Darren Randolph: To win both and get maximum points is brilliant

Darren Randolph admits that being able to secure six points out of a possible six on offer in the Group D Qualifiers is all that the Boys in Green could have asked for.

Randolph spoke to the assembled media during the aftermath of Tuesday evening’s win over Georgia as Conor Hourihane’s sublime free-kick secured all three points for the Boys in Green.

“I’m delighted,” the Bray native told the scrum of reporters.  

“When the fixtures came out, we looked at these two games as an opportunity to get all six points in the two games. To win both and get maximum points is brilliant.”

The Middlesbrough ‘keeper, who was recently named in the Championship Team of the Season made a pivotal save just before the half-time whistle.

The save all but secured all three points for Mick McCarthy’s side who dominated for vast swathes of the game at the Dublin 4 venue.

“It’s all about getting yourself in the right position,” the ex-Ardmore Rovers schoolboy said.

“I was trying to just cover my goal and hope it would hit off me and it did which allowed me to make the save.”

Hourihane’s winner will likely make the back-page headlines of Wednesday’s papers with it being crucial in terms of the Boys of Green securing all three points.

“It was a brilliant free kick,” Randolph admitted.



“Obviously the tennis ball saga worked in his favour there.”

Tuesday’s encounter was dominated by talk of protests and the like, none of which seemed to distract the Boys in Green to their credit.

The 31-year-old shot-stopper revealed that the backing of the fans was key during Tuesday night’s Aviva showdown.

“I don’t think the fans ever stopped supporting us. They might have been a bit frustrated over some performances, but they were always there. We wanted to get off to a good start today and they stuck with us and backed us through the whole game.

“Mick has come in and told us that organisation and working hard was the main thing.  He told us to run ourselves into the ground, play when you could and put them under pressure.”

Before departing, Randolph gave his views on the whole tennis ball incident which preceded Hourihane’s winner for the Boys in Green.



“I was looking around for help at the start! I thought I better start kicking some off straight away because it wasted a bit of time. Thankfully I got a bit of help and they were gone!”