Republic of Ireland V Italy - Saturday, 10th October 2009 - World Cup 2010 Q

[Razors left peg]

We have some serious options in the wing positions now, thought Lawrence was very good tonight

[Den Perry]

Here we go... Tommy talking about Hill 16....

We're playing fantastically well so far!

is that Tommy Smith the guy that commentates on US TV for the matches?

[razor]

call up Andy Reid to play alongside him.Don't ask Trap though, saw two interviews tonight , TOD asking nervously about calling him up and getting a short sharp "Andy Reid? Again Andy Reid?" and the Sky interviewer saying the people of Ireland demand it and getting a blast from Trap before he stormed off.

[mr.untitled]

is that Tommy Smith the guy that commentates on US TV for the matches?

thats smyth with a YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, enough t make ya puke

[tricky_colour]

We will be favourites to qualify through the play offs I beleive.

[Den Perry]

We will be favourites to qualify through the play offs I beleive.

I just feel it in my waters that we are destined to qualify...however,my one big fear would be Portugal because they are the biggest nation of cheats I have evr seen in football

[irishultra]

I just feel it in my waters that we are destined to qualify...however,my one big fear would be Portugal because they are the biggest nation of cheats I have evr seen in football

will you stop irish players cheat as well. bet you weren't complaining when duff dived against spain in 02:rolleyes:

unlucky tonight. didn't have the suspense that i thought the game would have had. in the end it didnt matter we didnt win as it would have been unlikely italy would have lost against cyprus

[irishultra]

Anyone who isnt immensely proud of what as been achieved in this group needs their head examined. 9 games unbeaten

Andrews-Blackburn, not a regular
Whelan-Stoke, not a regular
Hunt-Hull
Kilbane-Hull
Doyle-Wolves-doomed to relegation
Lawrence-Stoke
St Ledger-Middlesboro

A team mostly made up of average journeymen with a realistic chance of qualifying. Bloody superb effort.

yes unbelievable how poor the team is really.

[Den Perry]

will you stop irish players cheat as well. bet you weren't complaining when duff dived against spain in 02:rolleyes:

unlucky tonight. didn't have the suspense that i thought the game would have had. in the end it didnt matter we didnt win as it would have been unlikely italy would have lost against cyprus

Maybe they do dive, but Portugese teams are constantly at it...and worse always trying to get opposing players into trouble. I remember Cuto and Baia in Dublin a number of years back and they were disgusting...as was Porto's performance against Celtic in UEFA cup final a few years back

[Hibs4Ever]

will you stop irish players cheat as well. bet you weren't complaining when duff dived against spain in 02:rolleyes:



Interesting you have to go back 7 years to give an example ;)

[irishultra]

against cyprus, doyle booked for diving and duff got a player booked by doing a dive.

[Den Perry]

against cyprus, doyle booked for diving and duff got a player booked by doing a dive.

I'm not saying Irish players don't...I'm stating that Portugal and Portugese sides are the worst offenders in my opinion

KOH

[corkharps]

yes unbelievable how poor the team is really.

Look what came off the bench!:o
Trapp has worked miracles.:D
BTW Dunphy has become totally boring, hes like a wee man that didn't get his way on the Wedding night!

[Emmet7]

Dunphy at his usual inaccurate analysis again tonight.

Watching a repeat of the match now on Sky Sports 1 and several things are clear.

1. Ireland totally dominated the match in the first half. They dominated and held possession extremely well. They closed down the Italians well. The Irish midfield held the ball well and were excellent in their tackling. You couldn't ask for more from them.

The Irish team had a shape, which everyone even the RTE pundits attribute to Trapattoni. Having a shape is vital to containing other teams and limiting their chances.

2. The Irish goals came from set pieces. The reason they came from set pieces is the Italian defenders were torn to shreds at different stages by McGeady, Robbie Keane, Hunt and Lawrence, among others. They had to bring down the Irish attackers to stop them scoring from play. It was only deserving then we scored from these set pieces as it reflected Irish attacking dominance.

