Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has pointed to fatigue as the reason his squad squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Austria on Thursday.
A Troy Parrott wonder goal gave Ireland the lead early into the game, before the Real Betis striker added a second from the penalty spot before the break.
However, goals from Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch within six minutes of one another ended Irish hopes of topping the group at the halfway stage of the UEFA Nations League B group phase.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport shortly after full-time, the Iceland native found enough positives from the opening 45 in what is an elongated international window.
"Obviously (we were) happy to be 2-0 up at half-time," he told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue.
"We knew, and I told you before the game, this team is high energy; and we knew that we needed to do some rotation and changes. I felt like we just lost organisation, probably due to tiredness, and then you start to make mistakes.
"That was something that we were obviously not happy with, but the first half was good, the organisation was good, we know we can do this.
"I kind of expected us to get out of gas at some point, but maybe not so quickly. This week has been not only physically difficult, (but) it's been mentally difficult and that takes a lot of energy as well."
After the chaotic build-up to the start of the window, centered around whether or not Ireland would fulfill their fixture against Israel, Hallgrimsson has repeatedly pointed to the emotional energy in the group.
They led within 12 minutes thanks to a brilliant goal from Parrott, something the 59-year-old could scarcely believe.
"I haven't seen my team score a goal like this. It was absolutely brilliant, individual brilliance. I want to see it now again", he proclaimed.
"(Troy) has been absolutely fantastic for us the last one or two years. He's flying at the moment. We felt that he was getting tired in the end and we don't want him to get injured.
"He's an important player for us. We're going to the next game in two days and we need to recover. That's the only thing we're thinking about now.
"Yes, we're losing a two-goal advantage, but in the end I think it was deserved. (Austria) came strong in the second half, they put us under a lot of pressure and we didn't seem to cope with it well enough."
The Republic of Ireland finish their Nations League window on Sunday as they face Israel in Serbia, although goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu will not be travelling with the squad. Defender James Abankwah will also miss out due to suspension.
But the Ireland manager is pleased with where they sit on the table at the halfway stage.
"Hopefully we can do another good performance in three days", he said
"If somebody would have invited me at a point against Austria before this game, in our environment, I would have probably taken it.
"2-0 up, you never want to lose that advantage. It's a mix of disappointment and happiness."
A conflicted Heimir Hallgrímsson speaks to Tony O'Donoghue after Ireland's 2-2 draw with Austria #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 1, 2026
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