Another “brave” performance from the Boys in Green and another night of glorious failure. Yeah, ok, pride restored. However, it was all a little too predictable, wasn’t it? Having followed Ireland for over 35 years, I’ve seen many of these moral victories. We are the world champions of moral victories after all.
For once, the team was set-up properly. I called for a flooding of the midfield; however, the manager opted for a flooding of the back. For the most part it worked. The reintroduction of Seamus Coleman added an aura of calmness sorely missed throughout the campaign. He was the real captain on Saturday. Why the manager took him off so late in the game is anyone’s guess.
At 37, he hasn’t got long in the tank and when he does call time he is going to be sorely missed. I really hope we keep involved, somehow.
For me, Saturday night proves nothing. It was a free swing. It has no real impact on where we’ll finish in November. That becomes a little clearer on Tuesday with the visit of Armenia – an absolute must win. And a task far from guaranteed.
Lisbon more questions than answers. Where was that performance last month in Yerevan? Why did the manager start three players not deemed good enough to even be included in last month’s squad? There is something fundamentally wrong in the Irish set-up. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something’s not quite right.
Players are coming in and out of the squad with no real rhyme or reason. Why was Jayson Molumby excluded last month? Why not have Seamus Coleman involved when the squad is in desperate need of leadership? Even if he’s not quite fit to play, I’d have him around.
I don’t want to start digging players out, but last month there were one or two players miles off the quality required at international level, yet the manager included them. Considering who he left out, it was bizarre.
Yes, we were unlucky on Saturday, and the referee was a clown (don’t start me on the VAR bloke) but this team isn’t playing at a level equal to the sum of its parts, never mind greater. Yes, it was a cruel goal, and the penalty save was glorious. However, let’s not kid ourselves, if Ronaldo’s effort misses the post and goes in, we’d have been well and truly mullered. We’d have opened ourselves up and got slaughtered on the counter.
As valiant as we defended, albeit with the help of the woodwork, we offered absolutely nothing up top. I felt for Evan Ferguson, there was literally nothing he could do. Portugal, a fine team, but like all fine teams they have their weaknesses.
Having conceded from two crosses against Hungary last month I thought we’d try and exploit that with Festy Ebosele and Cheo Ogbene bombing down the wings. Bar one or two crosses, we never really got close. Ogbene had an absolute nightmare, and he seems to be still recovering from injury.
The goal was heartbreaking, but let’s be honest, you’re always playing a dangerous game hanging on for dear life – you just knew it was coming.
Some will feel that this is a turning point for this team. I disagree. I think if we beat Armenia in a calm and professional manner on Tuesday, then we might have some hope that the penny has finally dropped for this group of players.
But our visitors tomorrow night will have the bit between their teeth. They will see us as a soft touch and why wouldn’t they? They battered us in September and after the shift on Saturday Ireland will be exhausted. Which will be a perfect excuse for some of this squad.
This will be Armenia’s best chance of a play-off for years and they know it. I, like the manager does, too.
There are 42,000 tickets already sold for tomorrow night’s must win clash, considering the state of this campaign that is incredible support from the fans. Not to mention the 2600 that travelled to Lisbon. The manager has mentioned that perhaps the shirt is too heavy for some of these players? The sad thing is that it appears to be true.
God help them if they played for a huge nation like Germany, France or England etc where everything is scrutinised to ridiculous degrees. Even Scotland fans booed off their team at Hampden Park because they only beat Belarus 2-1 – taking all six points from their window.
The Irish fans are loyal to a fault and the Irish media, in my opinion, are very fair and balanced. I may be a tad biased, but it’s their job to ask the tough questions.
Also, this argument that we don’t have the players is utter nonsense. Look at the Faroes and Northern Ireland? We have the players; we just don’t seem to have the right attitude. And we’ll know by November if we have the right manager.
Back to tomorrow. This is a huge game. We lose or draw, we’re done. We win and we limp onto November, praying for results to go our way. As bizarre as this is going to sound, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility – it’s happened before.
Scotland did us a favour in 1987, Slovakia and Russia choked to Armenia in 2011, and Scotland bottled it in 2015 – so you never know.
David