´Brilliant´ Wales cannot dwell on England defeat, says Ledley

Joe Ledley says that Wales’ “brilliant” Euro 2016 campaign must not become derailed after their dramatic defeat to England in Lens.

Gareth Bale’s free-kick gave Chris Coleman’s side a 1-0 lead at half-time, but substitutes Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge – who struck in injury time in the second half – snatched victory for England at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Ledley conceded that it was a bitter result for Wales but insists they must take confidence from having taken three points from their first two matches, with a final Group B showdown against Russia set to decide their fate in the competition.

“Nobody likes losing like that with a few seconds on the clock, it’s very disappointing,” said the Crystal Palace man. “We defended well all game, didn’t have much of the ball but defended well as a unit.

“We’re still in a good position, there’s a game left. We’d have taken three points from two games. We can’t dwell on this result, we need to stay strong and stay together.

“We’re still new to this competition, we’ve been brilliant throughout, the fans have been brilliant and we need to continue that on and off the pitch. It was the last few seconds of a game that cost us, maybe we need to work a bit better on the ball and we go from there.

“It’s a pleasure for us to be here and we’re enjoying every minute.”

Ledley was restored to the starting line-up against England just over a month after suffering a leg fracture in Palace’s penultimate Premier League game of the season against Stoke City.

The 29-year-old was taken off after 66 minutes after taking a knock from Daniel Sturridge, but he is confident he will be fit for the match against Russia on Monday.

“Obviously I got a bang on it and needed to take precaution, and I don’t need to risk it with hopefully a few more games,” he said. “I felt I could have kept going but I didn’t expect to play 90 minutes anyway.

“It’s football, you go out there to hit people and it’s one of those things.”