Dunne: We threw a good position away

Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne has said that his side threw away a good position when they let Alberto Gilardino score a late equaliser for Italy in their World Cup qualifier in Croke Park on Saturday night.

Dunne said: "We got ourselves into a good position and then threw it away at the end."

The central defender put the lapse down to a lack of experience on behalf of many of the players.

"There are a lot of players in their first campaign. We have not been in this position for eight years, so it's lack of experience. Hopefully tonight is something we can learn from."

Looking forward to the play-offs Dunne warned about repeating the mistake.

He said: "If it happens to us next month, it could end our chances of getting to the World Cup."

However, Dunne wanted to focus on the positives from the match and complimented Liam Lawrence on his debut performance.

He said: "It's great when a player can come on in his first game and he looks really strong and confident. He was a really big player for us on the night."