STEPHEN KENNY LAMENTED the number of long balls Ireland played in their 1-0 Nations League defeat to Ukraine tonight.
Ireland were beaten by Viktor Tsygankov’s free-kick two minutes into the second half, and created few chances beyond Shane Duffy’s late header, which was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
“It’s not easy against the better teams”, said Kenny after the game. “We probably went a little more direct than I would have liked today, to be honest. The ball went forward a little too quickly I thought at times, we needed to build up better and we will have to address that.
“Both teams pressed each other high, both played the same system. It was man-to-man a lot, Shane [Duffy] went long a lot. Sometimes we got joy from it with Chieo one-on-one, but we are used to building up. Matt Doherty is like a playmaker for us at times, taking the ball against a low block through the midfield. We just have to show a little more composure in our build-up. I can’t fault the players, they gave absolutely everything of themselves out there. We came out the wrong side of a very narrow defeat.
“I’m just raging we didn’t get at least one win there in the two narrow games. We built up a right momentum and belief. It has set us back but we need to dust ourselves down and go again.”
Kenny spoke of topping the group ahead of the campaign, but with two defeats from two, he didn’t agree he is now recalibrating the campaign for a relegation battle.
“We have 12 points to play for, so it’s premature to suggest that.”
Kenny described the decisive goal as fortunate: “The goal itself is a fluke, a free kick took a massive jump off the ground and into the net.”
Ukraine manager Oleksandr Petrakov, meanwhile, made 10 changes from the side that lost their World Cup play-off final against Wales on Sunday, and he praised his somewhat callow side.
“I am very happy they debuted with a win. We will look into some mistakes which we had tonight but overall I am happy with the result, their attitude and performance. It is a very positive thing for our team after a bitter result in Wales.”
Three-and-a-half thousand Ukraine fans packed into the Havelock Square End for the game, with tickets distributed for free to refugees by the FAI.
“Clearly this is a very difficult time”, said Petrakov. “They are Ukrainian people who have been accepted by the exceptional hospitality of the Irish people. You took our women and children who risked their lives in Ukraine, and I want to express my gratitude to Ireland.
“I understand the Ukrainians in the stand today all wanted to see a little bit of positivity from our team. At the same time they’re really longing to go home. We made them a little bit happier tonight. That is the major achievement.”