Adam Idah: 'When the national anthem came on I had goosebumps'

Adam Idah reacts to a miss in Saturday's World Cup qualifier

Adam Idah reacts to a miss in Saturday's World Cup qualifier Credit: Ben Whitley (ETPhotos)

Sean O'Connor reports from the Aviva Stadium

The Republic of Ireland's disappointing 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan on Saturday evening is a result that all but seals Ireland’s fate in qualifying for Qatar 2022.

The 22,000 in attendance at the Aviva had hoped for a performance similar to that of Portugal last Wednesday but the draw leaves Ireland at the wrong end of the qualification table.

However, despite a positive start, Stephen Kenny’s side looked lost and lacking in confidence for long spells. Shane Duffy’s header three minutes from time saved Ireland from another loss, as they remain joint bottom of group A with one point from four games.

Norwich City striker Adam Idah told extratime.com after the game on Saturday that he was disappointed not to hit the target against Azerbaijan. Idah also praised the support at Lansdowne Road and detailed the impact the 22,000 spectators made.

“Look, it’s my job to score goals. I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn't put them to bed. I haven't scored for Ireland yet and all I want to do is get off the mark and start scoring.“

“Unfortunately, I didn't score tonight but I’ll keep building, keep working hard and hopefully they'll come soon. I'm quite confident as a striker so I’ll just have to keep working hard and improving and we’ll see how it goes.

“It was an unbelievable experience to have the fans back. When the national anthem came on I had goosebumps. My family came down too and they were right in front of me. It was emotional and I was very honoured to be there.”

“It is great to have the fans back. It's my first time and after two years where nobody could come to a game, it’s a great feeling to have everyone back. That really helped us tonight. We got that goal and they pushed us on”.

Reflecting on the team’s performance, Idah was understandably frustrated but said that it will inevitably take time to get results with such a young squad. 



“We know that we need to win games and that's what we want to do as footballers. It is quite a new squad. It does take time to build when there's a lot of young players. Obviously we wanted to win. That's what we want to do. There’s still send a lot of games to come. We'll try and prove people wrong.”

Asked whether or not Ireland’s qualification hopes are over, Idah remains determined to fight until the very end.

“We believed in ourselves as a team from the start. We can still qualify for this and that's our main target, to qualify for the World Cup. We're going to fight till the end and we're hungry to get more points. That's what we're going to do.”

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