DAWSON DEVOY had mixed feelings after making his full debut for Ireland U21s against Luxembourg on Tuesday.
While proud to wear the green jersey at that level, the Bohemians midfielder was disappointed his side had to settle for a draw in Dudelange.
“I was delighted to make my debut,” he said afterwards. “There’s enormous pride in putting on the jersey of Ireland for the first time.
“It’s obviously not the result we wanted in the end.”
He continued: “There are always positives to take. We kept knocking on the door in the second half and probably should have seen it out in the end.
“It’s tough at the moment. We’re all disappointed in there. But we have to pick ourselves up for the next game.”
Devoy is one of three Bohemians players in the squad, along with Andy Lyons and Ross Tierney, while 16-year-old Evan Ferguson, who started up front, was previously on the books at the club before joining Brighton in January.
“Evan’s great if he’s actually 16 or 25,” Devoy joked.
“He’s some size and some player, and he’s going to have some future ahead of him.”
Ireland’s only goal came courtesy of a fine low strike from the edge of the area by Colm Whelan shortly after he was introduced from the bench.
The UCD forward was pleased after making a big impact on his Ireland U21 debut.
“To get on the pitch alone and to score was unbelievable,” he said.
“I couldn’t believe it went in. I didn’t even see it go in, but I was over the moon to run off celebrating.
“We’re disappointed [with the result]. We probably should be holding out 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go. But we’ll take the point and move on.”
Boss Jim Crawford added: “I thought we controlled the game first half without creating too many clear-cut chances and we missed a penalty, which was disappointing.
“Second half, it was fantastic for Colm to come on and score with a brilliant strike from outside the box and he’s been doing that all week in training, so it was excellent for him.
“Then we had a spell in control but it was dangerous because they have some quick players on the counter-attack and we give away a silly penalty. We shouldn’t really be challenging for the ball in the area that it was given. Of course, it was 1-1 and quite scrappy after that.”
Crawford continued: “It is what it is, a point, which probably takes the gloss off a fantastic Bosnia performance, but we have to dust ourselves off and get ready for the next window.
“We knew what they were going to do. We got it spot on with regards to what shape they were going to have with regards to getting bodies behind the ball.
“It’s a tight pitch, so we were going to have to work to earn space and I’m sure their head coach is probably saying it’s worked a treat today. But it makes the next window crucial with regards to us getting maximum points in the next two games.
“International football is certainly not easy anymore and [the draw is] a big lesson for them.”
As it stands, Ireland are third in Group F, behind Italy and Sweden, with a game in hand on the latter.
The next international window will see them face Luxembourg at home (8 October) and Montenegro away (12 October).
