Conor Coventry expressed his pride at the efforts his Republic Of Ireland U21s' teammates after the squad were cruelly unfortunate to miss out on qualification for a first major tournament.
Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg against Israel, Ireland battled to a goalless draw in the second fixture to send their 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier play-off to a penalty shootout.
But after Coventry cooly netted his country’s first spot-kick, Ireland fell to a narrow defeat in Tel Aviv. Tyreik Wright, Evan Ferguson and Dawson Devoy missed the next three efforts from 12 yards, as Israel claimed a 3-1 win on penalties.
The Ireland U21s skipper was disappointed as his side narrowly missed out on next summer’s Finals, but praised the showing of his teammates.
“We gave everything tonight,” Coventry told Independent.ie after the match. "We're devastated. We've been on a good run. I think Israel was probably the better team. In the first leg, we could have capitalised on that a bit more.
U21 Update | No score in extra-time in Tel Aviv.
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 27, 2022
It will go to a penalty shoot-out for a place at the U21 EUROs (0-0 AET) 🇮🇪#IRLU21 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/SL3wR8i5pO
“What can you say, it's penalties and there is a bit of luck involved as well. Congratulations to them."
But the Ireland U21s skipper remained positive about the character his teammates showed across the two legs.
“I'm really proud of the lads and it's been a massive honour to be able to captain them,” he added.
"Everything they've shown, the character, being down and out and coming back.
"Some of the lads are still boys and to have the bottle to stand up and take a penalty, I have massive respect for everyone in there."
