Mick McCarthy was pragmatic in his assessment of what was a uninspiring Irish performance in tonight's 1-0 win over Gibraltar.
In the opening game of the manager's second tenure at the helm of the Republic of Ireland senior squad, the visitors struggled to adapt to the unique surroundings of the Victoria Stadium - a stadium perched on a rock in the middle of the Medittereanean straddled by an airport runway.
McCarthy described the game as "horrible" but was adament that his side earned "a great three points"
'I hated every minute of it, it was horrible, I'm delighted to get out of it with a one-nil win' - Mick McCarthy typically honest in his analysis of his Republic of Ireland's performance against Gibraltar. #RTESoccer pic.twitter.com/euuIKoJq9u
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 23, 2019
We were never going to complain about the pitch, it don't make it any easier. The wind's blowing a gale. We've not played particularly well.
We did have chances. I thought we could have been one or two up in the first half. Darren Randolph is probably man of the match with the save he made - he kept us at 0-0.
I was asked earlier on about gaining momentum, I said I can only gain momentum by winning a game. I don't want that. I wanted to score more and play better, but it's three points.
The manager touted David McGoldrick's performance as a particular highlight in running the channels, with the Sheffield United striker teeing up Jeff Hendrick for his 49th-minute winner.
However, if that was a plus for McCarthy, he was ready to admit the experiment of playing both Matt Doherty and Seamus Coleman in the right-wing positions.
I said he [Doherty] has been the best attacking right wing-back in the Premier League. Didn't work today. Maybe there's maybe not a lot of room in behind them when they sit in. Has he got the box of tricks to get past people? Probably not.
If it's an experiment it's not worked.
Ireland will go into Tuesday night's game at the Aviva against Georgia, with McCarthy joking that the guests will think "we're hopeless" after watching the game in Gibraltar tonight.
However, when pushed that the Georgians will think they have something to play for in Dublin, the Yorkshire man was bullish.
We have more to play for because we've got the three points.
