IRELAND manager Heimir Hallgrimsson praised the performance of his players in Saturday's narrow 1-0 defeat against Austria in their penultimate Nations League Group B3 game.
Ireland looked threatening in spells in an end-to-end game at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz but came up short, with Sasa Kalajdzic poking home the winner late in the game.
A third match without a win means Ireland must beat Kosovo at home on Tuesday to secure second spot in the group and a place in the promotion play-offs.
"We were playing a really tough opponent where they haven't lost a game in three years and I think we at least deserved a draw," said Hallgrimsson after the Austria defeat.
"If we would have scored the first one, I am so positive we would have scored another one after because we were on the front foot, we were creating a lot of good chances."
He added: "I think we area improving and we are getting closer and closer to these teams."
Attacking Ireland fall short
After two successive draws — including a 2-2 stalemate against Austria in Dublin last month having led 2-0 — Hallgrimsson unveiled an attacking line-up in Linz.
Troy Parrot may be going through a barren spell for Real Betis but he has scored four goals his last three games for his country.
He was joined up front by Swansea's top scorer Adam Idah, whose club remain in the Championship promotion places despite a recent dip in form.
Behind them was Jack Moylan, who has impressed on Cardiff's return to the Championship with 10 goals and three assists in the league.
After a bright start from the hosts, Parrott twice went close but saw Alexander Schlager collect his acrobatic first effort before turning his shot from the edge of the box away for a corner.
Austria finished the half strongly, with Caoimhin Kelleher denying Christoph Lang and Michael Gregoritsch.
The hosts continued in the same vein after the break, with the Brentford stopper saving from Kevin Danso and Christoph Baumgartner.
Parrott and Ryan Manning both saw efforts saved by Schlager before Kalajdzic turned home after Kelleher parried Gregoritsch's header into his path with 12 minutes to go.
Ireland ultimately managed 17 efforts on goal with seven on target, as many as they managed in their previous two matches against Israel and Austria combined.
However, they couldn't find a way past Schlager, despite late chances for Chiedozie Ogbene and Nathan Collins.
The victory saw Austria — unbeaten at home in three years — seal promotion to Nations League A with Ireland facing a must-win game against Kosovo, who beat the Boys in Green 1-0 in Pristina in September.
'Credit to the players'
While Ireland are safe from a relegation play-off even if they lose against Kosovo, victory would secure a promotion play-off against a third- or fourth-placed team from League A.
Second place will also see Ireland in pot two of the draw for the Euro 2028 qualifiers, theoretically giving them a better chance of qualifying.
Kosovo are also fighting to secure second spot but ahead of the game, Hallgrimsson was buoyed by the performance in Austria.
"We got into so many good positions, we got so many crosses, so many corners, so many throw-ins that created chaos in the box but it was not our day scoring goals," Hallgrimsson said.
"In general, we are never happy losing but for the performance I have to give credit to the players.
"The key message after this game is we need to have the same energy, the same positivity and the same belief in what we are doing when we play Kosovo in two days.
"Now it is our job to get full recovery for every player for the upcoming game in the Aviva."
Ireland's game against Kosovo at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin kicks off at 7.45pm on Tuesday, November 17.
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