Euro 2016 Qualifiers – Germany 1-1 Ireland
Post game reactions:
John O’Shea, Republic of Ireland defender
“It was a very special moment. We have a fantastic spirit, we didn’t want to come off having lost with people thinking we just did OK. At half-time the manager said, ‘If we do go behind we will get the chances.’ When Wes Hoolahan came on we played some fantastic passes. What a special night and thankfully I was able to play my part at the end”.
Joachim Löw, Germany coach
“It is extremely annoying for us not to have won the game and to concede the equaliser with basically the first real chance Ireland had, in the dying seconds. But we have to blame ourselves. In the last five or six minutes we had lost the control we had before. We lost some easy balls, we played it back to Manuel Neuer too often and failed to show ourselves and then we punted it long and the ball came back right away. Despite leading 1-0, we were suddenly a bit nervous and lost control.
In the past two games, we had the problem of scoring only one goal. In the first half against Ireland, we lacked depth and width so it wasn’t a very difficult job for Ireland to defend against us. In the second half we fared better against an extremely defensive Ireland side. In Poland, we created more chances and did not score. Today we might have scored a second or even third. I don’t think I have to change the squad.
We have always had pressure, it doesn’t matter if we are world champions or not. As Germany, you always have the pressure of having to win. That has not really changed, maybe people have a different perception now. But during the [FIFA World Cup] for instance the pressure was a lot bigger than now during qualifying.
Martin O’Neill, Republic of Ireland coach
“It’s a great point for us, to come to the world champions and get something from the game. We had to withstand a bit of pressure and we knew that before. At half-time we were reasonably OK. From their point of view they scored a great goal then and should have closed it down. But we tried for the equaliser and what is the point of losing? So we tried, there was always the chance of conceding a second goal, but it was a fantastic effort by the team.
It was a really big goal for us. They are ecstatic, absolutely ecstatic. To come back in that fashion was absolutely fantastic,” said O’Neill. “There is a terrific will to keep going in the side.”
