Ireland paid price for an off day in Kosovo – Heimir Hallgrimsson

The Boys in Green opened their campaign with defeat in Kosovo on Thursday night.

MOVING ON: Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson wants his squad to regroup quickly. Pic: Adam Davy/PA

Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson admitted his side had paid for “an off day” after slipping to a 1-0 defeat away to Kosovo in their Nations League opener.

The build-up to the League B3 encounter had been overshadowed by the controversy around upcoming fixtures against Israel, which Hallgrimsson had admitted many of his squad members were uncomfortable about playing.

Apart from an early chance which Chiedozie Ogbene fired over, Ireland never really got into gear at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, where Kosovo dominated for long spells.

Kosovo had two shots cleared off the line and Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher then clawed away a header from Vedat Muriqi as Hallgrimsson’s side got to the break on level terms.

Ireland showed plenty of spirit as they dug in for the second half, but were eventually undone with seven minutes left when Kosovo captain Muriqi bundled the ball in from close range.

Hallgrimsson must now regroup the squad as they prepare to take on Israel in Hungary on Sunday and then again in a ‘home’ tie at another neutral venue in Serbia seven days later.

“(Kosovo are) a good team, momentum with them, crowd with them, and to be honest, they deserve the win,” Hallgrimsson said in a post-match interview with RTÉ.

“There was nothing that we didn’t know about how they would play, where their threats would be, but (it was) an off day for a lot of our players, and (it is) a tough place to come to if you have an off day, so a deserved win for Kosovo.”

Hallgrimsson added: “We were the team that needed to defend today and didn’t connect in possession or passes, not as sharp as we have done.

“We have to quickly find out the reason that we had an off day. We can all do better than we did today.

“It is a two-day turnaround for the next one, so we better be quick…and do better than this versus Israel. They are probably in the same position as us (having lost).”

Israel were beaten 3-1 by Austria in Linz.

Asked if the controversy from playing the fixtures against Israel had impacted on his team’s performance against Kosovo, Hallgrimsson said: “I couldn’t say now. It is difficult to measure that one.”

Hallgrimsson added: “This is the situation, we have to cope with it. And like I said before the game, this camp is a test of character.

“We need to do better in that area than we did here today. We knew that we needed to win the duels, win the one-v-ones, but sadly they had the upper hand on all the basics.”