Republic defeat in Armenia like ‘a massive cut to the stomach’ says Nathan Collins as World Cup qualification hopes in tatters

Ireland were humbled at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan on Tuesday evening when they went down 2-1 to a side ranked 45 places below them by FIFA, a result which leaves their Group F qualification hopes in dire jeopardy just two games into the campaign.

For the second time in four days, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men conceded twice before rallying, but where they had fought back to snatch a 2-2 home draw with Hungary on Saturday, there was no saving face this time around.

Collins said: “It’s just a lot of disappointment, frustration, anger. I’m one to try to contain my emotions, but it’s just so frustrating.

“It just hurts, I feel like it’s a massive cut to the stomach, it hurts a lot. I just thought they were better than us on the day and as a team, that shouldn’t be happening for us.”

A disastrous start to the campaign has left Hallgrimsson – whose current contract ends with Ireland’s involvement in the competition – under intense pressure.

However, Brentford defender Collins knows he and his team-mates have to bear a great deal of the responsibility for two performances which have done little to justify the optimism with which they set out on the road to the United States, Canada and Mexico just a few days ago.

He said: “We’re good enough, we’re too good for that. We just didn’t perform on the day.

“In football anything can happen, but it’s the way we’ve lost. I don’t think we’ve put in a convincing enough performance to go and win here.

“I don’t think you can go and say we deserved to win. That’s the frustrating part.”

Ireland have not qualified for the World Cup finals since 2002 and last made it to a major tournament at Euro 2016.

If they are to end that run – Hallgrimsson admitted that might take “a miracle” in the wake of the defeat in Yerevan – it seems likely that they will have to win their next fixture, October’s daunting trip to Portugal.

Four years ago, they led the same opponents 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Faro with 89 minutes gone only for Cristiano Ronaldo to score twice in what time remained to snatch victory, while the return in Dublin finished goalless.

Collins said: “If we win in Portugal, does everything change again? That’s what we have to do. It has to be the mentality, it has to be the looking forward to that game.

“It’s the only thing we can do now. I don’t want to think it’s dream over, I don’t want to think like that right now.

“Sometimes we are better against a bigger team. We’ve caused Portugal a lot of frustration previously in different campaigns. I don’t see why we can’t.

“There is a chance there for us and that’s all I’m clinging onto at the moment.”