Friday 13 November 2015 23:46, UK
Martin O'Neill praised Republic of Ireland's resilience as they survived an injury crisis and severe fog to draw 1-1 in Bosnia and move to within touching distance of a place at Euro 2016.
Robbie Brady's 82nd-minute strike looked to have handed Ireland a crucial play-off victory, but Edin Dzeko's equaliser three minutes later ensured both sides head into the second leg level.
Despite this, Ireland will book their place at next summer's tournament if they prevent Bosnia from scoring on Monday at the Aviva Stadium.
And O'Neill, who was without stalwarts John O'Shea, Jon Walters and Shay Given - among others - was full of praise for his injury-hit side, who overcame adverse conditions in Zenica.
"I'm very pleased with the team, we've come here under difficult circumstances, battled strongly and tried at times to get the ball down and play," he told Sky Sports.
"It was always difficult because the pitch was very firm and possibly didn't allow for free flowing football.
"This was a cup tie tonight and we came out of it well, but there's still a long way to go."
After a tight opening 45 minutes at the Bilino Polje Stadium, the second period was hampered by the onset of dense fog.
Match official Felix Brych deemed visibility to be sufficient and safe, allowing the game to run its course, a decision O'Neill thought was justified.
"The second half was tough in the sense that the fog came down around half-time and it seemed to get thicker and thicker," O'Neill added.
"I don't think it got worse in the last 20 minutes and that's why the referee, who saw it fit to start the second half, saw fit to finish it.
"It was difficult but we coped well, scored the goal too and kept the tie alive.
"Because we had done well defensively in the first half but there was genuine concern [the game would be called off] for a little while, but we saw it through."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Monday, 7pm, Sky Sports 1 HD.
