\n<\/p>\n
O’Neill was left to lament some soft defending as a defensive mix-up allowed Amiri to pounce for Germany’s second, whilst he also questioned the awarding of the free-kick which Wirtz superbly dispatched.<\/p>\n
“For 60 or 65 minutes we were well in the game. The second goal is a bit of a freak goal, we could have defended it better. The third goal isn’t a free-kick. It’s a fantastic finish but it’s a soft free-kick,” he explained.<\/p>\n
“I thought the referee was a bit fussy in the second half. He refereed it well in the first.<\/p>\n
“We were well in the game and needed to get to that final 15 minutes and we might have had a final chance, but the game drifted away from us.”<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland sit second in Group A following a win and a defeat from their opening two games.<\/p>\n
O’Neill believes his side are where they expected to be at this stage of qualifying, with two huge home games against Slovakia and Germany to come in October.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough to play two games away from home,” he said. “We got what we hoped for, but we’re a bit disappointed it’s not a little bit more.<\/p>\n
“We have to be ready to play back-to-back at home and we know two good results will put us in a good position.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n