With three points in the bag from their Group D qualifier win over Georgia, James McCarthy says the Republic of Ireland's players are already focusing on Sunday’s trip to Moldova.
The Boys in Green huffed and puffed to a 1-0 win at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday night, though already the team’s thoughts have turned towards the weekend tie.
“We’re looking forward to Sunday now,” said the Everton midfielder.
“What was important was getting all three points and now we have to go to Moldova and it’s going to be another hard game over there. We’ve had a decent enough start, but we won’t get carried away and we go again Sunday.
McCarthy came through the full 90 minutes following a lengthy spell out on the sidelines and he played on despite picking up what looked like a nasty cut on the arm.
With so little football under his belt this season he may not be fit for the entire game against Moldova, though he says he has no such concerns.
“It’s all right and I got through it,” he said, speaking to RTÉ Sport about the Georgia clash.
“I’ll put myself up for selection and we have a few boys on the bench who can come in and do a job. I’ll put myself up for selection and if I’m selected, I’m ready to go."
Georgia captain Guram Kashia was left to rue Seamus Coleman's 'rugby goal' @Corktod #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/w2xVOd7QPK
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 7, 2016
McCarthy praised his Toffees team mate Seamus Coleman for taking the responsibility on himself and scoring the decisive second half goal.
He did admit that their performance, particularly in the first half, wasn’t up to the standard required, though he insisted that Sunday’s game away to Moldova is all that matters now.
Speaking about the goal he explained: “It was a wee bit of luck that we needed, maybe, it was a great run and he deserved it for the honesty he showed and courage to drive and keep going. He got the break and we’re just delighted to get the three points
“First half we were a bit off it. They are a good side, they came and they played and made us work really hard. But the most important thing was getting all three points and we’ve done that. We’re looking forward to Sunday now.”
