[ad_1]
Alan Browne admitted he was gutted after missing a penalty on the Slovak penalty shootout Thursday night, but the Irish midfielder said if the opportunity arose again, he would raise his hand again.
The Preston North End player entered as a second-half substitute at the Euro 2020 Irish play-off in Bratislava and had a real impact on the game, hitting the post in extra time and taking part in some of the best chances of Ireland.
Browne, of course, will be remembered by some as one of only two players from Ireland who missed his penalty shot on penalties, yet the Cork native insisted he would do so again.
“It’s disappointing. I’m just as discouraged as anyone else,” Browne said, speaking to the media on Saturday.
“I accepted the responsibility. It’s a privilege to have that pressure, and unfortunately it didn’t come in and it wasn’t meant to be. But I said before, I’d rather lose it than see one of my teammates fail that.
“I raised my hand, I wanted one and it didn’t go in. That’s unfortunate for me and the rest of the guys, but I don’t regret it. If the opportunity arose again, I’d raise my hand again.”
Browne said he always looks at his own performances, and it was no different after the game in Slovakia, where the player felt he contributed a lot to Ireland’s positive play.
And the midfielder said he will not stop at the missed penalty despite the disappointment.
“From my personal point of view, I like to analyze the matches but not dwell on them. I have already looked at the chances I had, the chances that the team created, I took my own opinion of them but I’m not going to reproduce them in my mind and let them take over me.
“Opportunities will reappear and hopefully we’ll be in good positions to qualify for the big tournaments in the future and keep our fingers crossed, it’s the other way around next time and we do well.”
Speaking of his personal performance, which included three scoring chances, Browne hopes he’s now part of the midfield conversation and given the coach another option in the battle for a place in the starting lineup.
“I just tried to come in and make the biggest impact that I could. I was involved in a lot of the best opportunities we had.
“Maybe he could have done better and, on another night, find the back of the net. But now it’s up to the coach to choose the team.
“The rest of the guys were exceptional from the beginning so there’s a lot of competition for places and hopefully now I’ve given him a bit of a headache.”
Ireland’s team can now start building towards qualification for the 2022 World Cup, and three games after the new coach’s tenure, Browne believes the players are supporting his innovative new approach to how they represent the country.
“They are still early doors in terms of the arrival of the manager. It is difficult to get your ideas of what you want understood immediately in such a short time.
“But the guys have really taken it, we like their ideas across the board. Your staff is tremendous.
“We are all excited about where this team is heading in the future.”
[ad_2]