PLAYER REACTION: CARL O'MALLEYhears a standard refrain that things will need to be a lot better in Poland
NOBODY WAS claiming that it was anything other than an average performance against the Czech Republic last night, each of those who stopped agreed there was plenty to work on, but they are their manager’s players at this stage, predictably, avoiding defeat was reason enough to smile.
Goalscorer Simon Cox was content with his night’s work, having come on for captain Robbie Keane in the second half before scoring the equaliser from what looked an impossible angle after a neat touch around Czech defender Tomas Sivok.
“I’m pleased with the goal,” said the striker.
“At the end of day you don’t get points for a friendly but it’s another unbeaten game for us. At 1-0 down some of the lads probably tired a bit and obviously the boss said to me and all lads going on to try to press high, get hold of ball and try to nick a goal.”
“It was an open game but sometimes that’s a good game to come into – there are lots of pockets to pick up space – I like those games. When it’s a tight 0-0, they’re not the games you want to come on for.”
Cox admitted his first thought was to cross but when the gap appeared he took his chance with aplomb. “I was trying to look for the cut back in all honesty and then just tried to get it in the near post and thankfully it went in.”
Keith Andrews was the man to put him through after robbing possession high up the pitch as the manager asked, but he was under no illusions there was work to do before Poland and Ukraine in June.
“I think we weren’t best pleased with the performance overall, but thankfully we got the draw. We will learn from it.
“We should have closed down a little higher.”
Andrews admitted that playing against a five-man Czech midfield was tough work on the night.
“It is yeah, but we have been there and done it now so many times, it is one of those things where the whole team puts a shift in, whether it is the wingers tucking in to try and make it difficult or Robbie dropping into the hole or whoever comes in dropping into the hole.
“Yeah, it is difficult, there is no denying it.
“We said at half-time after the first 10 or 15 minutes we dropped off and let them play, so we tried to push up and squeeze them where it hurt, thankfully I nicked the ball and Coxy finished very well.”
Sunderland defender John O’Shea agreed the team were “flat” at times, and added: “Like on a lot of occasions, we kind of needed the goal to wake us up a bit and we finished the game very strongly which was kind of a pattern throughout the group as well.
“It’s something we have to improve on because going into the European Championships against the calibre of teams we’re going to face we can’t expect to give those teams a goal start and expect to come back from that.”