3. The first Italian goal was a flukey goal coming from a setpiece which was badly defended. The second Italian goal was against the run of play as Ireland were caught largely on a flukey break. John O'Shea should never have been that far up the pitch and he was at fault for the goal.

4. In the second half there were periods when the Italians controlled the ball, but overall in the match I thought Ireland dominated the match, were particularly impressive in the first half in holding possession and closing down.

Dunphy again, in his anti-Trapattoni agenda was wide of the mark. Unfortunately, Giles also went along with Dunphy, but what do you expect. Each back the other up. I feel sorry for Souness, having Dunphy taping him on the arm and trying to bully and silence him when he tries to say something. I'm all for accurate punditry, but when it comes to Trapattoni, Dunphy is usually wide of the mark.

As for Andy Reid, he may have a good left peg. But what else doe he have? Has anyone ever seen Andy Reid tackle or close down or get back? It's no use being a good attacker, but letting the Italians put in 4 or 5 at the other end because we couldn't close them down. Ditto Stephen Ireland. The Andy Reid drum is getting boring now.

As for us having World Class Players, it's time to put that assertion to bed. St. Ledger, O'Shea, Andy Reid, Doyle, Robbie Keane,and co are good players, but they are not world class players. Keane showed that when he went to Liverpool.

Make no mistake this was another great Irish performance.

[Noelys Guitar]

Coco the..Sorry Dunphy is now just laughable. Unfunny rambling nonsense at this stage. You feel he had his back turned for the entire game. Who would bet on this Italian team not reaching the semis in SA? And possibly winning the thing once again. And we pushed them the whole way.

[Orangecelt]

Im disappointed I missed most of the second half and even moreso that we yet again conceded a goal in the dying minutes. But Im well impressed that a team composed of names not exactly renowned in world football could remain unbeaten against the world champions. Thanks Yellowtop for keeping me informed. In answer to the questions about Congo, I work for a brewery and those UN staff are always looking for cheap beer.

[highlight100]

Dunphy at his usual inaccurate analysis again tonight.

Watching a repeat of the match now on Sky Sports 1 and several things are clear.

1. Ireland totally dominated the match in the first half. They dominated and held possession extremely well. They closed down the Italians well. The Irish midfield held the ball well and were excellent in their tackling. You couldn't ask for more from them.

The Irish team had a shape, which everyone even the RTE pundits attribute to Trapattoni. Having a shape is vital to containing other teams and limiting their chances.

2. The Irish goals came from set pieces. The reason they came from set pieces is the Italian defenders were torn to shreds at different stages by McGeady, Robbie Keane, Hunt and Lawrence, among others. They had to bring down the Irish attackers to stop them scoring from play. It was only deserving then we scored from these set pieces as it reflected Irish attacking dominance.

3. The first Italian goal was a flukey goal coming from a setpiece which was badly defended. The second Italian goal was against the run of play as Ireland were caught largely on a flukey break. John O'Shea should never have been that far up the pitch and he was at fault for the goal.

4. In the second half there were periods when the Italians controlled the ball, but overall in the match I thought Ireland dominated the match, were particularly impressive in the first half in holding possession and closing down.

Dunphy again, in his anti-Trapattoni agenda was wide of the mark. Unfortunately, Giles also went along with Dunphy, but what do you expect. Each back the other up. I feel sorry for Souness, having Dunphy taping him on the arm and trying to bully and silence him when he tries to say something. I'm all for accurate punditry, but when it comes to Trapattoni, Dunphy is usually wide of the mark.

As for Andy Reid, he may have a good left peg. But what else doe he have? Has anyone ever seen Andy Reid tackle or close down or get back? It's no use being a good attacker, but letting the Italians put in 4 or 5 at the other end because we couldn't close them down. Ditto Stephen Ireland. The Andy Reid drum is getting boring now.

As for us having World Class Players, it's time to put that assertion to bed. St. Ledger, O'Shea, Andy Reid, Doyle, Robbie Keane,and co are good players, but they are not world class players. Keane showed that when he went to Liverpool.

