Republic of Ireland V Georgia - Wednesday, 11th February 2009 - World Cup 2010 Q

[irishfan86]

Thanks boo

[tricky_colour]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sportingglory

Game there if you wanna see the end.

Thanks I get the last 2 minutes!!:D

[DotTV]

http://www.rojadirecta.com/

[Maroon 7]

McGeady MOTM.

[graham_d]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sportingglory

Game there if you wanna see the end.
Excellent - thanks!

Now for 4 minutes of chewing on my nails....

[Boo_Boy]

Thank god for that.
2-1 full time.

[shaneker]

Wrong performance, right result. We really are starting to feel like an Italian team!

[Maroon 7]

Beat Bulgaria next game out and we'll be looking good for 2nd spot at the very least.

[SkStu]

i will take it, having endured 50-60 odd minutes of tripe.

If the remainder was similar then we have been extremely fortunate against a limited side. Have got to admire the fightback in fairness.

[danonion]

3 points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[strangeirish]

3 points. We'll take it. Fortune favored us for a change!

[tricky_colour]

2 goals from Robbie - Raffa must be choking on his Paella :D

[sligoman]

Terrible game and performance but got lucky in the end up. Got the three points which is the main thing.

[Town Legend]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sportingglory

Game there if you wanna see the end.

Cheers for that, got to see the last 5 mins from Toronto!!! Getting to see the goals now :D

[Orangecelt]

Excellent - thanks!

Now for 4 minutes of chewing on my nails....

Lost it again 2 min into time added on. relieved to hear the result. Roll on bari

[mackannovic]

Got into work this morning(Aus +11hours). Nearly puked when I saw the score 1-0 after a minute and the assessment of the game thought we were in for another frustrating Switzerland-esque match. Absolutely delighted with the win, didn't see any footage but from what I've heard and read we've been very fortunate. However, as I said didn't see the game, only know the score and some lad on the guardians interpretation of what went on, so over the moon here with a 2-1 win. More time now for players to get fit, find true form and possibly return to the squad.

[tommy_c12000]

Reasonable 2nd half showing. Got out of jail yet again. Whelan and Kelly were absolutely shocking.........they should never start another game for Ireland

[SkStu]

i like Robbie's Maradona-esque face-of-hate-grab-of-the-camera celebration.

waiting for the match analysis on the link - thanks Boo Boy

[Maroon 7]

Reasonable 2nd half showing. Got out of jail yet again. Whelan and Kelly were absolutely shocking.........they should never start another game for Ireland

Get well soon Steven Reid. Badly needed in centre midfield.

[danonion]

We have gotten so many bad decisions against us down the years today is the least we deserve.

[mackannovic]

Reasonable 2nd half showing. Got out of jail yet again. Whelan and Kelly were absolutely shocking.........they should never start another game for Ireland


What is the story with Stephen Kelly, plays well for clubs then all of a sudden sh!ts his togs turning out for Ireland. Is it nerves does anyone think or is he just truely brutal?

[DotTV]

The RTE panel seemed to focus on how lucky we were to get the dodgy peno but in fairness plenty of ref's would have let Andrews goal stand and Doyler had a stone wall peno in the first half. If we went in half time at 1-1 we would have stuffed them second half.
First half was dire. Great courage in the 2nd half. We're sitting pretty now.Massive game against Bulgaria

[Dodge]

Doyle's wasn't anything near stonewall

Himself and Duff lucky not to be booked for diving

Dreadful performance

[endabob1]

2 thoughts

I thought Kelly got a lot of grief for the goal, it looked to me like O'Shea got sucked in and Kelly followed to cover the centre forward and once the flick on happened he was screwed, not great defending but collective responsibility.

It was never a penalty BUT a perfectly good goal ruled out which should have made it 1-1 much earlier & I think we would have cruised after that, a bit of poetic justice. Georgia were only interested in defending their lead, I think we would have battered them without the early goal, or is that blind drunk optimism :)

[tommy_c12000]

What is the story with Stephen Kelly, plays well for clubs then all of a sudden sh!ts his togs turning out for Ireland. Is it nerves does anyone think or is he just truely brutal?

Seen him play numerous times for Birmingham and has been gud. Has nearly 15 caps now for Ireland and each time he needs a change of underpants at half time and full time. Mite be a bit harsh on him 2nite considering the amt of game time he has had this season. But Whelan was shocking.........Dunphy getting it spot on......gave de ball away all nite........Italy and Bulgaria will murder us if he continues to be so generous to the opposition

[DotTV]

Doyle's wasn't anything near stonewall

Himself and Duff lucky not to be booked for diving

Dreadful performance

He was clearly clipped towards the end of the first. It was as obvious as the day is long.

[Montenegrin]

What a penalty:D.
Ok,you were denied a clear penalty agaist us.
Some you win,some you lose.

