MARTIN O’NEILL SUGGESTED his side would have been willing to let Denmark score at the other end, after Jeff Hendrick almost gave Ireland a controversial lead in tonight’s Nations Cup stalemate.
The Danes were incensed as they appeared to stop playing with Harry Arter injured down the other end, before Hendrick dispossessed Thomas Delaney and shot narrowly wide when through on goal.
O’Neill said Hendrick had been unaware of the injury to Arter and did not realise Ireland’s opponents were attempting to be sporting.
“[He was] totally unaware [about Arter going down], obviously. I’ve spoken to him in there and he didn’t know. He thought it was just a sloppy pass by their player.
“It would have been interesting if he had scored the goal and Denmark had given it to us deliberately or thought he was going to put the ball out of play.
“It might have been one of those instances where we’d have to let them score at the other end. But listen, it didn’t materialise. He missed.”
Looking at the game as a whole, O’Neill was encouraged that his side earned a clean sheet, after nine goals conceded in their previous two competitive fixtures, while also emphasising the improved second-half display.
“Their substitution at the end with Christensen, a defender coming on for their centre-forward, might have told you something.
“But our intention was trying to get more possession of the ball and eventually trying to create a little bit more than we did do.
I thought we started the game reasonably well. I thought we allowed Denmark to dictate the game possession-wise, but while they didn’t really cause us that many problems, they still had possession of the ball.
“The second half, the early part of it definitely belonged to them, but as we started to get into it when we had possession and kept it for a little while, the players grew in confidence and we looked pretty strong.
“It’s kind of rebuilding after the defeat against Wales. We kept a clean sheet tonight, which is very, very important.”
O’Neill said Callum O’Dowda was a concern ahead of Tuesday’s game in Dublin with Wales, with the Bristol City player feeling dizzy after a first-half knock, prompting his substitution at the break.
“The [medical people] assessed him and decided [he needed to go off]. Callum himself I think wanted to continue on,” he explained.
Looking ahead to the Welsh encounter, O’Neill added: “I think they’re ready for Wales. We’ll see how they are now. We’ll see how they come out of the game. Some of the lads don’t always play for their clubs and don’t play often enough and are a little bit tired. Shane Long lasted longer in the game than I thought he would do. So we’ll see how they come out of the match.
I don’t think Denmark, who got beaten in the World Cup by the finalists on penalties, [caused] us that many problems.
“Our attitude was to try to win the game and we nearly did that towards the end.”
There was drama in the dying seconds, as Shane Duffy went down under a challenge from Henrik Dalsgaard amid appeals for a penalty. O’Neill, however, felt his side would have been fortunate to have received a last-gasp spot kick.
“I’ve seen it back and I think it would have been harsh on them. The defender’s come in and they’ve gone together. If it had been given against me, I wouldn’t have been too pleased with it. I’ve seen it back just very quickly. He has touched him, but I don’t think it’s a penalty.”
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