BROWNE: GOAL A REAL BOOST

— but we’ve turned the page now and the results are matching the performances.

“Our performances, even from the get-go, have been really good but we just didn’t have the results to match them.

“When they go hand-inhand it makes for an all-round good day and we’ll go into the campaign full of belief and with a winning mentality that’s been bred into us.

“It’s definitely realistic that we can go and win it.”

Ukraine’s delayed World Cup play-off semi-final against

Scotland will also affect Ireland’s

Nations

League campaign, with the winners then due to meet Wales for a place in Qatar in November.

The Boys In Green could potentially take on Armenia in back-to-back games in June but no decisions will be taken by FIFA and UEFA on the matter until the middle of April at the earliest.

Run

Browne’s (pictured) perfectly-timed run to the near post saw him add his second headed international goal in 12 months following his far-post opener in the 3-2 World Cup qualifying defeat to Serbia in Belgrade.

Since

March last year, the Preston star had added only three further caps prior to Saturday through a combination of niggling injuries, Covid-19 close case, suspension and the competition for places in the Irish midfield.

So the 26-year-old is the first to admit that marking his 75th-minute arrival into the game when replacing Jeff Hendrick with a goal is a real boost for him.

Squad

“It’s massive. as the manager said earlier, the players who have been playing have been excellent,” he added after Saturday’s draw at the Aviva Stadium. “It is a tough squad to break into.

“I’ve just got to do as well as I can when coming on and the same with the rest of the boys.

“You saw Jason Knight against Luxembourg, he came on and made an impact and he got another chance tonight to impress. “For me, it’s good to be here and to play if called upon.

“I just wanted to come on and make an impact, was given the instructions coming on to get us forward, not just sit off and play for a 2-1 loss, that’s not our mentality.

‘We want to get the equaliser and go again.

“The opportunity arose, I got myself into a good area and thankfully the cross was inch-perfect.”