Daryl Murphy has said he drew "massive confidence" from starting against the world champions Germany and insists he is ready to step up to the plate in Ireland's Euro 2016 play-off showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With John O'Shea and Jonathan Walters suspended for Friday's first leg in Zenica and Shane Long also a doubt, Ipswich striker Murphy's return to goalscoring form with a hat-trick - his first goals of the season - for his club in Saturday's 5-2 win at Rotherham could hardly have been better timed.
Martin O'Neill started 32-year-old Murphy against the the Germans before bringing on Long, who went on to score a famous winner.
“It was such a big game, I didn't really expect it. To get the nod was absolutely brilliant. I just tired out the defence for Longy to come on and score, didn’t I?" joked Murphy.
“It’s a different level, a different calibre of players. You look at the quality Germany had in their side. If you get a chance you have to take it. Shane came on, he had one chance and he scored it. That’s all you get at this level and you have to ready to take it."
Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy joked after the Rotherham game that Murphy had been playing as if he were his sister before that.
Murphy said with a smile: "It's just a little bit of banter between me and the manager. We always have it, but I had a giggle at that one, all right.
"It was nice - it was about time. It was nice to get on the scoresheet and up and running for the season.
"It was a little bit of relief. I had been getting chances in games previously, it was just a case of taking one. I have been playing well in the last few weeks, so I knew that I would get chances. It was just a case of putting one away.
"I hope to be involved [against Bosnia and Herzegovina] - who knows what the manager is thinking? He could have different options. If I’m involved I’ll definitely be ready.
"We'll go there, try our best to win the game, get a positive result and see what happens. At my age it's probably my last shot to play in a major tournament. It'd definitely be nice."
Ireland were thrown into the murky waters of the players after a 2-1 defeat in Poland, where a 2-2 draw would have earned them automatic qualification, and Derby defender Richard Keogh admitted that he has revisitied his missed headed chance in the closing stages.
“I've looked back at it a few times and I thought it was a decent header really," said Keogh. "The guy just missed it by an inch in front of me, so I did well to just hit the target.
"I headed it down, the keeper’s made a decent save and on another day he could have pushed it in the net or could have fallen back to me. It wasn't meant to be but we’ve got a great opportunity now [against Bosnia and Herzegovina] and there’s no bigger incentive than trying to make the Euros. It’s up to us.
"I think we'd the toughest group out of anyone. To give ourselves a chance going into the last game was a good achievement for us and we couldn't quite get over the line.
"When you beat a quality team like Germany it does give you confidence that you can compete with the best countries in the world. It's credit to the squad and the management and staff for creating such a great environment for us to be involved in.
"When we cross that white line we all work hard for each other, and I think that's key to any good team and any good squad."
