PARISIAN PAIN: Page 46

REPUBLIC of Ireland goalkeeper Colin Doyle took full responsibility for his error that gifted Nabil Fekir France’s second goal in their 2-0 friendly win last night.

Doyle allowed a speculative shot to spill through his grasp after Olivier Giroud had earlier put Les Bleus into the lead and, while the conditions were hor- rendous, he was honest enough not to look for excuses.

“It came through a few bodies, I was unsighted,” a disappointed Doyle said. “I should have kept it out. I should have done better. I got two hands on it. I didn’t know where it was to be honest.

“I pushed it and it sort of went up. I thought I pushed it wide but when I looked up around me and saw it come down under the bar, I tried to get it up but it was too late.”

Doyle revealed that Roy Keane put an arm around his shoulder afterwards as he praised the manner in which he recovered from the howler.

“You just have to try and forget it,” the 32-year-old insisted. “Roy said to me after the game, ‘Well done, because it’s how you recover from mistakes’. He said I did well other than that.”

Doyle will hope to get another chance against the USA on Saturday but Martin O’Neill may well rotate his goalkeepers.

“You want to play every game,” Doyle (below) maintained. “Other than the obvious mistake, I was happy with my performance. However, nobody will look at how I did, people will probably just talk about the error. People won’t look at the saves I made but it’s part and parcel. “They’ve a top quality squad and are one of the favourites for the World Cup.

“The way they move the ball means you can’t get near them.

“We need to be better. That’s where we want to play, be in World Cups and European Championships.

“They’re the teams we’ve to aspire to be. I know it’s a relatively new squad coming together, a few young lads, but we’ll have to learn fast.”