Owain Fon Williams column: Wales are still living the Euro 2016 dream
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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 reflects on a sleepless night after the Northern Ireland win and enjoys some rare downtime in Paris.
SATURDAY wasn’t the best of games – but that doesn’t matter now.
Full credit to Northern Ireland because we knew they were going to be very disciplined in the way they played. No wonder they have done so well in the last couple of games. They’re so hard to break down.
It’s really hard to find little pockets of space and they make it very difficult for you. We were under a bit of pressure from set pieces and thankfully we managed to keep them out.
Our goal came at a time where we weren’t getting in behind them. The first time we did was when Gareth Bale put the ball in – it’s an unbelievable ball in between goalkeeper and defender and Gareth McAuley couldn’t have done anything else.
Hal Robson-Kanu is there for the tap-in, so he has to hope it goes anywhere else but where it did. It’s a nightmare ball to deal with.
It’s a bit surreal for a little country such as Wales to be in the quarter-finals. But there’s a lot of talent on the pitch and, on our day, we can give anyone a game.
What struck me was how incredible the fans were. Our fans were a little bit nervous about how it was all going to pan out. But after the game all the nerves were gone and the dream continues.
If you said Wales would not only win the group but also get through to the last 16, you’d be in dreamland. It’s unbelievably special for the fans.
The Northern Ireland fans were singing non-stop, from the first minute until about two hours after the game. If I’ve heard that Will Grigg song once, I’ve heard it a million times!
But fair play to them, they gave their team a proper send-off. It was two sets of fans supporting their team, like it should be.
Everyone has seen the video of Joe Ledley dancing in the dressing room afterwards and it’s obvious he’s such a big character. He gets the lads going and there he was after the game, doing his thing.
Maybe next time if the table is a bit bigger, I’ll get up there. If I got up there and tried to moonwalk I’d end up on my backside!
There were fans outside our hotel singing until about five in the morning – I’m sure they were outside my room and I didn’t sleep a wink!
We had the day off so I got up at eight, had some breakfast and put my trainers on. We had to make the most of it because yesterday we were back on the training ground.
I’m not complaining about it – we’re in the quarter-finals of the Euros and who would have thought that would happen?
Me and my missus got our trainers and did all the touristy things: the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Élysées, L’Arc de Triomphe. We just said we’d try to do as much as we can and I was absolutely shattered afterwards – I’d walked so many miles!
It’s nice to spend time with family because six weeks is a long time to be apart. It allows you to step out and catch up with life.
It’s been demanding so we’ve not had chance for any time off. Normally at this time of year, you’d be away on holiday with your flip-flops on in a relaxing frame of mind.
But it has to be done, we’re at a major tournament and want to do the best for our nation.
