Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson admitted he was unsure of the reception his side would receive ahead of Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Austria at the Aviva Stadium.
The Icelandic boss and his team, as well as the Football Association of Ireland, have been embroiled in an ongoing debate about their two controversial matches with Israel, the first of which proceeded after a team vote.
Thursday’s home tie, while twice interrupted by first-half protests, was played in front of an overwhelmingly supportive crowd of 45,784 fans in Dublin.
“We knew this was a difficult window,” said Hallgrimsson. “Four games, a lot of travelling, plus everything else. So I’m happy. I’m happy with the players, how we played this game.
“I never want to concede goals, how they happened we’re not happy with, but with everything else, and especially the fans, it was just so appreciated.
“They are coming here, filling the stadium, and showing their support and love to the guys, and we are really happy with that.”
Troy Parrott scored a spectacular opener, then added a penalty on the stroke of half-time before Alexander Prass halved the deficit in the 71st minute and Michael Gregoritsch drew the sides level six minutes later.
Parrott found himself surrounded by a triangle of white shirts and with no support in the build-up to his 12th-minute opener, but nutmegged Philipp Lienhardt and evaded every other challenger before firing the hosts in front.
“There’s not many players who can do what he did,” said Hallgrimsson. “You will probably look at this goal again and again for many years to come, and that’s why we love this game.
“It can create moments like this, and it was just a shame that it’s not a goal that gave us a win, but I think you will be watching it anyway for years to come.”
The contest was first paused due to what campaign group Stop the Game later referred to in a statement as a “limited tennis ball protest”, when – around the 20th minute – tennis balls wrapped in stickers featuring the Palestinian flag and the text ‘#StopTheGame’ were launched on the pitch.
The match paused a second time when an invader entered the pitch and was promptly tackled and carried off by security. The Press Association has contacted Stop the Game about whether or not the man was affiliated with the group.
Austria boss Ralf Rangnick noticed an improvement in his side following the first interruption, which players used as a water break, after finding his visitors “lacked a bit of energy” in the opening 20 minutes.
Rangnick’s men remain top of group B3 at the halfway point in the group stage with seven points, four more than second-placed Kosovo and the Republic, who both have four.
The former Manchester United interim boss was also impressed by what he saw from Real Betis striker Parrott.
“As long as he was on the pitch, he was probably man of the match,” said Rangnick. “I would say not only because he scored a brilliant goal, but also because he was involved in almost every one of the offensive situations that Ireland created.
“To me, it was an excellent performance.”
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