Josh Cullen was excited from the moment Stephen Kenny told him he'd be starting Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Serbia. It was the Anderlecht midfielder's first competitive start for Ireland, a feat he called "a really proud moment for me and my family".
Cullen played a pivotal midfield role in the unfamiliar 3-5-2 formation played by Kenny which worked well and showed promise. That was despite the team not having much time to work together on the system.
"To be honest, there wasn't a lot of work that we were able to do," said Cullen following the game.
"The squad met up on Sunday. I met up with the squad on Monday. Not days and days, or weeks on the training pitch. There was a lot of information about the system and the way we wanted to go about the game crammed into a couple of days working together.
"I feel like the system worked well and we showed some positive progress. We have another two or three days to work together before Saturday."
The 24-year-old felt Ireland did several things well in the game.
"We restricted them to only a few chances," said Cullen.
"They were very clinical. Some of our build-up play from the back was very good. I think we were a threat.
"When we got into good areas with Browney in the 10 [role], and Robbie (Brady) when he came on - there were chances there for us. At times, we were good in possession. By no means are we getting carried away with the performance thinking we're there.
"It was a tough game against a good side. They've got some very good players. In the main, I think we can take some positives from the game as well as a lot of things we need to work on as a team."
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile & Shutterstock.com
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