THANK YOU FOR GIVING HIM SPACE, SAYS DENMARK BOSS

DENMARK boss Age Hareide delivered a damning indictment of the Republic of Ireland’s tactics after a thumping 5-1 win sent his country to the World Cup. Christian Eriksen was afforded the run of the Aviva Stadium and hit a hat-trick, taking his tally to nine goals in his last eight matches in qualification. The Spurs playmaker had endured a frustrating night in Saturday’s goalless draw in Copenhagen, but made the difference in Dublin, as Hareide sarcastically pointed out. ‘I was surprised, Ireland gave a lot of space in the centre of midfield for Eriksen,’ he said. ‘Thank you very much for giving him space, because they locked us down in Parken very well and Eriksen was very much out of the game and today he was fantastic. ‘He is always fantastic on the ball, works hard for the team, an inspiration for all the lads around him. That’s the difference between the sides. He’s in the top 10 players in the world.’ Eriksen said: ‘It was a crazy feeling. Ireland let us play a bit more, which is why we created so many chances. ‘It’s not often I score any hat-tricks. I know how nervous I was, all day and all night. ‘Taking your country to the World Cup means a lot, for my whole career and my whole life. ‘Mentally, I’ve grown up. I’m thinking more like a striker, trying to get the goal.’ Ireland boss Martin O’Neill was furious with the defending which allowed Denmark a way back into the game after Shane Duffy had headed the hosts into a sixth-minute lead. ‘We were well beaten, no question,’ he said. ‘If we’d got the second goal it could have been different but we conceded two sloppy goals in a couple of minutes and it was a long way back. ‘The goals were so, so bad. The second goal is just a comedy of mistakes.’ Meanwhile, tearful Ireland forward James McClean said the defeat was selfinflicted. ‘We shot ourselves. We had a great start. I’m just devastated,’ he said. ‘We let ourselves down.’