Hallgrimsson: painful to take nothing from Linz defeat
Heimir Hallgrimsson said it was "painful" to take nothing from the game after Ireland's 1-0 defeat in Linz.
After an adventurous display in an open game, with Ireland dominating in terms of possession and chances for large swathes of the first half, the visitors were undone by a scrappy late goal from a corner. Substitute Sasa Kalajdzic poked the ball from a yard out after Michael Gregoritsch headed the ball across goal from the back post. The corner had been needlessly conceded when Nathan Collins turned into trouble when in possession, losing the ball in a dangerous area.
Ireland piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser, with Troy Parrott forcing a couple of saves from Alexander Schlager, while numerous dangerous crosses throughout the game went unmet by Irish attackers. Hallgrimsson acknowledged it was annoying that they didn't find a deserved late equaliser but noted that whether they drew or lost, it didn't change the equation much in terms of the group.
Kalajdzic sinks Ireland's promotion hopes in Linz
"It was painful not to get anything from this match," Hallgrimsson said. "I think we deserved at least a draw, but we needed the win for this game to count. I think we had the chances but this was not our day in goal-scoring, so yeah, it's disappointing."
The Ireland manager withdrew Jack Moylan, Adam Idah, Ryan Manning and James Abankwah during the second half with a view to Tuesday evening, saying he didn't want to risk suspension. "We didn't want to lose key players for the next game. It was always that game [against Kosovo] that was more important, like we said," Hallgrimsson said.
The reluctance to use VAR on the night was a source of bemusement for Hallgrimsson, with Dara O'Shea on the end of fouls in both halves which might have seen a more severe sanction. "It was really strange. For example, when there was a foul on Dara in the first half, I thought it should have been a red card, not a yellow card," Hallgrimsson said. "But it looked like they were not even looking at the VAR this game."