Make no mistake this was another great Irish performance.

Could'nt agree more

[irishfan86]

I guess I'll do my usual player ratings and analysis. Overall, I was quite happy with the performance. It was a real battling effort, and there were periods of play when we really frightened the Italians. Okay, we didn't dominate the match, but if that's what Dunphy and co. are expecting, then quite frankly they need to get in touch with reality.

Ratings:

Given-6- He wasn't at fault for either of the goals, but didn't have a tonne of work to do apart from them.

O'Shea-7.5- I thought John O'Shea was fantastic for us tonight, making many vital interceptions. That said, I think he should have taken his man down on the play that led to the second Italian goal.

Dunne-7- Brick wall, solid as ever.

St. Ledger-7- Fantastic goal, but he should have been tighter to his man for the second Italian goal.

Kilbane-5-Wasteful in possession, and I felt he was partially at fault for the second Italian goal.

Lawrence-7-Fantastic defensive work tonight, which I wasn't fully aware was part of his game. Gave 100%, and his collapsing at the end probably represented my feelings at that time better than any other player's reaction on the pitch.

Whelan-8-He scored a key goal, and was our best midfielder tonight. Don't forget who he was playing against, he was very very solid tonight.

Andrews-6-I felt that he had a pretty invisible match, but again, he neutralized a lot of what Italy were trying to do.

McGeady-6.5-He created a lot of opportunities, and put Italy under pressure by running at them with the ball, which can't be under-appreciated. That said, his final ball was typically mediocre.

Doyle-6.5-It was a thankless task but he ran the channels all night and chased everything down. Can't fault his work-rate, he put the Italians under pressure and this led to them losing possession on multiple occasions.

Keane-6.5-Helped out our midfield by dropping deep, and actually made a couple of really good tackles when Italy were pushing. Intelligent with the ball, and generated a few corners for the cause.

Subs:

Best-6.5-Gave the Italians something different to deal with, and was actually better in the air than I realized.

Rowlands-6-A bit invisible, but what were we expecting? It will be interesting to see him a bit more if he plays on Wednesday.

Hunt-8-Awesome stuff from Hunt. Great effort as we've come to expect, and a typically fantastic delivery from the free kick. After his little cameo I felt a bit sad that he didn't get the start. Great attitude though- a lot of subs come on with a few minutes to go and simply go through the motions- not Hunty.

[DotTV]

Replay this (http://www.mysoccerplace.net/video/whelan-vs-italy) a few times, then give the negative vibes a kick up the hole. We can do it!

Yes we can!:D

I'm not fluent in Italian but I know what "bellisimo" and "Whelan" means!

[DotTV]

Disappointed at draw tonight, but Italy probably would have beaten Cyprus anyway. Interesting to see size of crowd v Montenegro on Wed.
Don't expect us to qualify v play offs. We've been really, really lucky to get this far.

How have we been lucky. We've taken the lead in four games and given it up. If we'd have been lucky we would have won tonight and at home to bulgaria

[backstothewall]

on andy reid drinking/ playing guitar abusing manager agree it was wrong but i am sure he has apologised for behaviuor he has also slimmed down alot.. would you rather see rowlands ( who!!) or reid coming on for final 15 mins or even starting game for ireland :ball:

I quite agree that Rowlands is a wose player than Reid, but Trap has to look at the bigger picture. He is the only manager we have ever had who has instilled real discipline into our squad. The trips the the pub and sessions with the fans in the team hotel are over. And unlike previous managers who have tried to do that it has worked, becaue on the pitch we are sucessful and the players want to be part of that success.

Reid was a good loss for Trap to take. He made his own position strong with the loss of only 1 player who doesn't really fit with our system anyway. To do the job he wants done in midfield he has Andrews, Whelan, S Reid and Gibson to pick from, and potentially J. O'Brien when fit. The fact Rowlands had to come on was due to 3 people in front of him being out, and he still only got on the bench. Can you imagine what our options for centre back look like if we get 3 simultanious injuries?

