IT took him 32 matches but Joe Allen finally found the net for Wales in Monday’s World Cup qualifying rout of Moldova – and now he wants more.

While Gareth Bale’s brace saw him move into second on the all-time list of Wales’ top scorers, Allen got off the mark more than seven years after his international debut.

And having opened his account, the Stoke City midfielder, who scored on his debut for Wales at under-21 level, is eager to add to his tally.

“Of course it will be a night I always remember,” said Allen about his 44th-minute effort in his side’s 4-0 win. “There are certain milestones in your international career you’ll never forget and your first cap is an obvious one.

“To get my first goal in the opening qualifying game means it’s a night I won’t forget in a hurry.

“It has been a long time coming so it was a good feeling and an added bonus for me on a personal level. The aim for me now is to chip in with a few more in the future as well.

“Any time we get a chance to break forward and get into those sort of positions, if I can improve my strike rate then that can only help the team.”

It’s very early days in qualifying but Wales’ handsome victory sees them top Group D on goal difference.

And Allen believes Monday’s triumph acted as a signal of intent to the other teams in the group hoping to secure the one automatic qualification place for the World Cup finals in Russia.

“We enjoyed the experience that we had in the Euros, and the success we had there, but it’s about going into this qualifying campaign and doing the same all over again,” he added.

“That’s why it was so important that in a game at home where we were favourites we got off to a winning start and got those three points.

“There’s no point denying that it is a tough group. There are a lot of teams that will fancy themselves as favourites so that’s the challenge we’ve got to face now.

“Any of the other teams that have watched our performance probably won’t look forward to playing us, and that was important, on top of getting the win.”