PLAYERS
that Glenn Whelan escaped sanction after leading with his forearm in a challenge on Joe Allen late in the first half.
He also said Aaron Ramsey was nursing a “bruise down the side of his neck.”
Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said O’Shea had been left with “stud marks on his ankle” after Bale caught him as he slid in to attack Chris Gunter’s cross in the 68th minute.
“From where I was sitting, he had to go for the ball,” Coleman said.
“It’s a cross, he’s sprinting into the box, he’s got to try and attack the ball. Is it (the question) because it’s Gareth Bale or was it a genuinely bad challenge?
“If I see it again, I’ll apologise and say he’s got it wrong. There’s no hint of that in my dressing room. There’s no Bale saying, ‘I got that one wrong.’ He wants to Ukraine and Turkey in fourth have eight points each.
The home side missed several chances either side of Kalinic’s 38th-minute thunderbolt while a cagey Ukrainian outfit rarely troubled Croatia’s rearguard in the Maksimir stadium.
Mario Mandzukic hit the post for Croatia and Kalinic twice came close before he broke the deadlock in the 38th minute, appeal the yellow card.”
Coleman defended Taylor, saying he had been left “devastated” by Seamus’ injury and was “not that type of player“, but also expressed sympathy for the Everton player.
O’Neill confirmed Seamus had been taken straight to hospital with a broken leg.
“Obviously it’s a real blow to him,” O’Neill said.
“He’s having the season of a lifetime at club level. He’s a big player for us, a great captain and a great character.
“It’s a big, big loss, to Everton and to us. But he’ll fight back, I hope. It puts thing in perspective I suppose.”
In better news for O’Neill, the point earned at the Aviva Stadium kept Ireland four points clear of Wales and level on points with new group leaders Serbia, who beat Georgia 3-1. drilling an unstoppable shot into the top corner after good work by Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic.
Kalinic should have doubled Croatia’s lead four minutes later but goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov smothered the striker’s weak lob from 12 metres when the goal was at his mercy.
At the other end, Croatia keeper Danijel Subasic parried a pair
Wales looked to be growing into the game in the second half, Bale drilling wide from distance, but Taylor’s dismissal tipped the momentum Ireland’s way and the hosts threatened to snatch it.
“It’s five games gone, it’s exactly halfway (in the qualifying campaign),” O’Neill said.
“If you’d said to me two games at home, three away, we would have 11 points on the board, I would have taken that.
“But Serbia won tonight. Austria won (against Moldova), they’re not out of it. And you wouldn’t call Wales out of it either.”
O’Neill also paid tribute to West Bromwich Albion winger McClean, who was named man of the match five days on from the shock death of his close friend Ryan McBride, the Derry City captain, at the age of 27.
“He played very, very strongly,” O’Neill said.
“He played with his heart, as he always does. He played with not only great commitment, but also a great measure of discipline.” AFP of long-range efforts and defender Tin Jedvaj cleared the ball off the line after a goalmouth scramble.
Pyatov came to Ukraine’s rescue in the dying minutes when he palmed away a stinging Modric shot after the midfielder’s darting run into the box.
Croatia next visit Iceland on June 11, while Ukraine are away to Finland. Reuters