O'Shea enjoys 'special moment', Löw annoyed

• John O'Shea scores last-minute equaliser on 100th international appearance
• Republic of Ireland defender enjoys "very special moment"
• Joachim Löw describes result as "extremely annoying" for Germany
• Visiting coach Martin O'Neill hails Ireland's "fantastic effort"
• Germany v Gibraltar, Scotland v Republic of Ireland (14 November)

John O'Shea, Republic of Ireland defender
It was a very special moment. We have a fantastic spirit, we didn't want to come off having lost with people thinking we just did OK. At half-time the manager said, 'If we do go behind we will get the chances.' When Wes Hoolahan came on we played some fantastic passes. What a special night and thankfully I was able to play my part at the end.

Joachim Löw, Germany coach
It is extremely annoying for us not to have won the game and to concede the equaliser with basically the first real chance Ireland had, in the dying seconds. But we have to blame ourselves. In the last five or six minutes we had lost the control we had before. We lost some easy balls, we played it back to Manuel Neuer too often and failed to show ourselves and then we punted it long and the ball came back right away. Despite leading 1-0, we were suddenly a bit nervous and lost control.

In the past two games, we had the problem of scoring only one goal. In the first half against Ireland, we lacked depth and width so it wasn't a very difficult job for Ireland to defend against us. In the second half we fared better against an extremely defensive Ireland side. In Poland, we created more chances and did not score. Today we might have scored a second or even third. I don't think I have to change the squad.

We have always had pressure, it doesn't matter if we are world champions or not. As Germany, you always have the pressure of having to win. That has not really changed, maybe people have a different perception now. But during the [FIFA World Cup] for instance the pressure was a lot bigger than now during qualifying.

Generally, it is not completely surprising that certain players are lacking physical and mental freshness. We are not yet having the same dynamic, pace and precision we had before. But I had not expected us to, it was clear some players would need time after the World Cup.

Of course, we had expected to have more points coming out of October. But we will win against Gibraltar, then some players are coming back, others will be stronger again and then we will strike back.

Stephen Ward, Republic of Ireland defender
The plan worked out very well because we knew we were coming to play the best team in the world. We knew it was going to be tough and that we had to be tight, defend well, get a bit of luck and if a chance fell to us we knew we had to take it. Thankfully we worked really hard and in the second half we came into the game a lot more and defended really well. We showed a good response to going 1-0 down, kept believing we'd get a goal and thankfully we did in the end.

In the second half, having stayed in the game for quite some time, we were able to have a go towards the end and we created one or two chances. We converted one in the end, late on, so it's a terrific point for us to come here and get.

It's a good start [to the group]. Not many people would have expected us to come here and get a point – Germany are an unbelievable team with so many good players – but thankfully we got a result and, as I say, it was a tough game.

Martin O'Neill, Republic of Ireland coach
It's a great point for us, to come to the world champions and get something from the game. We had to withstand a bit of pressure and we knew that before. At half-time we were reasonably OK. From their point of view they scored a great goal then and should have closed it down. But we tried for the equaliser and what is the point of losing? So we tried, there was always the chance of conceding a second goal, but it was a fantastic effort by the team.

We never give up. Just before we scored, we had a chance that was blocked by a German defender, but then Jeff Hendrick put the ball back in again. And that's the point. Funnily enough, despite their goal, I never felt we were out of the game. And that's a great credit to the players – it was a fantastic effort by them. I am really delighted with the players.

I don't mind losing by a second goal when going for an equaliser. Goal difference, a moral victory? I am not interested in that. What's the point of that? The players' response from going a goal behind was terrific. We showed great spirit. We picked up seven points from three games, we put in great performances, we had two tough away games. For us, it is just marvellous.