“We are disappointed. We had the home advantage and we couldn’t take advantage of that but we are still very much in the group,” insisted the Lifford man.
“Slovakia are a good team. They have beaten Russia already in the group. They are no mugs. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They keep the ball very well. They had some chances as well.”
Shay said it was unfair of critics to have a go when Friday night’s opponents were very good.
Said Given: “It is easier said than done to control the game at home. You don’t dominate teams like Slovakia. They are a top team in Europe. I don’t think it’s easy to dominate any team in Europe.
“If one of our chances had gone in, we’d be standing here talking about a great victory. We had 2 or 3 very good chances that didn’t go in for us. On other nights they would have went in.”
He added: “We’ve got a game against Russia on Tuesday night, which is another huge game for us. I don’t know what our approach will be on Tuesday. We are just getting over this one now. We know it’s a huge game again. Russia had an important win tonight. They will be huge favourites but we have to keep our spirits up for a huge game.”
Shane Long is ruled out of the trip to Moscow.