“It would have been great”. I know how Wales feel – they have got three points on the board and it does make an very bad difference. But we’ll fight it through.
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Whelan’s display is likely to see him touted as the key man again when Ireland take on Belgium in Bordeaux on Saturday, as Martin O’Neill’s men look to put the pain of four years ago – where they lost all three group games – behind them.
“I’m not anxious about how Sweden played.I care about Ireland.we were really unfortunate”.
Ireland has taken a deserved lead in the 48th minute of the Group E match when Wes Hoolahan scored from a sweetly struck half-volley from inside the area.
But their redemption eventually arrived courtesy of an Irish head when Clark, in a desperate attempt to cut out Ibrahimovic’s cross after substitute John Guidetti had back-heeled the ball into space, unwittingly turned it past his own keeper to hand the Swedes a lifeline.
“But I think we have got more than fighting spirit in the side, I think we have got players who can play a bit, players who are improving at worldwide level”.
Edel Scally, 27, from Dublin, said of the own goal: “Sure I thought it was a disaster”.
Goalscorer Hoolahan was equally confident that there is hope for Ireland despite their understandable disappointment on the night.
The game also marked a meeting between the two active leading global goal scorers, with LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane (67) coming off the bench and Ibrahimovic (62) playing the full 90 minutes. We need to keep the ball a bit better, getting on the ball and moving for each other.
Hendrick then tested Andreas Isaksson early in the second-half as Ireland maintained the upper hand, and three minutes after the restart their pressure paid off. We have to give 300 per cent in the next games if we are going to go through. We didn’t really play to our potential in the first half.
It was sore after the first minute.
Brian Quinn, 28, from Derry, was in the stadium for the match, and said: “Obviously it’s disappointing. when you’ve been leading”.
He’s not just the side’s most important player or the best best to watch or the ones you’d want the kids looking at and being inspired by. Erik Hamren can not have been happy by his side’s opening 45 minutes and although Sweden were better after the restart, he has work to do.
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“We were picking up late results and it looked like we were giving ourselves a chance in the qualifiers, and I just spoke to Jeff about it and said how big a deal it would be if we managed to get here, and to play together on the big stage was unbelievable”.
