Players disappointed to let lead slip but happy to be developing identity
The Irish squad head to Cork for next week’s friendly with Belarus on the back of an encouraging 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, .
Speaking after the game, Norwich City’s Robbie Brady was upset Ireland let a 1-0 lead slip but happy with the squad’s overall progression since qualifying for the European Championships and the improvement in his own set-piece deliveries.
“We’ve been working really hard as a group and picked up some great results in the latter stages of the (qualification) group,” said the dead-ball specialist.
Daddy's girl..., Robbie Brady with his daughter Halle before the #IRLNED game pic.twitter.com/zuJk2bITdN
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) May 27, 2016
“I think we are developing our own identity now and beginning to look really solid. To let a 1-0 lead slip tonight was disappointing as I thought we were solid throughout but, all in all, it is not a bad result. The Netherlands is a country steeped in football history with some fantastic players who are disappointed not to be going to the Euros themselves.
“As for my set-pieces, I’ve been concentrating on those deliveries and trying to practice them as often as possible during the past week. It’s good that one came off tonight and Shane (Long) managed to get on the end of it.”
John O’Shea’s upset at not securing a victory over the Dutch was evident immediately after the final whistle but the Sunderland defender felt Ireland’s overall display encouraging.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t see it out because I felt we limited them to very little,” commented O’Shea.
“Our goalkeeper had a fairly quiet night and we were always a threat from set pieces too but it is still a little bit disappointing. Overall, it is great that everyone has got through the game ok and just as important that people got their fitness levels up. There was plenty of quality in our play too.
“Shane (Duffy) is a really good player to play alongside. As for their equaliser, it is a team goal when you score them and a team goal when we concede. We could have done better stopping the cross that came in but we will learn from it.”
Bournemouth’s Harry Arter won the man-of-the-match award and was glad of the opportunity to impress his manager with the final cut to the European Championship squad looming.
“I was pleased with my personal performance as I haven’t played in a while,” commented Arter.
“I felt we played really well and it was a good, positive step towards the next game. The manager made me aware before the game that I was getting the first chance to impress. As a team, we felt we had to be aggressive and take the game to them (Netherlands) so as to keep ourselves in the manager’s thoughts.”
