Republic of Ireland goalscorer Matt Doherty admitted to making a mistake for Denmark's goal in his side's 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifying draw, but insists there are positives to take from the performance at the Aviva Stadium.
Doherty was at fault for the opening goal of the game when he allowed Martin Braithwaite to ghost in behind him and nudge his side into the lead against the run of play.
The Ireland wing-back made amends when he headed home after 85 minutes to set up a grandstand finish, although the home side could not get the win they needed to qualify automatically.
The play-offs now beckon for Ireland, and afterwards Doherty held his hands up for his part in the Denmark goal.
Matt Doherty sounded bitterly disappointed that his momentary lapse in concentration contributed to Denmark taking the lead at the Aviva, but he atoned in spectacular fashion in the 1-1 draw, and is bullish on Ireland's prospects of securing a spot at Euro 2020 via the play-offs. pic.twitter.com/qqtt85tF5F
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 19, 2019
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: "I’m really upset now that I followed him in and he managed to get in front of me and managed to get the goal, I’m really disappointed.
"I think they were probably there for the taking, they didn’t pose much of a threat until they scored that goal with the one chance that they had.
"I thought we were in control for most of the game, so I’m obviously gutted.
"Obviously, with the goal they scored, he ran inside me. So I felt like I needed to give something back, so I scored the goal, but it wasn’t enough in the end."
Doherty wants Ireland to repeat the intensity of their performance against the Danes in their March play-off and he insists that no matter who Ireland face, they’ll be confident they can progress.
"Obviously, the aim of the game was to win it and we haven’t managed to do that, but I think that we can hold our heads with the performance and carry that into March," he added.
"If the crowd are behind you, it obviously gives you a boost, and in the second half we started well again, and the goal we conceded was a bit of a blow, but we kept going right to the end."
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