WALES BOSS CHRIS Coleman was obviously heartbroken after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Ireland in their World Cup qualifiers but he had no complaints about the result.
Though he briefly wondered what might have been had Joe Allen stayed on the pitch, Coleman said that Ireland came with a game plan that worked and said he hopes Martin O’Neill’s men qualify for the finals now.
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“We just came up a bit short tonight in all honesty,” said the 47-year-old.
“We needed that first goal to come for us but it didn’t, it went to the Republic and then we got a bit frustrated and started rushing things.
Chris Coleman spoke to reporters after the game. Nick Potts / PA Images
Nick Potts / PA Images / PA Images
“We obviously missed Joe Allen who is pivotal to us and how we play so that obviously affected us a little bit, him going off.
“It just wasn’t quite enough tonight in terms of our imagination, offensively… and creating, we just didn’t have enough tonight.
We have to give Martin O’Neill a huge pat on the back, the Republic of Ireland had a game plan and it worked. They got the result and good luck to them. I sincerely hope they go on and make it to the finals.”
Coleman insisted his players couldn’t have done any more in their qualification attempt.
“It’s a shame for us and it’s a hard one for us. But no complaints, it is what it is, our first defeat in four years here. It’s another campaign where we’ve taken it all the way and that’s all you can ask for.
“You need a little bit of luck and, maybe on another night we’d have had that, but it’s done.
It hurts. It’s hard. It’s tough. But that’s not football, that’s life and you learn from that and I’m sure our players, who’ve done brilliant again this campaign, will learn from that.”
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'I sincerely hope they go on and make it to the finals' - No hard feelings from Coleman
WALES BOSS CHRIS Coleman was obviously heartbroken after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Ireland in their World Cup qualifiers but he had no complaints about the result.
Though he briefly wondered what might have been had Joe Allen stayed on the pitch, Coleman said that Ireland came with a game plan that worked and said he hopes Martin O’Neill’s men qualify for the finals now.
“We just came up a bit short tonight in all honesty,” said the 47-year-old.
“We needed that first goal to come for us but it didn’t, it went to the Republic and then we got a bit frustrated and started rushing things.
“We obviously missed Joe Allen who is pivotal to us and how we play so that obviously affected us a little bit, him going off.
“It just wasn’t quite enough tonight in terms of our imagination, offensively… and creating, we just didn’t have enough tonight.
Coleman insisted his players couldn’t have done any more in their qualification attempt.
“It’s a shame for us and it’s a hard one for us. But no complaints, it is what it is, our first defeat in four years here. It’s another campaign where we’ve taken it all the way and that’s all you can ask for.
“You need a little bit of luck and, maybe on another night we’d have had that, but it’s done.
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