Corry Evans has admitted that he and his Northern Ireland teammates were "absolutely gutted" following their 2-0 defeat against Romania in Euro 2016 qualifying.
The Irish had won their first three games in qualifying, but two late goals from Paul Papp ensured that their unbeaten run came to an end in Bucharest.
"Everybody in the dressing room was absolutely gutted and exhausted," Evans told Sky Sports News. "We gave our all but it just wasn't good enough against the best team in the group.
"Yes, they put us under a lot of pressure and we were forced on the back foot for large parts of the match, but I honestly believed we were going to hold out for draw and a great point.
"All the players are shattered. It's terrible when you put so much effort in and don't come away with anything. We're all very disappointed. It's very hard to take but that's football."
Northern Ireland are currently second in Group F on nine points.
Alex Meyers
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
