Captain Giggs Earns 50th Cap

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs started his spell as Wales captain with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Austria at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, earning his 50th cap for his country in the process.

Two goals in the last 10 minutes from Ivica Vastic and Martin Stranzl was enough to make new Wales boss John Toshack's first competitive game in charge during his 2nd stint as boss end in defeat.

Following the retirement of former skipper Gary Speed recently, Giggs was installed as the country's new captain by Toshack, but couldn't manage to guide his side to success in front of a Millennium Stadium crowd.

Wales created a couple of chances in the first half, holding down a physically strong Austrian side for most of the game. Giggs even created a golden opportunity for Carl Robinson in the first period, but the Sunderland midfielder nodded the ball into the arms of Helge Payer.

Giggs had a fine chance of his own, using room down the right wing to fire a promising shot at a solid Payer, who did well to deny the Old Trafford star.

The game continued even and quite open throughout the second half, but the Austrian players' fitness got the better of an impotent Wales as they notched two goals in the space of 4 minutes.

Austria substitute Ivica Vastic linked up with with Ivanschitz before executing a perfect left-footed shot past Danny Coyne. Moments later, defender Martin Stranzl capitalised on Daniel Gabbidon's defensive errors to double his side's advantage and increase chances of World Cup Qualification.

Final Score: Wales 0 - 2 Austria
Att: 47,760

Wales: Coyne, Delaney, Gabbidon, Page, Ricketts, Robinson, Fletcher, Bellamy, Davies (Earnshaw 75), Giggs, Hartson.
Subs Not Used: Edwards, Roberts, James Collins, Williams, Koumas, Jones.

Austria: Payer, Katzer, Stranzl, Pogatetz, Ehmann, Aufhauser, Dospel, Kirchler, Mayrleb (Mair 87), Ivanschitz (Hieblinger 90), Haas (Vastic 78).
Subs Not Used: Schranz, Standfest, Amerhauser, Kovacevic.

Refereed By: Paul Allaerts (Belgium)