“We’re disappointed in ourselves that we didn’t keep the ball better”, Coleman said. “A lot of nonsense has been spouted in relation to one match that could have ended in a draw against a team who only defend while we play football”, he said.
Advertisement
“We have had a few setbacks and the next few games we have gone and won, or got the result we needed, so we have a good bunch of lads here who are positive”.
“It’s still very much touch and go but if you speak to the player he’s improving every day, but of course the game is coming up quickly”. However, with just a single point to their name their participation in the tournament would surely be over regardless. “Today it turned out my strategy was the right one”.
They were appealing in vain for a penalty within two minutes of the restart when striker Shane Long appeared to take a boot in the face as central defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Alderweireld attempted to prevent him from reaching Robbie Brady’s teasing free-kick, but worse was to come.
“After four years of success, when we get criticism the last four years disappear”, Wilmots said. “I think we got the backlash from Belgium’s last result”.
Belgium leads Ireland 1-0.
“I was in the box at the time and I thought it was a penalty”, he said.
Nevertheless, Long remains confident going into Wednesday’s game against Italy where Ireland know that nothing less than a victory will suffice to earn passage to the round of 16. It’s not just a case of keeping 10 men behind the ball, we did that.
Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku is congratulated by Belgium coach Marc Wilmots after scoring his side’s first goal during the Euro 2016 Group E soccer match between Belgium and Ireland at the Nouveau Stade in Bordeaux, France, Saturday, June 18, 2016. He left Bordeaux wearing compression socks for the return trip back to Paris and we don’t yet know if he can take three games in ten days.
“They are a good team with Zlatan Ibrahimovic a classy player”.
Beating Italy at Giants Stadium in NY is among them and what Ireland would do for a Ray Houghton moment, with or without the forward-roll goal celebration, against the same country 22 years on.
“With Romelu Lukaku we wanted to give somebody some confidence”, he said.
Irish fans were left confused as Jeff Hendrick was handed a yellow card from Turkish referee Cakir – two balls ended up on the pitch and Hendrick kicked the one that wasn’t meant to be in play.
Advertisement
“The big thing for us was to make sure that we started the second half that bit quicker, that bit better in possession, and we didn’t do that. Then you start to chase the game a little bit and get stretched and very fine players can punish you, and that is what happened”.
