POLAND MANAGER ADAM Nawalka admitted his team’s concession of a late equaliser against Ireland last night “hurt,” but remained optimistic, as his side are still top of their Euro 2016 qualifying group after five games.
“We conceded a goal late on and that definitely hurt,” he told reporters. “We knew this was a very tough group and 11 points is a good position to be in… The situation in the group has been complicated slightly.
“A draw was a fair result and we were content with it.”
He also paid tribute to the Irish team, after Martin O’Neill’s men scored an all-important late goal for the third time in this campaign.
“Other results show the Irish know how to come back,” he said. “This is a tough place to go… It was a battle and we fought up until the last minute
“My players were motivated at the half-time break… But we lost control of the midfield as the game progressed, we made some individual mistakes on set pieces.”
He added that while his side could have been more “cold-blooded” amid a dramatic finale, the team were hampered by “problems before the match”.
“One player was ill,” he said. “[Kamil] Glik came to us with an injury, but we decided to let him play.”
Overall though, Nawalka expressed satisfaction that as the Euro 2016 qualifiers reach the halfway point, his men appear well positioned to qualify.