[Dodge]

2 thoughts

I thought Kelly got a lot of grief for the goal, it looked to me like O'Shea got sucked in and Kelly followed to cover the centre forward and once the flick on happened he was screwed, not great defending but collective responsibility.

It was never a penalty BUT a perfectly good goal ruled out which should have made it 1-1 much earlier & I think we would have cruised after that, a bit of poetic justice. Georgia were only interested in defending their lead, I think we would have battered them without the early goal, or is that blind drunk optimism :)

Georgia came for nil nil so that goal was a bonus. Their game plan wouldn't have changed

[seanfhear]

well done Aiden particularly the second half

[endabob1]

Georgia came for nil nil so that goal was a bonus. Their game plan wouldn't have changed

Agreed. but the goal gave them a greater incentive, once we equalised they felt the sword of damocles was hanging and capitulated...

[irishfan86]

On the Stephen Kelly debate, he had a pretty brutal game.

But I blame Trap for selecting him, and not Kelly himself.

The player has hardly kicked a ball this season, and it is not his fault if he is selected when he's not fully match fit.

Some might say, "if you're not match sharp, why come to the squad," but I heard plenty of criticism for Caleb Folan for not declaring himself to play in this game.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[theworm2345]

Keano = Legend

Boo Boy = Legend

[backstothewall]

The player has hardly kicked a ball this season, and it is not his fault if he is selected when he's not fully match fit.

Give him a break, he scored 2 goals :D

[SkStu]

On the Stephen Kelly debate, he had a pretty brutal game.

But I blame Trap for selecting him, and not Kelly himself.

The player has hardly kicked a ball this season, and it is not his fault if he is selected when he's not fully match fit.

Some might say, "if you're not match sharp, why come to the squad," but I heard plenty of criticism for Caleb Folan for not declaring himself to play in this game.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

it was one, maybe two people that criticised Folan.

The folly of ignoring Foley in the friendlies nearly cost us tonight.

That said, we are really sitting pretty in terms of qualification from 2nd place. England are losing to Spain. Its been a good day in general.

[tommy_c12000]

Give him a break, he scored 2 goals :D

Nice!

[Orangecelt]

Keano = Legend

Boo Boy = Legend

Seconded

[tricky_colour]

Just thought it is worth mentioning that if Andrews goal had stood that would have been or 2 in 2 (or less than 2) games.

[tommy_c12000]

Just thought it is worth mentioning that if Andrews goal had stood that would have been or 2 in 2 (or less than 2) games.

"2 in 2!" Thats what we were all chanting in the pub like fools until we realised it had been ruled out a couple of mins later

[geysir]

A diving "header" from Keane, I have seen it all now.
The first half was unconnected stuttering football, in the end the game was a good test of character and over the 90 minutes we just about scraped a grade c.
Very pleased with McGeady's attitude to keep plugging away, take the responsibility to get the ball forward and maintain creative momentum
Kelly recovered some composure and was adequate, 10/10 for Shay, Dunne is an absolute rock, Kilbane will not shirk, sticking his head into that flying boot is typical.
It's centre midfield is the issue. Andrews did alright while Whelan was giving presents away all game. We need something more - Steven Reid would be a perfect fit.
We didn't look at all to be able to pose a threat from hard won set pieces.

Do we have to pay back that penalty award sometime or was Andrews goal good?
We will have a job on our hands to beat Bulgaria.
Would love us to get a poxy penalty against them.

[Jicked]

First half was pretty dire, the goal was shocking and we never recovered.
In the second half I thought we were good, tempo was good, McGeady had his best night in a green shirt. Basically I think we went about a difficult task we had given ourselves pretty well. We still gave the ball away far too cheaply at times, but Trap was proved right in leaving things as they were. Unlike under previous regimes I was pretty confident that we would get back in to it. Slice of luck to get us there in the end, but after the disallowed goal in the first half and penalty not given in Montenegro, I'll take it.

Absolutely delighted for Robbie too, his celebration after the second was great, arms out just taking it all in and ending a difficult time for him.

Bring on Bulgaria.

[paul_oshea]

ya can someone post that celebration for me?!

great to see how much it meant to him. 2 goals brilliant.

the atmosphere was very poor from singing section, when they zoomed in on them none of them were singing!!

[FarBeag]

Georgia will never want to see us in their group again that’s for sure. We were lucky to beat them both times. Whelan’s goal in the first leg should not have gone in, game played in a neutral venue and a penalty tonight that should never have been.

We are not a good team but if we continue to have the luck we are having we just might get a play off place. There is no way we will beat Italy away or at home. We will struggle against Bulgaria in both legs and there is a good chance Cyprus will beat us.

[Paddy Garcia]

Doyle played very well indeed as did McGeady. Andrews had a very strong game.

