Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson was frustrated with his side’s "sloppy" performance in the uninspiring 0-0 draw with Luxembourg.
The end-of-season friendly was at odds with the draw with Senegal last Friday, where the Boys in Green gave an energetic display in a 1-1 draw with the highly-rated African side.
Hallgrimsson made five changes for the game at the Stade de Luxembourg and while the visitors hit the woodwork in either half – a Nathan Collins header in the opening period before substitute Jack Taylor’s thunderous drive rebounded to safety in the final minutes of the game – it was lethargic display to round off the international season.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the encounter, Hallgrimsson outlined his displeasure with the first-half display in particular.
"Let’s be honest, we’re not happy with that performance," he said. "It’s good to keep a clean sheet – but we all felt in the first half we were sloppy.
"The game was boring. All the good things we did against Senegal were missing, the quick movement, the press, the ball speed.
"It changed in the second half, more tempo and we won more duels, but it wasn’t good enough.
"We had some chances, but even if we won the game, we still wouldn’t have been happy with the performance. We must look at the performance first.
"We always like answers to questions, but this was a negative one."
Attention will soon turn around to the compact World Cup qualifying campaign, starting with a home fixture against Hungary on 6 September before a trip to Armenia three days later.
The manager, who celebrated his 58th birthday, doesn’t believe that the performance will stall the momentum in recent months ahead of the crucial qualifiers.
"No. I think this game will just teach us a lesson.
"We must play the same way against everyone, whether an end-of-season friendly or a group stage game."
