Givens takes little from loss

Ireland coach Don Givens was furious with his team’s first half display as their Toulon Festival campaign began badly today in Nimes.

A 2-0 defeat by Japan was a dreadful start for Ireland, who were hit with two goals in five minutes just before half time.

‘‘I didn’t know what to expect from Japan, but I knew what to expect from my boys and that was complete garbage,’’ he fumed.

‘‘I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but we made them look good.’’

While many of the English players competing here are already tied down to lucrative Premiership contracts, the same cannot be said of Givens’ men.

He admits several of his players are playing for their professional futures and hoping to catch the eyes of scouts over this fortnight.

Koji Yamase’s angled drive and Satoshi Nakayama’s close range volley left Ireland with all to do in their tournament opener, and the closest they came to reducing the deficit was when Liam Miller curled a free-kick against the crossbar in the 78th minute of the 80-minute match.

The Ireland under-21 team play their second match of four in Group B on Thursday, with Italy their formidable opponents.

Givens added: ‘‘The second half was better, but it was too late.

‘‘We’re not going to get anything against Italy unless we raise our level.’’