Irish defiant despite defeat to awesome Azzurri
Ireland 1 Italy 2
Ireland's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Italy has not stopped the team from looking forward to next month’s World Cup qualifying clash against France in Dublin.
Andy Reid’s 32nd-minute strike proved a mere consolation for the Irish fans at Lansdowne Road after goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino had rewarded the Italians for their domination of the opening exchanges.
But Newcastle goalkeeper Given remained upbeat ahead of the September 7 clash with Raymond Domenech’s men.
Given said: “It’s a big game and we can’t wait for it. It’s only a couple of weeks away – Lansdowne Road will be special that night and we’ll give them a good game.
“Tonight I thought we maybe did enough to sneak a draw – but Italy are a very good team. Give Italy time on the ball and they showed tonight what they can do.
“They have fantastic players and passed it really well – but I’m disappointed my saves didn’t count for anything.”
Tottenham midfielder Reid said: ``It was a good performance in patches but it took us 15 minutes to get to grips with their good passing.
“We struggled at the start but once we got to grips with them we knocked it around ourselves and had more than our fair share of chances.
“I don’t think the defeat will damage our confidence – everyone will be buzzing for the France game and we gave a good account of ourselves.”
