Kenny disappointed to leave Lodz without a victory

Stephen Kenny's side secured a tough away draw against an excellent Ukraine team, however, the Ireland manager was disappointed not to leave Lodz with all three points.

Outplayed for large segments of the game, particularly in the first half, Kenny’s side relied on a rock-solid back line and goalkeeper to keep the scores level throughout a tricky opening 25 minutes.

But then Ireland took the lead as a result of a fine piece of individual play by commanding centre-half Nathan Collins who danced through a line of defenders before sending a sublime finish into the back of the net.

Ireland were perhaps caught a little cold at the start of the second half as Ukraine moved the ball with pace and precision to open the Ireland defence and grab an equaliser.

Ukraine maintained the look of the superior side throughout, however, Ireland matched, if not bettered them in terms of goalscoring opportunities, and could even have snatched a late winner as the home side noticeably faded throughout the final ten minutes.

"Ukraine are a quality team, there's no question about that, they've got really exceptional technical footballers," said Kenny, speaking at the post match press conference. "I've enjoyed watching them in preparation for the games.

"But overall, we're leaving the stadium disappointed that we haven't won the game having taken the lead. That was the key thing."

The manager was full of praise for his side who, once again, put in a demanding physical performance against a quality side, chasing possession against the skilful Ukraine outfit.

And while the manager admitted that there was an element of frustration to give a goal away, especially so soon after the restart, he was not going to point the blame at anyone in particular after