Certainly the likes of Aaron an
Michael O��Neill condemned the ��cruelty�� of Northern Ireland��s World Cup play-off defeat by Switzerland after they were ultimately denied a place in Russia by the controversial first-leg penalty. The Northern Ireland manager also insisted it was too soon to say whether elimination marked the end of an era for himself and several senior players.

Northern Ireland produced a vastly improved performance in Basel but a goalless draw sent Switzerland through to a fourth consecutive World Cup finals thanks to Ricardo Rodr��guez��s penalty in Belfast. Rodr��guez was also on hand to clear a Jonny Evans header off the line in stoppage time in the second leg, increasing Northern Ireland��s torment.
��I wasn��t aware it was Rodr��guez but the cruelty is in the poorness of the decision that means we are missing out on the chance to go to a World Cup,�� a distraught O��Neill said. ��That is the cruelty. We should still be playing extra time now, that is the reality. Yes, Switzerland were the better team in the first leg but they didn��t score other than the penalty.
��We were the better team tonight. For us to miss out because of that mistake, at this level and with those group of players who��ve given everything, is extremely cruel. We should be out on the pitch now fighting for a place in Russia.��
O��Neill revealed several Northern Ireland players were in tears in the dressing room after the game and that, for the likes of 38-year-old Aaron Hughes and 37-year-old Gareth McAuley, their dreams of playing at a World Cup are, in effect, over.
The manager said: ��My first emotion is absolute devastation. It would have been disappointing if we��d just lost but it is devastating because of the manner of how we lost and the goal that decided the tie. I couldn��t have asked for more from the players. Their level of performance was phenomenal and I told them afterwards it was a privilege to be their manager tonight.
��After five and a half http://www.officialpanthersnflauthentic.com/Nike-Cameron-Artispayne-Jersey.html years this is clearly a devastating moment but in terms of the character of a team it is also a high point. We went toe to toe with a team that reached the last 16 of the last Euros and the last World Cup and the tie has been decided by a penalty that should never have been. The players are emotional and upset. There were some players in tears afterwards. Everyone was struggling to hold back their emotions. For some of these players it��s unlikely the World Cup will come around again.��
Oliver Norwood, the Northern Ireland midfielder, put Womens Fozzy Whittaker Jersey it succinctly. ��Shafted is the only word for it,�� he said. ��It��s not just the penalty decision as the tackle Fabian Sch?r made on Stuart Dallas in Belfast was a red card. I will think about the penalty decision for years to come as it��s the only goal between the two sides and it��s knocked us out.��
O��Neill��s future with Northern Ireland is open to doubt given his outstanding achievements at international level. Scotland are believed to be keen to lure the Edinburgh-based manager to replace Gordon Strachan, but O��Neill insisted no one connected with Northern Ireland needs to decide their futures in the immediate aftermath of the play-off exit.
��I haven��t even considered that,�� he said. ��I am under contract until 2020 and tonight is about being with my players, spending time with them and making sure they are OK. I said to the players there is no need to make any rash decisions on anything they want to do. They have given everything.
��They will make decisions going forward. Certainly the likes of http://www.miamidolphinsauthorizedstore.com/kiko-alonso-jersey-elite Aaron and Gareth at 38 and 37, and Chris Brunt, these players have had long and established Northern Ireland careers but, for me, they have time to make that decision.
��We don��t have a qualifier until next March so there is lot of time for that, and certainly at this moment in time it��s not a decision to be made. I am not thinking any further ahead than just being with the playersMichael O��Neill resembled a mourner at a funeral as he walked across a mud-splattered pitch in Switzerland wearing a long black coat to console his distraught players. How apt. The dream of a first World Cup appearance in 32 years has died for Northern Ireland and all because of a disgraceful penalty decision in Belfast three days earlier. It may prove the end of an era, not simply of another remarkable campaign.
Northern Ireland held their own against the team ranked 11th in the world and were agonisingly close to taking the play-off to extra time when Jonny Evans��s injury-time header sailed goalwards. Yann Sommer, the Switzerland goalkeeper, was awol having missed Chris Brunt��s deep cross but Ricardo Rodr��guez came to his country��s rescue with a clearance on the line. It would have to be Rodr��guez, who scored the controversial penalty that ultimately decided the team heading to Russia next summer. Another cruel twist for O��Neill and his players.
��The cruelty is in the poorness of the decision that means we are missing out on the chance to go to a World Cup,�� the Northern Ireland manager said. ��That is the cruelty. We should still be out there playing extra time.��
Northern Ireland��s sense of injustice will harden given the consequence of Ovidiu Hategan��s incompetence but O��Neill was rightly proud of how it was channelled Womens Fozzy Whittaker Jersey in Basel. Several parallels with last summer��s European Championship defeat of Ukraine gave cause for optimism before kick-off and, if that appeared wishful thinking in the face of a daunting predicament, it was substantiated by a vastly improved second-leg performance. If only the result had been the same.
Minute-by-minute report: Switzerland qualified for the World Cup, but Northern Ireland pushed them all the way on a tense evening in BaselSwitzerland 0-0 Northern Ireland: World Cup play-off second leg �C as it happened
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As he did after the opening group defeat by Poland last summer, O��Neill replaced the physicality of Kyle Lafferty, plus Josh Magennis, with the energy of Conor Washington and Jamie Ward, to telling effect. He also recalled Aaron Hughes at right?back, thereby making the 38-year-old the most capped home nations defender of all time, surpassing Bobby Moore��s record of 108 international appearances.
There was also a torrential downpour in Basel to echo the hailstorm that temporarily halted proceedings in Lyon. The pitch at St Jakob-Park was sodden and inspected twice before the game was given the go-ahead. Northern Ireland players conducted their warm-up around ground staff who were throwing buckets of sand on to the pitch to absorb visible patches of water. Passing was inevitably complicated, although Northern Ireland��s recovery was the most striking feature here.
With Washington working tirelessly across the front line, Oliver Norwood shining in central midfield and Gareth McAuley commanding in central defence, the visitors rediscovered the form that secured a runners-up spot in qualifying. Granit Xhaha��s pre-match assertion that Switzerland��s fortunate penalty would prove an irrelevance to the overall result was quickly in doubt. O��Neill��s side did not manage one shot on target in the first leg. Here they created four decent openings inside 16 minutes, stinging the goalkeeper Sommer��s palms twice

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