Darron Gibson’s return to international football was certainly more painful than he would have hoped for but the Everton man insisted after the game that he was still delighted to be back playing for Ireland.

Speaking with Newstalk’s Joe Molloy after the game Gibson said he was “delighted to be back”, in spite of the loss.
“I was delighted to be back. Obviously delighted to get 90 minutes in as well. Obviously disappointed with losing but it was nice to be back,” Gibson said.

With Germany outclassing Ireland for almost the entirety of the ninety minutes Gibson and his teammates endured a tough night of resisting German pressure when in possession and then trying to resist the recurring wave of their hosts’ attacks.

“They pressed us unbelievably well. Every time we tried to play out from the back they were on us. It was like the red arrows to be honest with you,” Gibson said.

Germany may have benefited from an early deflection to open the scoring and waited until injury time to add a third, but in reality there was never any danger for the hosts from Noel King’s side. Despite the scoreline and Germany’s near constant dominance of proceedings Gibson felt Ireland had performed well.

“I think we gave a good account of ourselves to be honest with you. We defended well at times and I think the goals were goals that could have been, that we could have not given away,” Gibson said.

“The lads went out and gave a hundred percent tonight so I don’t think there’s much more we could have done,” he added.

Listen to the full interview – including Gibson’s discussion of Germany’s pressing tactics and life at Everton - via the player below