Age Hareide: 'If Ireland play like that they will probably come through their playoff'

Andrew Dempsey reports from the Aviva Stadium

Danish boss Age Hareide admits that he felt his side were lucky to come away from the Aviva Stadium with a draw on Monday evening.

Hareide also praised the Republic of Ireland during his post-match press conference – noting that he expects the Boys in Green to seal their passage to EURO 2020 should they turn in a similar performance in the Playoffs.

“We didn’t play well at all,” Hareide said. “I don’t know what happened because we had nerves from the outside of our shirts in many ways.

“We had a solid defence that saw us through the first and second half. At the end when Ireland scored, they put a lot of pressure.

“It was difficult because they had to throw a lot of people forward in the game and we had to defend with the same amount of people. we had to gamble with the counter-attacks.

“We didn’t play well, and we were lucky to get away with a draw. If they play like that they will probably come through their next playoff.

“Dublin is a fantastic place to play. The sound and the enthusiasm of the was really good. I feel at home here!”

And with the Danes securing their qualification for the second time on the spin in Dublin, the 66-year-old added; “When you come through a campaign, through the World Cup or the Euros, you have feelings. As a manager, you have feelings for the team, the fans and the surroundings.

“It’s important to keep that to yourself because when you see your team is struggling to ninety minutes you can’t do much.



“You just have to wait and see if you can fight it out. I’m proud of the players and I feel for the players. Me as a person always does that.

“I take things personal when my players are criticised and that’s why I react sometimes.”