Given disappointed by Slovakia result
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Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given revealed that his side were disappointed following the 0-0 draw against Slovakia in their European Championship qualifier at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night “We are disappointed. We had the home advantage and we couldn't take advantage of that but we are still very much in the group. Slovakia are a good team. They have beaten Russia already in the group. They are no mugs. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They keep the ball very well. They had some chances as well.”
Despite home advantage Ireland failed to take control of the game, and looked second best for much of the 90 minutes. However Given believes that the opposition also need to be taken into consideration when reviewing the match “It is easier said than done to control the game at home. You don't dominate teams like Slovakia. They are a top team in Europe. I don't think it's easy to dominate any team in Europe. If one of our chances had gone in, we'd be standing here talking about a great victory. We had 2 or 3 very good chances that didn't go in for us. On other nights they would have went in.”
Ireland will travel to Moscow next to take on table toppers Russia on Tuesday and the Donegal man is not sure yet how Ireland will approach that game “We've got a game against Russia on Tuesday night, which is another huge game for us. I don't know what our approach will be on Tuesday. We are just getting over this one now. We know it's a huge game again. Russia had an important win tonight. They will be huge favourites but we have to keep our spirits up for a huge game” concluded Given.
Despite home advantage Ireland failed to take control of the game, and looked second best for much of the 90 minutes. However Given believes that the opposition also need to be taken into consideration when reviewing the match “It is easier said than done to control the game at home. You don't dominate teams like Slovakia. They are a top team in Europe. I don't think it's easy to dominate any team in Europe. If one of our chances had gone in, we'd be standing here talking about a great victory. We had 2 or 3 very good chances that didn't go in for us. On other nights they would have went in.”
Ireland will travel to Moscow next to take on table toppers Russia on Tuesday and the Donegal man is not sure yet how Ireland will approach that game “We've got a game against Russia on Tuesday night, which is another huge game for us. I don't know what our approach will be on Tuesday. We are just getting over this one now. We know it's a huge game again. Russia had an important win tonight. They will be huge favourites but we have to keep our spirits up for a huge game” concluded Given.
