Wales boss Toshack praises his young side against Germany

The Wales boss was forced to field an experimental line-up thanks to a succession of injuries that had robbed him of anything like a full-strength side.

But after a performance of discipline and resilience that silenced a capacity crowd at the Waldstadion they emerged with a creditable draw on a night when Joachim Low's highly-rated hosts were distinctly off-colour. Wales' keeper Wayne Hennessey was so well protected by his rearguard that Germany created only a handful of chances throughout the 90 minutes.

Indeed, the hosts' support were silenced to such an extent that the 900-strong travelling Wales' support kicked off a party with the chant: "Are you England in disguise?" Despite the five-goal victory in Slovakia two months ago, given the casualty list — and the cast list Toshack was forced to use — picking up a point at the home of one of world football's powerhouses was a result of huge significance, even though Jens Lehmann in the home goal spent the evening as a virtual spectator.

The first real danger Wales came in the 14th minute when Clemens Fritz's first-time pullback from the right was met by Tim Borowski. The Werder Bremen midfielder struck his shot crisply and it cannoned into the foot of Wayne Hennessey's left-hand upright, Wolves' keeper reactingwell to prevent the ball going into the net off his back.

Wales had condensed the play so effectively that the half-hour mark came and went without further incident and Carl Fletcher's rasping drive reminded the hosts that they could take nothing for granted.

But the pattern of the game appeared to have been set. The Germans were off the pace and Wales were frustrating the hosts with their energy.

They were a couple of alarms for Wales late on with efforts from substitute Simon Rolfes and Miroslav Klose. But the Welsh had the scent of an upset in their nostrils and hung on for a thorougly deserved draw.

GERMANY: (4-4-2)Lehmann 5; Castro 5, (Hilbert 56min, 6) Mertesacher 6, Metzelder 6, Lahm 8; Borowski 7, Hitzlsperger 5, (Rolfes 46, 5) Fritz 5, Podolski 5; Gomez 4, (Neuville 71, 5) Klose 4. Booked: Rolfes

WALES: (5-4-1) Hennessey 6; Ricketts 6, Collins 7, Gabbbidon 7, Nyatanga 7, Gunter 7; Ledley 7, Fletcher 6, Davies 6, Edwards 6 (Crofts 90); Earnshaw 5 (Easter 56, 6). Booked: Collins, Gabbidon, Hennessey

Man of the match: Philipp Lahm

Referee: Pavel Balaj (Romania)