NATHAN COLLINS admitted last night’s scoreless draw felt too much like an end-of-season friendly — but insisted the clean sheet was still a plus.
The Boys in Green made it four games unbeaten in 2025 yet were unimpressive for the most part as they drew with the Grand Duchy.
And Collins acknowledged that Ireland performed well below their own expectations.
The captain said: “Before the game, we didn’t want it to be that last game, end-of-season friendly feel to it. We wanted to be not as passive and wanted to get after them more but we weren’t at that.”
Collins, an ever-present for Brentford in the Premier League, added: “It’s been a long season, I’ve been trying to push myself to the limit.
“I’m physically tired, but I’m more mentally tired. I doubt I’m the only one in that boat.
“We’ve pushed ourselves to the max this season, away to Luxembourg, it’s not an easy game.
“They played a really good game, they are very good, they pressed high and that probably hurt us as well.
“I know the passiveness was there but we still made them force things, we still defended in a nice solid way and made them go around us.
“Considering how we’re nowhere near our best, we still dug out a clean sheet. But we all know that was nowhere near our best and we have so much more to give.”
Collins hailed team-mates Matt Doherty, Jason Knight and debutant Max O’Leary for keeping Ireland in it.
He said: “We’re lucky that it still carries momentum. The way we played we could have lost that. We didn’t deserve to win but to sit in and defend the way we did, we didn’t deserve to lose.
“Credit to Max O’Leary, he’s been in the camp a long time and not got his caps but made two great saves.
“Doc got a tackle in and Knighty was class in front. We weren’t at our best but defended well, dug in and had our chances.”
For Collins, that bodes well for the World Cup qualifiers in September when Ireland kick off against Hungary.
He said: “When we come back in in September we build on that. We have great momentum and we haven’t lost in a few games.
“We know there is more things to work on and get better. Going in unbeaten in four into a qualifier, I’ve never experienced that.
“I can’t wait for it. Fans will be at it. The bond we’ve created with the fans is great, I’m looking forward to be back in the Aviva, hunger straight off the bat, a massive game.”
And Collins believes the past week — with debuts for Killian Phillips, John Joe Patrick Finn and O’Leary and first starts for Kasey McAteer and Jack Taylor — have made it a worthwhile window.
He added: “That’s the whole point of this, you want players to come in, you want players under pressure for the next person. It’s a great thing that pushes the next player.”
On those absent, he added: “It’s going to be hard for them to get back in. We know we have a good squad.”
