FORMER Barnsley goalkeeper Nick Colgan played eight times for the Republic of Ireland and he believes his country should take a lot of positives from a fantastic performance against France in midweek despite the controversy surrounding the game.

Nick told www.barnsleyfc.co.uk: "To be honest I only started watching the game just before half time because I work with some of the young goalkeepers at the Barnsley Academy on a Wednesday evening so I was a little late getting back. I thought that we had learned a lot from the first leg, where we gave the French a little too much respect. We were in their faces a lot more in the second leg and it was a wonderful, wonderful Irish performance despite the controversy. I spoke to a couple of the lads afterwards and, although it is easy from the outside, I told them to keep their heads up because it was such a good performance. Having said that, to lose a goal like that in such a big game is very disheartening.

"There won't be a replay that's for sure. When you look at the whole qualification campaign you can wonder whether there were incidents and decisions that went our way in games. It just so happens that this one was in the biggest of matches and the highest of profiles.

"I feel for the referee a little as well because I felt he had an excellent game on the night and handled the game well. He was strong and did not buckle when they were throwing themselves to the ground. He just got that one wrong.

"Who knows what would have happened had he not given that goal. France may have scored anyway; we might have got another or it could have gone to penalties. You just never know".

Nick added: "I think it has really taken away from what was a fantastic Irish performance over the two legs. You should look to the seeding system for the play offs if you want a real travesty. If you finish second in a group then you should have no problems playing any other second placed team. To see the draw like that at the last minute was a travesty.

"I thought we more than held our own in the first leg and had chances. To go away from home and perform like we did in France has to fill everybody with a lot of hope for the next campaign.

"We know that the World Cup will be a sadder place without the Irish players and supporters. The French have spoken about how much a boost this summer's World Cup will give to their economy - well the Irish economy has been on a downer for a while so it will have the opposite effect on us".

Nick joined signed for the Reds in June 2004 and went on to make 113 first team appearances for the Club. Player of the Year in 2006 and shoot-out hero in the League One Play Off Final against Swansea, Nick left the Reds in 2008 and is now at Grimsby Town.