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29th March 2015
11:25pm BST

“Here, tonight, under pressure – severe pressure – a goal behind, I thought the crowd were fantastic for us. Really, really fantastic. And [they] played a big part in keeping spirits going and I think that will be very important for us now in the next set of matches here.
“Scotland next. If you were to think about the atmosphere in the dressing room now at the moment, I think the players would like to be playing Scotland next week. We can rise to the occasion and, with the crowd behind us, we can win the game."
And it is that never-say-die attitude of his players that could prove crucial in the next five games. Ireland have three home matches remaining but still must face Germany again as well as a trip to Warsaw at the end of the year but Martin O'Neill insist that his players won't give up. A trait which they have continued to embrace.
“Whatever we may lack, courage and spirit are not among them," the county Derry man stated. "I don’t think it’s a fluke now that we’ve scored late goals in games and, had there been a few more minutes left in the match, we may have been able to win.
“That’s three times now we’ve scored in the last few moments. We also hit the bar against Scotland. I know it’s cliché phrases, but it does show something about the character of the team.
“We keep going right until the end and, who knows. At the end of it all, tonight might end up being an important point. We are still well in it."Explore more on these topics: