NEWPORT County AFC academy graduate Lee Evans is hungry for more international action after making his first start for Wales in Wednesday’s friendly win over Trinidad & Tobago.

The 24-year-old midfielder won his fourth cap and played the full 90 minutes as an experimental Wales side beat the Soca Warriors 1-0 in Wrexham thanks to Ben Woodburn’s stoppage-time winner.

It was Evans’ first international appearance since the China Cup in March 2018 and he was delighted to earn his first full cap, 16 months after his debut against Panama in November 2017.

“It’s my first start and it’s an amazing achievement,” said the Wigan Athletic midfielder.

“It’s something I’ll look back on when I’m finished with immense pride.

“My dad and my brother travelled up from Newport, which was nice.

“I could have played a little bit better but I did alright and I was happy to get 90 minutes.

“The next step is to get some sort of competitive action,” he added.

“I’ve had a few tastes of it and I’d like to have a bit more now.”

Evans hopes to be involved as Ryan Giggs’ men begin their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign against Slovakia in Cardiff on Sunday, but a hamstring strain picked up on Wednesday may mean he has to watch from the sidelines.

“I’d love to feature at the weekend, but I’ll just see how my hamstring is now,” he said.

“We want a big result this weekend. It would be nice to start the campaign with a win. We need to make the most of the home games.

“It’s going to be a tough game, but with the quality of players we’ve got we can beat any team on our day. We’ve proved that in the past.”

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Newport-born Evans, who left his hometown club for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2013, also has a fight on his hands with Wigan as they battle to remain in the Championship.

“It’s been an up and down season for me this year,” he admitted.

“I started off the season really well at Wigan and we were flying but we’ve dropped down the table and I’ve been in and out.

“We’ve got a big job to do with eight games to go.

“We know we’ve got some tough games coming up, but if we play the way we can then I’m sure we’ll get enough points to stay up.

“It's been good there,” he added. “I was there last season on loan, went to Sheffield [United in January 2018] and came back to Wigan [last summer].

“I’ve just got to make sure at the end of this season, and especially next season, that I prove it was a good decision by playing well and getting back to where I can be.

“I know that if I’m not performing at club level then I can’t expect to get into the national squad.”

Evans has kept a close eye on County’s fortunes wherever he has been and he’s delighted to see manager Michael Flynn, a former Exiles teammate, enjoying success at Rodney Parade.

“Flynny's done and amazing job and I’m glad to see it going so well for him and the club," he said.

“The FA Cup run was amazing. We went on a mid-season trip to Dubai and I was the only one watching the Man City game out there on the big screen.

“The cup run was amazing and they’ve done well in the league too.

“I never thought I’d see them playing Man City. It’s some achievement.

“Hopefully next season they can push on again.”

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