However what Trap did is working. Reid has improved his attitude. That much is obvious to you, me, Steve Bruce, and anyone else who has seen him play. I'm sure Trap will bring him back when he judges the time is right, and so far his judgement has been on the money. I trust that judgement.

On another note, I think Given, Kilbane and Andrews were a bit naive tonight. They are sitting on a booking and will miss a leg of the playoff if they get a booking in their next 2 games. They should have picked up a booking for dissent or time wasting in injury time and sat out Wednsday.

[rambler14]

Aiden McGeady is the most p!ss poor excuse for a footballer ever......I hate him. He drove me absolutely mental last night!

I'm happy we didn't lose but after we scored the 2nd we were far too attacking and once yer man Pepe picked the ball up you knew it was going to come.

[Razors left peg]

I actually dont understand Rowlands coming on as a sub ahead of Miller.Its not a big issue and Im not being critical, but when Miller has being in the squad constantly during the campaign and was named in the original squad for this game, how does someone who was only named as a replacement for an injured player jump ahead of him in the pecking order so quickly

[OwlsFan]

Dunphy again, in his anti-Trapattoni agenda was wide of the mark. Unfortunately, Giles also went along with Dunphy, but what do you expect. Each back the other up. I feel sorry for Souness, having Dunphy taping him on the arm and trying to bully and silence him when he tries to say something. I'm all for accurate punditry, but when it comes to Trapattoni, Dunphy is usually wide of the mark.

Listen, this is the way it has been for 21 years and it is one of my pet hobby horses. Dunphy and Giles having a go at the incumbent Irish manager supported by the laughing Buffoon. I didn't see them. I was at the game. However, for the Whelan goal I looked over at the RTE PAnel in their box/studio and all remained seated (impassive - because they criticise Trapp they want him to fail like the 4 previous incumbents). Saw the Sky highlights when I came home. The Sky commentator almost had a baby from excitement when we scored late on and when Italy equalised he exclaimed "Oh no, oh no" :D Not sure what any Italians thought watching the game on Sky. The RTE Panel have made a great living knocking the managers under the pretence of objectivity.

Best home performance by a mile under Trapp. Gives me some hope for the play offs but I worry about the away goals rule due to the number of home goals we concede.

There is nothing we should fear but fear itself.

By the way great performance by Lawrence

[seanfhear]

I actually dont understand Rowlands coming on as a sub ahead of Miller.Its not a big issue and Im not being critical, but when Miller has being in the squad constantly during the campaign and was named in the original squad for this game, how does someone who was only named as a replacement for an injured player jump ahead of him in the pecking order so quicklyUnder what circumstances would Trap bring on Liam Miller. Its nice to show loyalty but it is hard to understand why Miller is in the squad.
Miller would not be able to do a job in a 2 man midfield. Has Trap got any fall back plan of playing a 3 man midfield.
I believe that Andy Reid and Liam Miller would have to be part of a 3 man midfield to be effective.

[Razors left peg]

Under what circumstances would Trap bring on Liam Miller. Its nice to show loyalty but it is hard to understand why Miller is in the squad.
Miller would not be able to do a job in a 2 man midfield. Has Trap got any fall back plan of playing a 3 man midfield.
I believe that Andy Reid and Liam Miller would have to be part of a 3 man midfield to be effective.

I dont think Miller should be in the squad, but anytime he has played under Trap it was in 2 man midfield.As I said Im not being critial because to me Rowlands and Miller are much of a muchness but if I was Liam Miller I would be extremely p1ssed off about it

[third policeman]

. If he (Reid) can keep his weight under control, keep his temper in check, and keep his performance levels up, he will get his chance when the manager feels the time is right, and that is how it should be. Trapatonni has won it al. Dunphy is a fool, as is Johnny Giles (an awful football manager).

