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Aaron Connolly left Georgia ruing the one that got away after passing up a late chance to snatch a priceless Euro 2020 qualifier victory on his senior Republic of Ireland debut.<\/p>\nAaron Connolly left Georgia ruing the one that got away after passing up a late chance to snatch a priceless Euro 2020 qualifier victory on his senior Republic of Ireland debut.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old Brighton striker came off the bench with just 11 minutes remaining and had two chances to score, forcing a solid save from keeper Giorgi Loria and then firing into the side-netting in a cameo which lit up an otherwise attritional 0-0 Group D draw at the Boris Paichadze Arena in Tbilisi.<\/p>\n
Connolly, who marked his first Premier League start with two goals in a 3-0 win over Tottenham last weekend, said: \u201cLike every striker, I feel I have to score that at 0-0 in a game like that. I should have scored. It\u2019s disappointing, but I feel proud as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe confidence levels are quite high because of last week and I felt if I came on, I would make an impact. I feel like I did, but at the end of the day I feel like I should have scored as well. It\u2019s disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manager Mick McCarthy desperately wanted to leave Georgia with three more points in the bank ahead of Tuesday night\u2019s trip to Switzerland, but was in no mood to be too down-hearted after seeing his side fight a rearguard action for long periods to protect keeper Darren Randolph, who barely had a save to make despite the home side\u2019s dominance of possession.<\/p>\n
Asked if it was a point gained or two dropped, McCarthy said: \u201cI see it absolutely as a point won. They are a very good side, but we did hit the post and Duffer (Shane Duffy) could have scored the winner from the corner at the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cAaron Connolly\u2019s had a chance running through and Darren hasn\u2019t made a save, so for all the possession and moving us around, he\u2019s not made one save.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have been better offensively, but defensively we were very good. If you had offered me four points in the games against Georgia at the start of the group, I\u2019d have taken it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was John Egan who glanced a fourth-minute header against the upright from a Conor Hourihane free-kick, but Ireland chances were few and far between until Connolly was thrown into the mix.<\/p>\n
Asked if he might have made the move earlier in the game, McCarthy said: \u201cI make the substitutions as I see fit, I don\u2019t look back with regret and think I should have done them sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Georgia boss Vladimir Weiss was once again left to reflect upon what might have been with the nation\u2019s record against Ireland now standing at two draws and nine defeats.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis was a match of football without many chances. We tried to win, but we didn\u2019t have enough quality in the box. We tried shots and tried to score from set-pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am happy for the guys. I said yesterday we needed to be at 120 per cent to win. Today it was maybe 110 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland are maybe also happy (with a draw) as by the end of the game, they played five at the back. Maybe getting one point from Georgia is not bad.\u201d<\/p>\n