Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has declared that his side deserved to defeat Wales following Wednesday night's 0-0 draw in Cardiff.

The Italian believes that his team created the best chances during the game, and were only kept at bay by the form of Welsh goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.

"We deserved to win. We had three or four clear chances. The goalkeeper was fantastic," BBC Sport quotes him as saying. "It was a friendly game and pre-season but at this moment, I am happy.

"I was worried that after the holiday maybe the team would not have the right mentality and I said to the players to remember what we did before. The performance was good enough."

Shane Long and Robbi Brady had Ireland's best chances of the match, while Craig Bellamy came close with a free kick at the other end.

Written by
Mark Langshaw