Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark insists that only a win will do in his side’s World Cup 2018 qualifier with Moldova this evening [Live on RTÉ2 from 7pm].
Martin O’Neill’s men take on the supposed weakest team in the group, but coming on the back of an unconvincing 1-0 win over Georgia in Dublin, there are concerns that Ireland could slip up in Chisinau.
Ireland were second best in the first half of their victory over Georgia at the Aviva Stadium, with the visitors hitting the woodwork twice before a fortuitous Seamus Coleman goal decided the game.
Clark admitted that Ireland were far from their best in that game, but was pleased that they still managed to claim victory and keep a clean sheet.
“I think it just took us a while to get going. It was a tough game and I know they had a couple of chances in the first half and put us under a bit of pressure,” he said.
“But we re-grouped at half-time and got going and managed to sort things out and came out more positive in the second half. “
And here is the full interview with Ciaran Clark (@C___Clark) by @corktod. Lots of subjects discussed on his career with club and country. pic.twitter.com/IAMMCJe1ZJ
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 9, 2016
There’s little time to dwell on the performance against Georgia with the Moldovan clash coming so soon after and for Clark, only a win will do.
“We’re going to go into all the games going for three points and this is no different,” he said. “We had a clean sheet and three points the other night and we’ll be looking for the same [against Moldova].
“We want to try and put the performance right and get the right result and make it a positive performance. Hopefully come away from the game knowing we’ve done a good job, put on a good performance and got the three points.”
The Newcastle defender is looking to draw on the experience on Euro 2016 throughout the campaign and is hoping that Irish fans show their team the same level of support that was on display in France.
“We were all very proud of what we achieved out there as a group and we’re trying to take that on to this tournament and this campaign and use the positive vibes that we got to take us through this.
“The support was fantastic. We were stuck in the hotel but we managed to see all the videos and it was fantastic really.
“Even on match days, all you could hear was the crowd and the support we got was unbelievable and hopefully we can keep them happy, keep doing well and keep picking up points in this campaign.”
Watch Tony O'Donoghue's full interview with Ciaran Clark and the Republic of Ireland's clash with Moldova tonight on RTÉ 2 from 7pm. You can also listen to live commentary and analysis on RTÉ Radio 1 from 7pm.
