Trapattoni happy despite loss to Uruguay

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has praised his side’s gallant second-half display in its 3-2 loss to Uruguay.

“I was very, very happy with our performance after half-time,” Trapattoni told Sky Sports. “We recovered very well in the second half, we played with good personality.”

“We played well. We had a good direction.”

Trapattoni also praised Reading striker Shane Long. He deputised for Robbie Keane, scoring a headed equaliser in the 16th minute and was a standout performer against the South Americans.

“If I was the manager of a club, I would look out for him. He is maturing and he is strong and if he was playing in the Premier League, he would get even better,” Trapattoni told the Daily Mail.

“A year ago Long was still young but he is growing, and he has become a very important player for us. The other managers must have seen him now.”

“It is a mystery for myself and Marco (Tardelli) that more of our players are not in the Premier League.”