Martin O’Neill is desperate for his Republic of Ireland side not to miss out on the Euro party next summer.
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“Second half? Honestly, I didn’t see much of it. And it was very hard to give my players any directions because I couldn’t see”.
And as conditions worsened the West Ham stopper admitted he feared the game would be called off.
“First and foremost, I’m a player and I still have a lot to offer”.
An early goal would have been disastrous for either side to concede, although it was the Bosnians who initially looked more edgy and nervous.
The big question by that point was not whether Bosnia could make the most of their opportunities, but how play could continue in the fog without at least using a ball that wasn’t white.
Hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina come into the fixture on a three-game winning streak, that saw them finish in third place in Group B behind Belgium and Wales, while the Republic of Ireland will be hoping to bounce back following defeat against Poland in their final group game.
When Jeff Hendrick’s attempted clearance fell to Lulic, Randolph spread himself well and confidently beat away the close-range shot.
“Obviously I think it would be fantastic if both countries could qualify for the competition”.
Yet despite missing the experienced spine of their team, Ireland produced a solid defensive display in a first half, where Bosnia’s star players failed to match the passion shown by their fans ahead of kick-off.
But after 94 minutes, and at halftime in the two-legged tie, it’s Ireland who hold the stronger hand.
Ireland defender Ciaran Clark told Sky Sports: “It was a good night’s work, as a team, it was a good performance”.
Bosnia manager Mehmed Bazdarevic said “I can only comment on the first half because in the second I could hardly see anything” but, in fairness, he did not blame the poor visibility for the result, saying instead that “we did not manage to make life hard for our opponents”.
“But we’ve played them now”. We know, or we feel like we know what they’re about.
“We’ve talked about an away goal and how great it would be”.
“It was a good result, I’d have taken it before the game”.
“We have something to play for on Monday night”.
Seamus Coleman, Wes Hoolahan, Jame McCarthy, Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson, meanwhile, are all on yellow cards, meaning that another booking would rule them out of Monday’s return leg in Dublin. There are friendly games in March, I think, so it will be time to discuss things before those. “We coped well with that they had”.
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Jon Walters is suspended for the game along with John O’Shea.
