Robbie: Spirit is back in fighting Irish after Gelsenkirchen

Roy Keane has always railed against the concept of moral Irish victories but his namesake Robbie spoke for the entire squad and staff when he said Tuesday night’s draw with Germany felt as good as collecting all three points.

“The feeling in the dressing room is it feels like a win,” said the team captain. “When you score in the last second of the game then it’s full credit to every player. It was always going to be a difficult game.

“You were playing against a team that was always going to be better than you possession-wise and it needed for the players to work their absolute socks off and show that fighting spirit. We got our rewards in the end.”