Robbie Keane felt that the Republic of Ireland had come up short of the required quality as they ended their campaign with a 2-0 loss to Italy.
Striker admits set-pieces cost Irish this tournament
Robbie Keane felt that the Republic of Ireland had come up short of the required quality as they ended their Euro 2012 campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Italy.
Antonio Cassano flicked the ball home from a corner to give Italy the lead just before half-time before Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli sealed the Azzurri's place in the quarter-finals with a stunning late strike.
Keith Andrews was sent off for a second bookable offence and it summed up a disappointing campaign from the Irish, who will leave Poland without a point to their name from their three matches.
Keane paid tribute to the travelling fans, admitting they had been one of the few bright spots of the competition.
Shame
"The last three games, they've been fantastic," he said.
"It's a shame we didn't perform as well as we can and perform for them because if anyone deserves it, it's them.
"I think we played well tonight without really creating too many chances. It's one of those things. It's certainly disappointing we didn't get something out of the group.
"We're all disappointed, but we've been beaten by better teams."
Keane pointed the finger at his side's defending as they conceded too many soft goals.
He said: "It's set-pieces again and it's been the same in the last few games. It's one of those things because in previous games we've been quite solid in that department."
Asked if this was likely to have been the final appearance for several of Ireland's veteran players - including Keane himself - the 31-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy forward said: "We'll have to see."
Proud
Meanwhile, head coach Trapattoni said he was proud of his players.
"We played much better this evening than we did against Spain and Croatia, we played with more personality and respected what we had said about credibility and commitment," he said.
"This evening we made some little mistakes from two corners and we're not used to these little mistakes but I'm proud of our commitment because although Italy beat us, we gave them our honour."
