Daniel James was Wales' goal-scoring hero as they launched their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Slovakia in Cardiff on Sunday.
Swansea winger James, making his first competitive start for Wales, struck in just the fifth minute with a goal that ultimately saw the hosts to victory.
"It was a good start after we got that early goal," James told Sky Sports.
"From then on, we had to dig in. The only thing I had in my head was to shoot and luckily it went in."
Wales star Gareth Bale, captaining the side in place of benched regular skipper Ashley Williams, added: "Everyone put in a shift today.
"We built our success off a good solid defence. We work hard in units. We always knew we could nick a goal.
"In the second half we came under a lot of pressure but we started the game well, got the early goal then shut up shop and we know how to do that," the Real Madrid forward insisted.