A few people might not be taking Ireland’s win against America that seriously, but, Shay Given reckons that the win in that game was important for him and his teammates in order to have some momentum going forward.
Ireland had been beaten by Scotland last month in Glasgow which had seen them slipping down to the 4th position in their Euro qualifying group, that is, Group D.
But, they recovered from that loss well as they thumped the Yanks by 4 goals to 1 in a friendly fixture.
It was clinical stuff by the Irishmen, but, people are refusing to get too much into it saying that it was only a friendly game.
According to Shay Given though, after what happened against Scotland, his team was eager to make sure that they get the season done with a better result.
Talking to the press, the veteran goalie said, “There’s always a good feeling when you win the last game of the season. Yes, I know we are not playing any match in the next three months; still, this win is important from momentum point of view. We, as a team, would feel good when we recall what happened when we had last stepped onto the field. You never want to see the season getting over with a loss, do you?”
The America game was Shay Given’s 127th one in Ireland colours. He had made his debut for his country 18 years ago, yes 18 years ago.
For the last couple of years, he had been out of International scene. He had actually retired, but, then, he came back to help Ireland get qualified for the World Cup. He did not play in the World Cup qualifiers though, but, eventually, in August this year, he was called back in the squad for the game versus Oman.