Striker Shane Long has praised the noise and colour that Ireland’s fans brought to the Stade de France and said he’s disappointed that the players couldn’t reward them with a win.
Tens of thousands of Irish fans descended on Paris for the Boys in Green’s Euro 2016 Group E opener against Sweden, which ended in a one-all draw.
The Ireland fans roared their team on from start to finish and Long said how special it felt to be on the pitch listening to them belting out the pre-match national anthem.
“It was amazing,” said the Tipperary man. “Both sets of fans made a lot of noise, but the national anthem; it was just amazing to be out there on the pitch listening to it and singing along.
“I’m sure the Irish fans were happy with what they saw, but, like ourselves, were disappointed not to get the win.”
Ireland took the lead early in the second half thanks to a super Wes Hoolahan strike, but Sweden levelled shortly after through a Ciaran Clark own goal and the game ended in a draw.
“Off his shin, wasn’t it!” joked Long about the Norwich man’s brilliant opener. “It was a hell of a goal and just after half-time was a great time to get it – just disappointed that it wasn’t the winning goal.
“The main thing was not to lose, but after going ahead I left we could have gone on and got a second. Fair play to Sweden though, they put on a bit of pressure and got the goal.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s not all bad when you come out of a game disappointed with a draw. We’ll kick on; we have two tough games coming up and we’ll be right up for the battle.”
Long also had praise for his strike partner Jonathan Walters (above) and said that he expects the Stoke City man to be fit for Ireland’s next game against Belgium on Saturday.
"I think Jonathan will be fine – he’s a bit of a worrier." - Shane Long on Jonathan Walters
Walters aggravated an achilles injury, which had made his participation against Sweden a major doubt, early in the game and now there are fears he could miss the rest of the tournament.
However, Long is backing him to be back in the green jersey next weekend.
“I thought we put in a great performance – the formation we played meant there was a lot of hard work for us and I thought we did that well,” he said of their partnership up front.
“We caused them a lot of trouble and I think it’s natural when you got a goal up to drop off – they got more into the game. I think Jonathan will be fine – he’s a bit of a worrier, but he’ll kick on through it. He’s a good lad to have on the team.”
