Republic of Ireland U21 boss Jim Crawford said his players had a learned a harsh lesson on being ready to fight from the start in their European Championship 2023 qualifier defeat to Montenegro.
Ireland lost 2-1 in Nikšić after conceding two goals in the first eight minutes, and were denied a point when Conor Coventry's late penalty was saved.
The result saw Ireland slip to fourth in the table behind Sweden, Italy and Montenegro.
"As a collective, it just wasn't good enough," Crawford said.
"There were a couple of things said at half-time that the players understood because that certainly wasn’t us to start the game.
"Second half was a lot better. We started to use the ball a bit better.
"The penalty would have made the game two-all and an interesting finish but you just can’t start football matches the way we did.
"We handed them two goals and we were soft at times."
Ireland face Sweden and Italy next month in a double-header that will likely determine whether they remain in contention to win the group or make the play-offs.
"Every game we play we’ve got to learn from it," said Crawford.
"Certainly the lads learned that that’s the case at this level. In 1 v 1 duels you need to be better.
"We did a lot more in the second half but it’s very disappointing.
"We just have to regroup ourselves and this makes November a critical window with regards to six points."
