5 hours Ago By Neil O'Riordan
HEIMIR HALLGRÍMSSON admitted his side rode their luck as he claimed his first home win but said: “These players deserve it.” Evan Ferguson’s goal just before half-time put Ireland ahead but the Brighton striker then gave away a penalty for handball. But Caoimhín Kelleher came to his rescue by batting away Joel Pohjanpalo’s spot-kick and smothering the rebound.
Given the visitors also hit the woodwork twice, Hallgrímsson is well aware there is much room for improvement ahead of a visit to Wembley to take on England. He said: “I am happy of course with winning, not only for the points but, psychologically, it’s good to give the fans a win here at home, good feeling. “The performance, there was some good and some bad, sure we were lucky, they hit the post two times and Caoimhín saved a penalty but this group deserve luck, they’ve been unlucky so many times.
“I am happy with a lot of things but I am under no illusions we need to play better than we did. “I am not jumping with joy. If we are to qualify for the World Cup we need to win against higher-ranked teams.
With this performance, we probably wouldn’t have. “This win is good for the spirit but I am under no illusion that we need to be better.” The win ensures Ireland will not be automatically relegated from Nations League B and will instead be in a play-off in March which will mean their World Cup qualifying campaign will start in either June or September.
Although England are bidding to top the group ahead of Greece, Ireland will finish third regardless of the result in London. Hallgrímsson said: "It was always two matches that were really different from one another. “This one was the most important, now we have three points, we can probably go a little bit more relaxed into the England game, it hasn’t any meaning in terms of the the positioning in the group, but it’s important of course for Fifa points "Even though we did not fully deserve to get a clean sheet, it gives us certain confidence going into the England game.
” Hallgrímsson was pleased with both his keeper and striker. He said: “If you play well it always cements a place in the coach’s mind. “Caoimhín is playing really well at this stage of his career.
He is playing well for his club and I hope he can continue to do that with Ireland. “Evan used the ball really well, he is a smart player. Everyone one can see his fitness levels are improving.
He is getting more minutes for his club and I am happy for him. “When he is fully fit he will start to score more goals because it is natural for players like him.”.
