Dara O’Shea feels there are more positives than negatives for Ireland to take from Saturday’s dramatic draw with Hungary – insisting confidence remains high with regard to qualifying for next year’s World Cup.
The Ipswich Town player was part of a defensive unit rocked by the concession of two early goals at the Aviva Stadium. However, Ireland staged a stirring comeback after the break – helped by Roland Sallai’s red card for a bad tackle on O’Shea early in the second half – to earn a 2-2 draw.
The squad, minus the injured Sammie Szmodics, flew out to Armenia on Sunday ahead of Tuesday evening’s clash in Yerevan.
“The confidence is definitely there,” said O’Shea. “Training has been really good, there’s been a lot of motivation in the group. You can see the lads are pushing each other; there’s been a lot of competition in every position. We’re going to take what we can from the [Hungary] game.
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“We want to create history for the country. The country hasn’t had success in a long time and we have an opportunity to do that. It’s more that belief and opportunity that we can do a special thing.
“A point is okay for us, we knew it would be a tough game. We played Hungary before and they caused us problems, so we will take the positives from the day.”
Portugal hammered Armenia 5-0 on Saturday but Ireland have floundered in Yerevan previously – losing 1-0 in 2022.
Four points would have been the minimum requirement for Ireland to take from these two games, so a win over Armenia looks vital to maintain realistic qualification aspirations.
“Of course, that’s what we want,” added O’Shea. “We came in wanting six points and four is the maximum we can get now, so that has to be our aim.
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“It’s a different game with different challenges and the travel is a thing, but for every team that goes there it’s the same challenge, so there are no excuses.
“As a group, we’ve been together for quite a while now and these are the challenges we face when we go to these countries. But it’s a World Cup qualifier and you don’t need any motivation for that.”
The squad was shown a video prior to the Hungary match with messages from former Irish players including Shay Given, Damien Duff and Packie Bonner.
“Some of the ex-pros who played at the World Cup finals had a message for us; it was really nice to hear,” said O’Shea. “We want to create history for our country and they’ve done that. They’ve shared their experiences and how they felt about it.
“A lot of us have memories of looking back at them . . . we know what getting to a major tournament can do for this country. I experienced it in 2016 as a fan. I was there and it’s amazing. Hearing their stories and what they said about it is definitely great motivation for us.”
As for the red card handed to Sallai, O’Shea felt it was warranted.
“You can look at my leg and that will tell all to be fair,” he explained. “I think the way he has gone in is harsh. I haven’t seen it back but I’ve seen my leg, so I know what it is.”
Adam Idah’s injury-time equaliser rescued a point for Ireland but they could even have snatched victory late on as the home side lay siege on the visitors’ goal during the closing stages. Still, overall, having shipped two early goals it probably felt more like a point gained rather than two lost for Ireland.
“We obviously shot ourselves in the foot with the two goals we conceded at the start of the game. I didn’t think we were terrible in the first half, but the two goals gave them what they needed.
“We were still pushing and making chances but the second half, I thought we were excellent and we showed the character and determination that we need to have in this campaign.
“I thought we were pushing for a winner at the end and you could see they just wanted the game to be over and we were pushing for more.
“Coming in at half-time gave us a chance to reset and I think we did that. That was the message at half-time. The gaffer was very adamant that we had a chance of winning it still and everyone believed that.
“You see how we were at the end, throwing everything at it. In a way, people will say that a point is a fair result, but I thought we were unlucky not to get a winner at the end.”
