Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said Tuesday’s 4-1 friendly win over the USA tempered the disappointment of last Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifier loss to Scotland, and sounded an optimistic note for next year.
Goals from Anthony Pilkington, James McClean and a Robbie Brady brace helped a much-changed Ireland to a 4-1 win over the Americans, and the game was also notable for impressive debuts from Cyrus Christie and David McGoldrick.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, O’Neill said the win and performance had gone some way to countering the lows of being beaten by the Scots. However, he questioned the notion that it was any sort of Ireland B team that had taken to the field.
“The disappointment of losing the game in Scotland has been tempered somewhat by a really fine performance, particularly in the second half,” O’Neill said.
“I’m never sure that they’re fringe players. People talk about, you know, your best 11, and I think those type of things vary because, first of all, some players don’t play regularly at club level that you think that might have some sort of importance or significance for us at some stage or another.
“For instance, Robbie Brady, who was magnificent tonight, really magnificent, doesn’t play every single week, although he’s fighting back to get into the Hull City side. And sometimes you have to take those things into consideration. That said, I thought he was excellent, scored two great goals for us.
“And I thought that Cyrus Christie did excellently, but so did McGoldrick. He’s come in, he gives us a little bit of something extra, and I think when he gets fitter and gets used to the surroundings, he’ll be a proper player for us.”
O’Neill now has four months to wait before he will get an opportunity to work with the players again, but said he was positive about Ireland’s prospects for the year ahead.
“We have plenty of food for thought, and that’s nice,” he said. “[It was] just nice to get a bit of momentum back again. And players now will disappear, obviously. The most important thing for them in the next couple of months is club football, but we have got a lot to look forward to in 2015.”
