Owain Fon Williams column: I loved seeing red after Euro 2016 opener
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THE boys are still buzzing from Saturday’s result.
There was a sea of red everywhere and it was unbelievable to see. I’ve never heard the national anthem sung like that before and it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
I thought at one stage Slovakia were going to go on and win the game. The gaffer brought on two players and while that played a part, the fans kept the boys going. Having that support always helps.
We were going nuts when Hal Robson-Kanu scored and I can’t really describe how I felt. The lift we got from this game will put the boys on a high for the next one.
Wayne Hennessey got injured on Friday and no-one was really sure what happened. The manager made his choice to go with Danny Ward and I’m 100 per cent behind it – I’m delighted for Danny because we’re all in this together.
I was gutted for Wayne because he’s a massive character. He hadn’t missed a game through qualifying and trained for two weeks before the first game. He’s had a couple of injections in his back and he might return for the England game.
England are a fantastic side with some great players, so it will be a tough one. But if we stay compact as a unit – plus we all know what Gareth Bale is capable of from free-kicks – and keep this positivity going then hopefully we can build on this great position we’re in.
We’ve not seen any trouble ourselves but I’ve picked up bits and bobs over the last few days. It’s not nice to see and the security staff have already got enough on their plates, with dealing with the threat of terrorism, without trying to sort out fans. I don’t think people take that into consideration.
The security boys are working to make sure everyone is safe but when supporters are fighting and causing trouble, it makes it much harder.
From what we’ve experienced, it’s been spot on. We went for a 20-minute walk before the Slovakia game, just to loosen up a bit as a lot of teams do, and ended up walking through fans. While they were wanting pictures, they were respectful of what we were doing.
They have waited a hell of a long time to see their country in a tournament like this. They have spent so much money getting down here and we’re delighted to represent them in such a great tournament.
I did some press before we came here and they were buzzing over my art. I wasn’t expecting it and didn’t intend it by any means, but any publicity like that helps.Some guys will have more interest in cars, shoes or women, but I think everyone loves it when footballers have hobbies that are a little bit different.
I’ve got a guitar with me too and I’ve been learning a couple of songs that I’ll surprise the boys with at some point. They just need a bit of fine tuning first!
