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New boy Kasey McAteer looking to Greece after 'dream' debut

Kasey McAteer is already looking ahead to Greece on Tuesday night after his 20-minute debut against England on Saturday.

The Leicester City winger had a lot of family members at Aviva Stadium to witness his first outing in green as he replaced Adam Idah 75 minutes into the Republic of Ireland's 2-0 defeat to England.

Despite some bright moments, the 22-year-old Northampton native couldn't alter the outcome of a game that looked beyond Ireland from the moment Jack Grealish made it 2-0 in the first half.

However, McAteer did believe he had a credible shout for a penalty after a coming together with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the box.

"I felt a pull on my arm. I don't see why I would just go down in a position like that when the ball is in a great flight path for me to just nod it in, but it wasn't looked at and it wasn't given so we have to move on from that now," McAteer told RTÉ Sport.

"I came on against a top side in England, it wasn't easy. You definitely feel it. But 20 minutes there, hopefully in the future I can make that a bit more time and I can show what I can do."

McAteer said head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has already begun the preparation for Greece at Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night.

"He said we could have done better with the goals we've conceded," he said.

"We can reflect on them and see what we can put right. It's not nice to concede two goals so close together in the first half, it kind of killed our momentum. We need to put that right now."

But for McAteer, whose grandmother came from Offaly, Saturday was a happy occasion, an Irish debut delayed somewhat by injury and paperwork.

"To be playing in a packed out Aviva, as everyone saw, with the atmosphere it created with the fans is a dream come true for me and my family.

"I am really happy they were here to experience it with me. On the downside, we're all disappointed we couldn't get the result we wanted."

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