Republic of Ireland manager Jim Crawford heaped praise on his charges after a spirited 2-0 defeat to a much-vaunted England outfit in their European Under-21 Championship qualifier at St Andrew's.
Storm Claudia ensured the match in Birmingham was played in a torrential downpour.
Adam Murphy's foul on Tyrique George afforded Divin Mubama the chance to give the hosts the lead midway through the first half from the penalty spot, but his poor effort was easily saved by Noah Jauny in the Ireland goal.
Mubama atoned from the spot in the second half for the reigning European champions when half-time substitute Jad Hakiki was harshly adjudged to have brought down Lewis Hall. However, the penalty was another poor one, with Jauny almost pulling off another save.
George put an undeserved gloss on the scoreline with a fine individual effort at the death, but Crawford's regard for his own side was undiminished, with the focus now on Tuesday's Group D encounter against Andorra in the Pyrenees.
"We worked hard," Crawford told RTÉ Sport. "We had to scrap at times. We knew we were going to suffer because of the team that's there. They'll probably go on and win the European Championships for a third time with the quality that they have.
"I thought we put in a good performance, but ultimately, we didn't win the game.
"What we've got to do now is recover, get rested, because Andorra on Tuesday becomes the most important game in the campaign."
Jim Crawford was proud of the performance of his Republic of Ireland U-21 side and the team have the chance to bounce back quickly when they face Andorra on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/4BNOaAfvVO
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While conditions in the English midlands proved difficult for both sides, refereeing decisions did seem to favour Lee Carsley's side.
"The conditions were very trying for the players, but they gave everything," Crawford said.
"When it was 1-0, we did have a couple of moments that we thought we could have got something from.
"I think the penalty that we first conceded was definitely a penalty. I don't know about the second one, it was a little bit dubious, it was disappointing at times."
Ireland went close to scoring through a Jacob Devaney cross in the first half and a shot from Liverpool's Trent Kone-Doherty after the interval, with the latter scooping RTÉ's Player of the Match award.
"I thought Trent caused a problem," the Ireland boss added. "I think we looked secure defensively at times.
"We probably have to learn when you're playing against top, top players to stay on your feet a little bit more.
"But I thought there were a lot of positives from a group that gave everything they could, and that's all we ask for here, and we're very proud of them.
"Ultimately we lost the game, but people were shouting all sorts of stats at me before the game, that their squad is worth over 300 million, and I look at ours and what we showed tonight we must be close to that too at times because I have to say, to a man they were excellent, the players.
"They gave everything and another day the scoreline could have been different."
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