Ward: Ireland 'going in right direction' under Trap
Republic of Ireland defender Stephen Ward has said the the Republic of Ireland are "going in the right direction" under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, despite his side's dismal record this year.
Jose Holebas’ first-half strike ensured the Republic finished 2012 with a defeat although the hosts showed plenty of endeavour and they felt they should have had a penalty, with Konstantinos Stafylidis perhaps considering himself extremely fortunate not to be penalised for his less-than-effective attempt to deal with Ward’s deep cross when Ireland dominated early on.
However, Ward decided to focus on the positives from the defeat.
He said: "Disappointed with the result, but very pleased with the performance. I think it has been a while since we outplayed a team so convincingly, but it is unfortunate we didn't get the result in the end.
"Thankfully, there wasn't three points lost tonight."
At one stage of the game, Trapattoni's team had 66% possession of the ball, but still couldn't make it count. The Wolves defender was eager to point out Ireland's progression over the past few games.
Ward said: "We have played a lot better with the ball and had a lot more ball retention. We have worked on it in training and I think the last couple of games, and especially tonight, we have been a lot better on the ball.
"It shows we are going in the right direction. We will have to keep the ball well against the teams coming up after Christmas."
"Every time you represent your country, you don't want to lose and you don't want the other team getting the better of you. Unfortunately, they got that one goal and they sat in and made it hard for us. Some positives and the performance was a lot better tonight."
