There was an overriding sense of disappointment from Ireland captain Robbie Brady that the side failed to put in a performance of note in the defeat to Iceland at the Aviva Stadium.
Hordur Magnusson’s 22nd-minute free-kick proved enough to inflict a home defeat on the Irish in Tuesday's friendly but Brady, captain for the night in place of the injured Seamus Coleman, was quick to rubbish suggestions that the side were a bit flat after the intensity of the Welsh game last Friday.
"I don't think you can just cop out and say it was because of the tempo the other night that we didn't perform," the Dubliner told RTÉ Sport.
"No game is a friendly game anymore, especially at this level. We wanted to go out and put in a performance and get the win. We didn't manage to do that.
"To concede a free kick and for that to be the only goal was disappointing."
Extracting the positives from the loss, the Burnley player added: "Okay, the second half was a lot better but we didn't manaage to break them down and get the goal we needed.
"The lads that came on and the debutants all dd well. They brought a bit of spark to the game.
"We have to put this result behind us and focus on the game in June (against Austria)."
On his own performance in the full-back role, Brady said: "I hadn't played there for a while. I enjoyed playing there, it gave me a licence to get forward a bit, not so much in the first half, but in the second half I got forward a bit more.
"I didn't get to put a stamp on the game I would have liked.
"The armband felt good. It was a bit disappointing in the way that I managed to get it after the injury to our skipper the other night."
