Chris Coleman full of praise for Woodburn

Wales boss Chris Coleman was quick to praise youngster Ben Woodburn after he scored on his debut to help his side beat Austria 1-0.

Coleman’s side were struggling to get past Austria on Saturday night and Woodburn was introduced off the bench in the 69th minute.

He immediately made an impact and scored the winner within five minutes of entering the fray. The Liverpool midfielder showed his shooting ability with a powerful shot into the bottom corner and Coleman was delighted for the debutant.

He told Sky Sports: “We called it before the game that there would be chances at either end. We started alright for the the first 10-15 minutes but after that, Austria bossed the game and we weren’t in it.

“It was as poor as we have been for some time but it was still 0-0. “20-25 minutes to go, still 0-0, but we have a strong bench – it is a great game for young Ben Woodburn to make his debut because they don’t come much tougher than that, with that much pressure.

“His all-round composure was fantastic, I’m delighted for him. He added real value to the rest of the guys.” Coleman was pleased with his side’s second-half display and he has urged his troops to build on that heading into their clash with Moldova on Tuesday night.

He added: “I was really pleased, more than anything of course, is the result. But the second 45 minutes is more like a performance from this Welsh team that we are used to seeing.

“We have to go to Moldova and perform again and bring back the goods. We will be okay if we do what we did in the second half.”