Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy has admitted that he ‘hated every minute’ watching his side’s scruffy 1-0 win over Gibraltar.
The Boys in Green got their Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start with victory at the Victoria Stadium, but the performance against the part-timers left a lot to be desired.
"I pretty much hated every minute of that. I knew what that it was going to be like and it didn’t disappoint – what a horrible game, but a great three points," said McCarthy.
"I’ve played these games before and I hated every minute of it – underdogs, nothing to lose, everything to gain and I’m delighted that we’re out of it with a one-nil win.
"I was asked earlier about gaining momentum and we can only gain momentum by winning a game. I would have taken one-nil any time. I didn’t want that (performance) – I wanted to play better, but it’s three points."
Matt Doherty earned a rare start for Ireland, lining up on the right wing in front of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman.
He has earned a reputation as one of the best attacking wing-backs in the Premier League following a great season with Wolves and McCarthy wanted to get him and his skipper in the same team, hence Doherty’s move forward.
Asked if the switch worked, the manager replied: "Not particularly. If you’re a full-back you’re more often coming from behind it (the play).
"I’ve said he’s been one of the best attacking wing-backs in the Premier League. It didn’t work today. They’re difficult to get behind when they sit in and does he have the box of tricks to get past a man? Probably not. If it’s an experiment, it didn’t work."
Ireland take on Georgia, who lost to Switzerland in their opening qualifier, in their next game on Tuesday at the Aviva Stadium. McCarthy is predicting a very different performance.
"It’s going to be a completely different game, of course, against a different team, against a team that’s lost tonight and they’ll be looking to get some momentum playing against that," he said.
"They’ll be watching us and think we’re hopeless, but we’ll play better than that."
Gibraltar manager Julio Ribas, meanwhile, was delighted with his side's performance, if ultimately disappointed with the result.
He said: "They know they [the players] have done well. But we won't get carried away with the fact that it was a good performance.
"They have done well and we will keep the momentum going over the next few days going into the Estonia game.
"Ireland are a big team for us to play, they are in the top 40 of the FIFA world rankings with a good history of beating top teams in the past.
"For us to do this today, it's a good performance. We are making good progress."
