By Glenn Mason
Goalkeeper Darren Randolph has hailed the Republic of Ireland’s “character and mental toughness” after they qualified for Euro 2016 with a 3-1 aggregate win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Two goals in either half from Jonathan Walters gave Ireland a much-deserved 2-0 second leg win at a jubilant Aviva Stadium.
"I wouldn’t have seen this coming from last summer or at the start of the group, but I’m not complaining"
Ireland’s chances of qualification looked remote in June when they were held to a 1-1 draw with Scotland here in Dublin.
It left them in fourth place in the group behind Germany, Poland and the Scots, who also held the head-to head advantage over Ireland.
Randolph said that while many had written off Ireland at that stage, the players and management staff still had the belief that they could qualify for back-to-back European Championships.
Three wins on the bounce delivered the play-off spot and they confidently outplayed Bosnia over the two legs.
Randolph said: “I don’t know if many people would have seen us going from fourth place in the group to qualifying. But with the results comes confidence and a little bit more belief.
“Slip ups from other teams gives you another bit of confidence and you can go out there and perform and anything’s possible.
“It’s not just even these two games, it’s since we were sitting in fourth place. The games against Georgia, Gibraltar, Germany and Poland, and then these two games, have shown that we can play and the character and mental toughness that we have.”
With Martin O’Neill’s message of “we need a win” ringing in their ears, Ireland outplayed Bosnia on the night and were worthy winners over both legs.
Randolph was a calming presence behind the burgeoning centre-half partnership of Richard Keogh and Ciaran Clark, but while he may appear calm on the outside, it was a slightly different story on the inside.
He said: “I didn’t feel too relaxed, I can tell you. This is what you dream about. Who knows it might be the only one I ever get to.
"I know it’s a cliché, but I was just concentrating on the next game and maybe that’s helped me play here. The timing was perfect. I can’t complain"
"We need to take the opportunities when they come and luckily enough tonight all the boys put a shift in and got us there in the end.
“We knew we had to be switched on and stay concentrated for the whole game because they only need one chance to score with the quality they have.
“You can’t afford to sit back. I think that’s one of the things we didn’t want to do. Because if they get a goal then they can sit back and we have to break them down and score twice.
“If you can score twice it puts the pressure back on them and you can go and play your own game. I think that’s what we did tonight.”
It’s also been a personal journey for Randolph who was not in even contention to be number one goalkeeper when the campaign started.
However, injuries and suspension at club and international gave him the chance to shine and he took it.
Randolph admitted that he benefitted from a run of games with West Ham United after Adrian was suspended, while he confidently stepped in to replace Shay Given when he went off injured in the home victory over Germany.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I wouldn’t have seen this coming from last summer or at the start of the group, but I’m not complaining.
“I was just concentrating at club level. I know it’s a cliché, but I was just concentrating on the next game and maybe that’s helped me play here. The timing was perfect. I can’t complain.”
When asked if he wanted to thank his club-mate for getting suspended, he smiled and said: “I can’t say that. I have to see him in a couple of days.”
What a feeling! Proud to be Irish! 🍀 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/tZpc39319D
— David Meyler (@DavidMeyler7) November 16, 2015
