Spain setback provides Williams with plenty to ponder

Defender Derrick Williams insisted there was no shame in losing to "probably the best team in the world" as the Republic of Ireland bowed out of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship at the hands of Spain.

Paul Doolin's side endured a difficult night at the Stadionul Concordia, going down 5-0 to the four-time winners, but the 18-year-old Aston Villa FC full-back believes the experience gained throughout the tournament would prove invaluable. "We are obviously disappointed but we all came together at the end and agreed we were beaten by the better team," the German-born player told UEFA.com.

"Spain were world class," he added. "We were trying to keep our organisation as much and for as long as we could and we thought we would have had a chance or two on the counterattack," Williams continued. "We had a solid back line and were OK in midfield. We were frustrating them a bit at the start, then two wonder strikes put them ahead and we dropped our heads a bit. They kept going in the second half and we found it very hard."

Ireland reached the last four having advanced as runners-up from a group that contained Greece, the Czech Republic and hosts Romania. The celebrations that proceeded that feat were short lived, however, with Williams giving an insight into just how difficult it can be to contain Ginés Meléndez's side.

"It's so hard to get the ball off them; it can be really frustrating at times," he said. "They find spaces so easily and move it about very quickly. When you have the ball they just win it back and don't lose it; it could be five or ten minutes before you are in possession again. Their No17 [Gerard] Deulofeu was unbelievable with his pace and his tricks. As if he wasn't enough to contend with, when their captain [Pablo Sarabia] switched over to my side I was just thinking 'Oh no.' You can only learn from a team like that."

With an official reception to honour Ireland's achievement of reaching the semi-finals set to take place in Dublin on Sunday, Williams leaves Romania with plenty of fond memories. "It's great to learn from great players," he explained. "I also learned a lot from my coach Paul Doolin, especially in a positional sense. He's great; he really gets you up for each game while at other times he keeps you calm and focused. I also remember receiving messages of encouragement every day from my old team Tramore FC in Waterford which meant a lot. I'll go back to Aston Villa now and see what Alex [McLeish] thinks of me and hopefully kick on from there."