TICKING HEIMBOMB

Out goes the jovial Hallgrimsson we saw before the Hungary game and in comes a more explosive side to the Ireland boss

- BY MARK McCADDEN

THERE were flashes yesterday when we saw a more combative side to Heimir Hallgrimsson.

We'd grown accustomed to the chilled version; affable and full of smiles.

Then on Saturday night, whenever the camera panned to him as his Irish side reeled from the concession of two early goals, his face appeared to be stuck somewhere between pain, shock and rage.

It seemed yesterday as though the emotions of that rollercoaster night still lingered.

In his tone and in his body language, there was a little more bite.

Perched at one end of a tiny, cramped room under the Armenian Football Federation's academy stadium, he mostly leaned forward in his chair.

Last Friday, as he previewed the Hungary game alongside Nathan Collins, he spent most of his time sitting back, cutting a far more relaxed figure.

On that morning, he spoke of confidence, of his players appearing taller, of optimism in Ireland's prospects of opening their World Cup qualification campaign with a win.

Then came Barnabas Varga. Then Roland Sallai. 15 minutes in and the mood that had been built up over the week had been shattered. There were boos at halftime.