But Whelan was awful - needs to be replaced before the next game.

Also .....I do wonder what Trapp learnt from the Polish game!

[tricky_colour]

Georgia will never want to see us in their group again that’s for sure. We were lucky to beat them both times. Whelan’s goal in the first leg should not have gone in, game played in a neutral venue and a penalty tonight that should never have been.

We are not a good team but if we continue to have the luck we are having we just might get a play off place. There is no way we will beat Italy away or at home. We will struggle against Bulgaria in both legs and there is a good chance Cyprus will beat us.

I think you make your own luck though, especially if you are in the opposition penalty area.

[irishfan86]

We are not a good team but if we continue to have the luck we are having we just might get a play off place. There is no way we will beat Italy away or at home. We will struggle against Bulgaria in both legs and there is a good chance Cyprus will beat us.

We always seem to up our game against the big sides, and I don't doubt we'll do that against Italy, especially at home.

Even if we split the points with Bulgaria we'll be in good stead.

In addition, every team has its slip ups. Italy nearly drew with Cyprus, so Bulgaria could give them problems as well.

[richieos]

the term ''you'll never beat the irish'' is back with a vengeance, amazing spirit tonight that i havent seen since 2002

[Colbert Report]

The referee definitely had a shocker tonight but I think we were full value for the win. The Georgians probably feel pretty hard done by though...

[Jicked]

Also, a result and comeback like that may be the making of this team as a squad. I have never felt a "togetherness" about the Irish set up since the working together after the Saipan bombshell, after McCarthy lost the job there seemed to be factions in the dressing room, and never a great sense of team spirit.
You could see after Robbie's second that that was back, just imagine what it was like after the game in the dressing room, they're bound to be a much closer knit unit after that, and with the experience of coming from behind and digging out a difficult result their confidence will be much higher in upcoming games.

[Adrianovic]

Lads, you all watched the game, so you'll believe me when I say that was the worst referee that's been around for a long time. Whenever there was a serious decision to make, he got it badly wrong. It was never a penalty. But, we should have been allowed Andrews' goal and Doyler probably did get taken down, even if he may never have seen the ball again.

The big decisions aside, he got everything else wrong, too. Georgia spent the entire game committing cynical fouls and after the first few, I think the ref needed to issue stern warnings and yellow cards after each one. Nobody minds a player trying to win the ball and failing, but when you're three and four yards off it, and clipping ankles - the referee has to step in. He was reluctant to, and but for his other hilarious ****-ups evening it all out, we could have been talking about what might have been.

UEFA have to look at the standard of the referees they send out. The lad tonight was from Finland. I genuinely would like to know the biggest game he's reffed domestically, and then what qualifies him to be in charge of our game tonight, and no doubt other important qualifiers before them. The stakes are quite simply too high to be putting out referees in the name of equality. I realise this would result in a load of refs from Spain, England, Germany, Italy, etc. running out, but you take your choice, and mine is get the best man for the job.

On to the match. Actually, I'm going to keep this brief as I want to go to bed.

I think it's time to call an end to wingers swapping to the opposite side. McGeady's crossing off his left foot was poor tonight, and he looked so much more effective coming from the right hand side. By the same token, I can barely remember Duff touching the ball on his opposite wing. Other than that, I thought McGeady stuck to his task and caused problems. Even more notably, he closed down a couple of players in second half stoppage time - this boy isn't a passenger.

Andrews is the sort of player we need. Bliocked nicely in the midfield and also showed a bit of bite going forward. Should have been talking about two goals in two games tonight, even though his initial shot was weak and at the keeper. I just wonder if he'll be a player with an Indian summer to his career, and could feature for us for another 4 or 5 years.

It was lovely to see Keane so fired up for Ireland and getting amongst the goals. It ****ed me off when people said he didn't try/care/etc. Akin to the stick that Brian O'Driscoll gets, just because he's a big name and he's up there for people to shoot at.

Tonight could have gone severly wrong, but as it is, a win at home to Bulgaria would go a long way to cementing our position in at least second in the group. Whether we can get the better of Italy, well, we'll see.

[Dr. Ogba]

just back from the game now and agree with most of the points made in this thread...mainly going back to what i said before the game Kelly should never have been on the pitch, Kevin Foley should be first choice FB never mind third choice behind McShane and Kelly (neither of whom can actually even play football it seems...)
Delighted for Keane tonight, he's tried his heart out and reaped the rewards (despite the most bizarre decision i've seen in my life)
Thought McGeady was head and shoulders above the rest, his close control was staggering and he can pick a pass too...he's starting to look like the player that we all hoped he would become
Special mention to O'Shea and Dunne - barring the disaster of a goal i thought they were very solid given that they were playing behind effectively a one-man midfield as Whelan was absolutely awful!