Republic of Ireland Under-21 captain Conor Coventry has said that he and his team-mates are 'devastated' after losing on penalties to Israel on Tuesday night.
Victory would have seen Ireland reach the U21 European Championships for the first time in the nation's history at that age group.
But a goalless draw on the night, after a 1-1 draw in Tallaght on Friday, sent the tie to penalties where Israel secured victory.
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West Ham United's Coventry was the only Irish player to dispatch his spot-kick, Ireland losing 3-1 on penalties, and speaking after the final whistle, the midfielder spoke highly of his team-mates, especially the 'boys' who took a penalty at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
“Obviously we’re devastated,” said Coventry via Pundit Arena. “We’ve been on a great run and I’m really proud of the lads in there.
“It’s been a massive honour to captain them for this time and everything they’ve showed, their character and the amount of times we’ve been down and out and come back. The lads in there, some of them are still boys and to have the bottle to stand up there and take a penalty in front of I don’t know how many fans.”
Coventry admitted that Israel were the better team on the night and that he and his team-mates failed to do more in Tallaght with their opponents down to ten men.
“I’ve got massive respect for everyone in there, we fought and gave everything and I just love playing for this team,” added Coventry.
“We gave everything and left everything out there. They were probably the better team tonight and we were the better team in Tallaght, maybe we could have capitalised on that a bit more. What can you say? It’s penalties obviously it’s a skill but there’s a bit of luck involved as well, so congratulations to them.”
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