The problem is we need Reid now when he can make a difference to our play-off prospects. not when it doesn't matter. If Trapp is willing to select from an under strength squad for these games to make a point, then he is taking his salary under false pretences. Think your comment about Giles is off the mark. He might not have got us to international finals, but you have to remember that he was manager when only the top team in a group qualified. We have never toppped a qualification group. Before Giles took over we were an absolute joke. His record at West Brom was also pretty impressive, given where they were when he took over

[shakermaker1982]

I must say the atmosphere was electric last night. I'll post a bit more when I recover.

[fionnsci]

The three minutes between goals was the best atmosphere Croke Park has ever seen (I've been to all-Irelands, Six nations etc.)

[Zizou]

Very disappointed with the performance but 2-2 with the World champions is no bad result. Now for Greece in the play-offs....

[tetsujin1979]

the sound of 75,000 people saying nothing for the last few minutes will haunt me for years.
when I recover and sober up I'll post something approaching a reaction

[Comic Book Guy]

After I got home from the game I watched the RTE recording of it and listening to Dunphy's analysis I wondered was I at the same game. I thought Ireland kept their shape well. In the 2nd half Italy forced only one save of note out of Given.
Have to agree that the atmosphere for those 3 minutes after Ireland's second was something else and came close to the atmosphere in September 2001 against Holland.
I thought McGeady had a very good first half and at times turned the Italians inside out but frustratingly held on to the ball a little too much. He faded badly in the 2nd half.
As for the Italian equaliser why was JOS so far up the field, also when they were breaking out for their second goal one of our players should have taken a card on him. I think that Trap alluded to that in one of his post match interviews.

[Stuttgart88]

Yeah, that 3 minutes was unbelievable. It may be naff, but in the right time & right place Ole Ole can be quite brilliant.

Disappointed though but not as gutting as previous late goals.

We have nailed on second place and can show that we can compete against good teams - without a decent CM - and we are now finally a reliable threat from set pieces.

Will the draw vs. the win affect our ranking by much, and also our UEFA 2012 seeding?

Bring on the play offs.

[Stuttgart88]

Is itn heresy to be critical of Shay for the equaliser? I thought he went down too early. If he'd set his feet for a reaction save he'd have saved it comfortably. Instead he tried to anticipate where Gila would put it I think. Good goal in fairness.

[geysir]

re Dunphy screaming, "the Italians are rubbish" etc.
How does this guy, who would even be an embarrassment in a Jerry Springer audience,
manage to still be accepted as a pundit on national tv?
is sport that popular with the retarded, that we have to have pundits to "articulate" on that level?

[NeilMcD]

Those were the best 3 minutes I have had since I last had sex.

[sligofan4ever]

re Dunphy screaming, "the Italians are rubbish" etc.
How does this guy, who would even be an embarrassment in a Jerry Springer audience,
manage to still be accepted as a pundit on national tv?
is sport that popular with the retarded, that we have to have pundits to "articulate" on that level?


Dunphy never, ever, has anything good to say. May it be World Cup Qualifiers, Euro Championships or The Champions League, nothing but the same old negative sh!te flows out his gob, it was a decent performance from us against Italy, but he just uses his time to talk to say nothing worth while, not that anyone cares what he has to say. Lads just have a quick question, why does Graeme Souness do analysis and pre match build up for us on RTE ? He has no connectin to the Irish team.

[Razors left peg]

Dunphy never, ever, has anything good to say. May it be World Cup Qualifiers, Euro Championships or The Champions League, nothing but the same old negative sh!te flows out his gob, it was a decent performance from us against Italy, but he just uses his time to talk to say nothing worth while, not that anyone cares what he has to say. Lads just have a quick question, why does Graeme Souness do analysis and pre match build up for us on RTE ? He has no connectin to the Irish team.

sometimes its not a bad idea to get some neutral perspective, but I just wish he would come up with something new rather than keep going on about how we shouldnt expect any thing more with average players, its all he ever seems to say

[CF1989]

hes dead right though. he's giving an honest opinion. andrew and whelan give you nothing football wise. hes better than the other 2 clowns

