'Bittersweet' for Roy Keane as future son-in-law scores for England against Ireland

Roy Keane commended the Irish supporters for staying until the final whistle at Wembley, evening though the 5-0 defeat was "tough to swallow. "

FAMILY TIES England's Taylor Harwood-Bellis celebrates scoring his side's fifth goal of the game during the UEFA Nations League Group B2 match against Ireland at Wembley. (Right) Roy Keane on ITV. Pictures: John Walton/PA Wire and ITV

"Bittersweet for me this," Roy Keane said on ITV as he watched a replay of England's fifth goal against Ireland at Wembley on Sunday.

The 79th minute goal was scored by Taylor Harwood-Bellis who directed a header to the bottom corner of Caomhín Kelleher's net from a superb cross by Jude Bellingham.  

Harwood-Bellis, who making his England debut against Ireland, recently got engaged to Keane's daughter Leah. 

"It's not done and dusted yet," joked Keane when presenter Mark Pougatch explained to viewers that the Southampton player is the former Ireland captain's future son-in-law.

"Things could change very quickly in the Keane household, let me tell you. Over the last few months, he's got a goal threat, even playing for Southampton.

"It's good for him to make his debut. He's a nice kid. His family has done a great job."

The game had been goalless at half-time with Keane suggesting the longer the scoreline remained as so, England would become increasingly nervous. Those nerves stopped jangling after 53 minutes when Harry Kane converted a penalty. It was awarded when Liam Scales was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for tripping Bellingham.

"They were always up against it," said Keane.

"The sending off has a huge effect. It was obviously the right decision. They lost belief very, very quickly, lost a bit of confidence and then they concede three goals in six or seven minutes. It was a long way back for them. They concede two or three from set pieces. It's hugely disappointing when you consider where they were at half-time. 

"There's still tough days ahead for Ireland. You need your top players turning up. In the first half, they were excellent but as soon as they got the sending off, they lost that belief and confidence. They've got some playoff games coming up, and fingers crossed...

"You do need people like Kelliher and Ferguson playing regularly in the Premiership. That will only help Ireland in the bigger picture of international football.

"You have to be upbeat. There's a feelgood factor to the players for the first half tonight and for the manager and the staff. We need the Irish people, the fans getting behind them. To be fair to the Irish fans tonight, they stuck it out till the end. It was tough to swallow."