Don't give up, Given tells U21s
Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Don Givens has urged his young stars not to give up on their dream of qualification to the European Championships.
The euphoria which surrounded Ireland’s recent 13-match unbeaten run has swiftly disappeared on the back of successive away defeats to Switzerland and France.
Givens’ side were handed a harsh lesson in Troyes last night as they came away empty-handed despite a typically gutsy performance.
Ireland looked all set to take a point and in some parts make amends for the 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Swiss a month earlier.
But after seemingly escaping in the 76th minute when Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle missed a penalty, the Irish were rocked just eight minutes later when they conceded a relatively straightforward goal to Stephen Drouin from a set-piece.
Following the 1-0 loss at the Stade de l’Aube, Ireland now have just three points from their opening three Group Four matches, leaving them with an uphill task to qualify for the play-offs.
Givens refused to be downbeat and is confident he will raise spirits again when he next meets up with his players toward the end of March for a game is Israel.
“All the players were down, and unfortunately there is now a long break until the next game,” said Givens.
“But I told them in the dressing room they didn’t deserve what they got, but that’s football because sometimes in this game you don’t get what you deserve.
“I am still proud of the boys for the way they played and the number of chances we created, just as many as the French on goal, which is a good achievement away from home.
“But I am far from writing off our chances. I believe there is very little between the teams in this group and I can assure you we will fight right to the end if we give ourselves a chance.”
Givens is also hopeful of extracting retribution when both the Swiss and the French visit Ireland next year for the corresponding fixtures, and he added: “There’s still a long way to go.
“Obviously, after these two defeats which we needed to get something out of, it does make things more difficult for us now.
“I appreciate there were too many errors in our performance in Switzerland and that cost us, while we just needed a break in the game with the French.
“But they are still to come to us at home and I know we can overturn these two results.
“I believe that is possible for us and then it will be a matter of getting something from the home and away games with Israel and performing the best as we can.”
