It was a job well done in Zenica according to Republic of Ireland midfielder Wes Hoolahan.
The Norwich star played his part in the 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday night. He was withdrawn with a quarter of the game left with Monday's second leg in mind.
Ireland took the lead through Robbie Brady with just eight minutes left and even though they couldn’t hold out for the win Hoolahan says the players are happy.
“It was as expected. It is a tough place to come,” he said after Edin Dzeko’s late goal saw the sides finish level ahead of Monday’s second leg in Dublin.
“We knew they would start well and have lots of possession. But the lads at the back drove the whole team, and defended great.
“We would have taken that before we came over but the game is not over yet. There is still another game to go and hopefully we can go there and win.
“They pressed us well and the conditions didn’t help. We didn’t get on the ball as much as we would have liked to but the main aim was to come away with a result and we did that.”
Hoolahan, who confirmed his substitution was tactical rather than due to an injury, admitted that conditions made the game even tougher than possible.
The game started in gloom and as fog descended in the second half it seemed as though the match was in danger of being abandoned.
“It was visible enough but it was hard to see on the pitch. It was getting worse and worse as they game got on and it was a difficult situation,” he said
Bosnia coach Mehmed Baždarević was in agreement, saying: “I can only comment on the first half of the game because in the second half, I hardly saw anything. It was so difficult on the pitch.
“This was as difficult a game as we expected but we didn't really play as well as we should have against this rather tough team.
“The first 25 minutes was rather good. Unfortunately, we didn't manage throughout the game to make life difficult enough for our opponent because they really played tough.
“The result is, as you can see, 1-1 and again, nothing is lost. I am still an optimist and I always am and I think we may, if we play better and have a better attitude, we can have a better game in the second leg."
