New Wales captain Simon Davies took plenty of positives from Saturday's draw against the Republic
New Wales captain Simon Davies took plenty of positives from his team's battling draw against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
A late Jason Koumas penalty earned the Welsh a share of the points in the Millennium Stadium.
Koumas had earlier put the Welsh in front with a 23rd minute goal, before Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle replied for the Republic.
New skipper Simon Davies believes the draw was a fair result, adding: "We got our rewards in the end, the lads were more than happy and it is a step in the right direction.
Commitment
"Everyone gave everything they had, there was a bit of quality lacking at times but we can work on that. The important thing is that the commitment was there and we kept going right to the end."
The Fulham midfielder will now lead Wales in their final qualifier against Germany in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Looking forward to the game, Davies said: "If we had lost against the Irish, going to Germany would have been a difficult task.
"But we will take the positives from this and try to enjoy the occasion in Frankfurt. Hopefully it will give everyone some experience, especially the youngsters.
Confidence
"Germany will be a tough task, but there is confidence around now and we can only give it our best shot. Going to Germany, no one is expecting anything from us, but we can turn that in our favour.
"We aim to come out of the game without being hammered, and try to keep the confidence building."
Two-goal hero Koumas received a first-half booking against the Republic which will see him suspended for Wednesday's match.
He was cautioned by Ukrainian referee Oleh Oriekhov for diving after clearly being caught by Steve Finnan.
Koumas said: "I don't know why I was booked because I was definitely caught. It was very disappointing.
"In the end we were happy not to lose a game but the goals we conceded were poor. It was tough after they scored their second, but credit to the young lads who have come in, they did well to get a draw in the end."
