United Wales delight Bale and Coleman

• Gareth Bale says the team spirit in the Wales camp is "amazing"
• The Real Madrid CF winger hails Welsh work ethic after Andy King's dismissal
• Chris Coleman praises the "magnificent" attitude of his players
• Cyprus's Charalampos Christodoulou rues the mistakes which cost his side two goals
• Next games: Belgium v Wales, Cyprus v Andorra (16 November)

Gareth Bale, Wales midfielder
It was a great start from us again. We came out of the blocks firing like we wanted to and got a good start to the game, and though we made a mistake off a set piece, you could see how much the lads wanted it. It's a different feeling in the camp now – everybody is really fighting for each other, the team spirit is amazing and the fans were again unbelievable.

You need a bit of luck sometimes. It didn't go for us today, but we showed hard work after the sending-off and we worked hard as a team. We covered every blade of grass and showed how much we wanted it.

Chris Coleman, Wales manager
We should have gone three or four up after those early goals but we got a bit blase. The game was back on when we conceded and we had the red – my heart sank. We wouldn't have won that game in the last campaign because we didn't have the same togetherness – but we do now. The attitude was magnificent. People have questioned these players' spirit and if they want to be here and achieve something with Wales. They don't have to answer anything any more. As a nation we cannot ask any more of them.

Charalampos Christodoulou, Cyprus coach
Unfortunately, just like the last game, we fell behind due to mistakes that we made. When we did manage to get control of possession, we couldn't convert our chances, especially when they had ten men. In the second half, for most periods we were in control – we pegged them back but it is not easy to unlock a tight defence like the one Wales have. We are sad for the fans that turned up and we thank them for their excellent support here.

What pleased me is that the players are now playing like a big side, and they forced our opponents to keep the ball and to fight to hold on. Life goes on. Such a performance can be used as a building block for the future. Everything is still open when it comes to qualifying [automatically] or finishing third. I congratulate Wales, they are a good side, but now we look to the game against Andorra.

Vincent Laban, Cyprus midfielder
Unfortunately my goal was not enough. In the second half, we had more possession but they were well-organised and we couldn't find space. We had two or three chances but unfortunately we couldn't convert them. If we look at our last two games, we deserve more points. But that is football – when you don't take your chances you don't score. I am a bit sad because we deserve more. Now we have Andorra and we have to beat them.