Kilbane: We can't keep throwing away leads

Republic of Ireland full back Kevin Kilbane has described his side's failure to hold out for a win in last night's World Cup qualifier against Italy at Croke Park as "heartbreaking".

The Hull City defender said there was "massive disappointment" in the Irish dressing room after the game.

And he also revealed that Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni "had a pop" at his team over their inability to hold onto their late lead.

Kilbane said of the Azzurri's equaliser at the end of the game: "To throw it away like that is really, really heartbreaking."

Looking ahead to the play-offs, he said Richard Dunne has warned the players that they don't want to "throw away" leads they may get in the games in November.

Kilbane said: "We have done it so often over the years, we've thrown so many winning results into draws and draws into losses. We can't continue to do it."

However, Kilbane feels that the performance last night is a signal that the Republic have a good chance in the play-offs.

He said: "It's going to be a massive month for us, but I think that we feel that we can beat anybody."