James: I was due to score a header!

Dan James scored the winning goal for Wales in the World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic, sitting behind their opposition last night and Belgium in the group.

Gareth Bale put in a great cross and James managed to get up high to head the ball down in the back of the net.

After the game he spoke to Sky Sports about his thoughts on the game and his goal.

I saw him get the ball and knew he’d want to put it in to the back stick. I’m thankful he put it in. It happened so quickly and I just wanted to get good contact and thankfully I did that. It’s a massive win. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew they did very well against Belgium, they probably should have won that game. I think going home with one point would have been disappointing for us, we wanted to win this and end this camp on a high. We needed to win to keep up with the teams at the top and we’re only one point off them now. It’s a big win for us and we’ll keep our heads high for the next camp.

We’ve got strength in depth. We’ve got players who can come in and do just as well. Everything who has played a part has been unbelievable. We knew we had to get something out of the game and we fought right to the end.

At 5’7, James hadn’t scored a header in his professional career before last night, but is keen to add this to his game alongside his pace and crossing ability.

I don’t remember another header that I’ve scored. I’ve had a few goals at club level recently and I think I was due a header. It’s just about getting in to the right positions. It was just about getting above him. I needed to head it down and it went in. First and foremost it’s about getting in to the box and getting in to good areas. Anything can happen when you do. I think in recent times I’ve been caught out on the wing and not been able to get in to the box often enough. It was an incredible cross by Gaz. I just needed to get my timing right.