LAST UPDATE | 8 Sep 2021
STEPHEN KENNY HAILED the returning Aviva Stadium crowd as Ireland rescued a late 1-1 draw against Serbia, courtesy of a comedy own-goal four minutes from the end.
“If that game was behind closed doors we’d have lost it”, said Kenny in his post-match press conference. “The support were magnificent, it was like a full house. The players got energy from that.”
Matt Doherty sang a similar hymn post-game too. “The crowd made such a difference in the second half. The place erupted and got on our backs in a good way, they were backing us and cheering us. They drove us to get the goal in the end.”
Kenny gleefully accepted the slice of fortune with which he was presented with for Ireland’s equalising goal, as Sergej Malinkovic-Savic sliced a clearance off Nikola Milenkovic and into the Serbian net.
“We had a break at the end, we haven’t had too many of them”, said Kenny with some understatement.
“I was very impressed with Serbia, they have improved since we played them last time. Tonight Serbia was excellent. We hung in there, it was our third game in six days and it was only their second, really. It was a tough shift for the players but they showed great spirit and fed off the energy of the crowd, the crowd were amazing.
“Gavin Bazunu kept us in it for periods. They had a lot of quality, and Gavin had a tremendous game.
“We do need to add some extra quality in the final third alright, we’re not saying we are perfect, we are very much a work in progress.”
Kenny was also full of praise for teenage defender Andrew Omobamidele, making his full debut tonight.
“I couldn’t have predicted Gavin and Andrew would play as well as they did, they were outstanding.”
Among the crowd was a banner reading ‘In Kenny We Trust’, with build-up dominated by questions over the manager’s future. Asked whether he wanted the FAI to come out and back him to quell all the noise, he answered diplomatically, stressing the support he has had behind the scenes.
“I’m in clear communication with people in the FAI and they’ve been nothing but supportive so it’s irrelevant if someone writes something on the back of a newspaper.”
