Newport-born Paul Parry admitted that his dream season had ended on a perfect note after he hit a high by scoring the winning goal in Wales' 1-0 win over Canada.

Parry, 23, performed brilliantly in a virtuoso first-half performance that brought plaudits from everyone at the Racecourse ground.

He told the Argus: "I feel absolutely fantastic about this season and today just caps everything off perfectly. "The jump from Hereford to Cardiff was big enough, but now I am an international and have scored my first goal, which turned out to be the winner.

"Mark Hughes told me to go out and show no fear, and I did that, and scoring an international goal was without question something I have always dreamed of doing. I really am in dreamland at the moment.

"Hopefully I can keep my place in the squad and can start a few more friendlies to give myself a chance of being involved in the qualifiers."

Another player with a Gwent connection was also delighted to have been given his chance for Wales. English-born midfielder Carl Fletcher, who qualifies for Wales because of his grandmother being born in Ebbw Vale, shone in central midfield for the second time in four days.

He said: "You have to grab chances like these with both hands, and I feel I did fairly well over the two games. "I came close to getting a goal (Fletcher hit the bar with a first- half header) and hopefully I will take the chance to open my account very soon."

Wing wizard Ryan Giggs was a surprise inclusion in the side after recovering from a calf injury, and he partnered Craig Bellamy in a new-look front line.

Giggs told the Argus that he was delighted to see how well Wales had bounced back from the agony of the Russia defeat.

He said: "It was vital that we bounced back from the disappointment of Russia, and we have certainly done that by going four games unbeaten.

"The strength of the squad is absolutely brilliant at the moment, and that is great news for Sparky and everyone involved.

"It is always a pleasure to play in games like this and the fans' support was first rate, it is really important to the players to have good support and we certainly got that in Wrexham today."