Stephen Kenny 'so disappointed not to get at least a point'

The Boys in Green were beaten by a single goal against France.

FRUSTRATION: Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Stephen Kenny would have had reason to be optimistic about Ireland’s chances had he known in advance just how little influence Kylian Mbappé would have on this Euro 2024 qualifier at a raucous Lansdowne Road.

The PSG superstar was an irregular factor in Dublin having done so much to traumatise the Netherlands in Paris three days earlier and he wasn’t the only man in the visiting ranks whose footprints left such little mark.

Kenny’s counterpart Didier Deschamps was asked about his captain’s minor role in this affair, and there were associated queries as to the performance of Olivier Giroud who had looked so isolated against the five-man Irish back line.

This was the base point Ireland had to reach for this game to be a contest. Keep the leading lights dimmed as much as possible and hope that Ireland can do enough to shine at the other end.

“We’ve watched France’s last 20 games and I’ve never seen Kylian Mbappé, who I voted for as the best player in the world, have such a quiet night,” said Kenny after his team fell to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat. “I’ve never seen it.

“So we had to defend our box in the first-half, they had a lot of crosses and they forced us back. That wasn’t easy because Muani, Giroud and Rabiot and Griezmann, they had that height and physical presence and our defending was very good overall.” 

Regrets? More than a few.

He would have liked a more creative and cutting edge from his team, especially in the first-half, and the concession of a goal to a French team that hadn’t created much of anything themselves until them was a disappointment.

So too that save from Mike Maignan.

“One of those incredible saves, so disappointed not to get at least a point.” 

And as for Josh Cullen’s faux pas for the goal?

“He played very well overall. Normally his pass completion rate is very, very high. He doesn’t give the ball away, mainly a lot of short passes. He doesn’t usually pass long, occasionally he can hit them long. He has that in his armoury but short passes are part of his game.

“He knits the play together and provides an important function for the team so it was very uncharacteristic to give it away. He’s been so consistent for us and I’m very proud of him. It’s just one of those things.” 

For Deschamps, it’s been a more than satisfactory week's work.

“A lot of positives: six points, five goals scored and none conceded,” said the long-serving French boss. “It was a tough schedule coming here after Friday and against a fresh opponent.

“We didn’t play as well, Ireland played well, they defended well. We didn’t create as many chances and we needed an amazing save at the end, which was as important as a goal. I am very content and very proud of the character of the group.”