’re a country like Wales, you’re used to just looking at the game in front of you. But now, because of how the boys have played, people are looking beyond the next opponent and what path we could take.
That goes to show how far this country has come in the world of football because now people are expecting Wales to win. It’s difficult not to have one eye on how the tournament is shaping up but we’ll be fully focused on Northern Ireland. If we get that right then we can look at who we’ll face.
It’s been hectic and tough going but hard work pays off. You don’t really get days off and it’s quite demanding. But we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet and we all know what our target is. The next big one is Northern Ireland.
When it gets to this stage of the competition it gets more exciting, because you’ve got teams that either need to win or can’t afford to lose. You can put everyone behind the ball and try not to concede, like Northern Ireland did against Germany. Fair play to them, they stopped them from scoring more than one.
The Republic of Ireland did it in the last few minutes and nicked that third place and there’s a lot of excitement. We’re now into the knockout stages where you don’t get a second bite of the cherry. Any slip-ups and you’re going home.
History is being made if we can get to the quarter-finals, it’s the furthest Wales have gone since 1958. That would be some achievement.
I’ve been inundated with requests for tickets but unfortunately, eight is the limit. Trying to sort everyone out is never-ending. My missus is coming out with my brothers and cousin on Saturday and it will be great for them to experience it all.
It’s quite something seeing fans of all the different countries and I’m sure if I wasn’t here, they still would be supporting Wales.
They going to love it, which is what it’s all about.