[Razors left peg]

hes dead right though. he's giving an honest opinion. andrew and whelan give you nothing football wise. hes better than the other 2 clowns

yeah but we have plenty of very good players too

[tetsujin1979]

reaction from RTE online here: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/

[Noelys Guitar]

hes dead right though. he's giving an honest opinion. andrew and whelan give you nothing football wise. hes better than the other 2 clowns

Disagree. I thought Whelan had an excellent game and the only reason he was taken off was to stop him being sent off. He was getting very close to a second yellow with two crunching tackles in quick succession. It will be very hard to dislodge this guy from the team as he keeps improving for both club and country. Andrews on the other hand did not have a good game and seemed to me to be off the pace a bit. As a side note it was interesting to hear St Ledger mention that Shay Given had told him to go forward for the Hunt free kick leading to the second goal. Shay seemed to be driving the team on for that winning goal (rightly in my opinion) and maybe we got carried away when we then tried to get a third goal rether than defending deeply for the last few mins. By the way I believe we can improve again on this performance.

[rambler14]

Keith Andrews was very poor last night and was really shown up by De Rossi and Pirlo.
I thought the back 4 were brilliant. Kilbane was solid out as was O'Shea (who was way too far forward for the 2nd Italian goal). St.Ledger was the better of the two centre-backs as I thought Richard Dunne was second to a lot of ball.
Robbie Keane and Doyle may as well had been at home.....did nothing.
Liam Lawrence was outstanding and Whelan did everything night except for his passing.

[youngirish]

Thought it was a good performance. We never looked like losing the game imo. We still can't hang onto a lead though a problem that goes all the way back to Kerr's reign. This could cost us in the play-offs.

Regarding the play-offs I can't believe some of the nonsense regarding people stating they'd prefer France over Russia and Portugal. France are the last team I'd want in the play-offs they are guaranteed to beat us over 2 legs when it matters. Ribery, Anelka, Benzema and Henry would rip our defence apart. They have the best players by far of all the teams in the play-offs.

I'd like to get Greece preferably but Russia also are not as good as people are making out. They blow very hot and cold and only have a handful of very good players. We are capable of holding them to a 0-0 draw away and taking them back to Croke Park and beating them.

Saying that I think we will struggle against anyone in the play-offs as we still look incapable fo beating any half decent team.

[irishultra]

whelan is good, a decent player, alongside a good midfielder(like Steven Reid) he would be quite good however Andrews is rubbish. His inclusion makes no sense. I'd go as far to say he should be on the periphery of the squad with players like Fahey, McCann, Reid, James McCarthy and a good few others ahead of him.

[Razors left peg]

whelan is good, a decent player, alongside a good midfielder(like Steven Reid) he would be quite good however Andrews is rubbish. His inclusion makes no sense. I'd go as far to say he should be on the periphery of the squad with players like Fahey, McCann, Reid, James McCarthy and a good few others ahead of him.

He cant even get in the Wigan squad at the moment so he seems a long way from international football at the moment.McCann is injured and I dont think Fahey has be substantially better than Andrews in the Premiership this season... that said, I do think he needs replacing in the team

[shakermaker1982]

"A terrible, shameful performance" - E Dunphy. What an absolute ****.

[jaykay]

After I got home from the game I watched the RTE recording of it and listening to Dunphy's analysis I wondered was I at the same game.

I agree, Dunphy is a sad,repetititive, negative blight on the rte 'analysis' team. He constantly insults the supporters. I watched the rte web analysis and caught the end with Beglin and Hamilton saying it was s great performance, which I agree with. Then Dunphy dismissed them out of hand and went on a tirade.

Lawrence had a super game, and Whelan made a few mistakes, but did some great work defensively off the ball. I thought Doyle had a better game than Robbie. St Ledger was very solid apart from that little bit of space he gave for the last minute equaliser. I was a bit disappointed with Given - possibly could have done better for the goals, and his long kicks seemed aimless at times, even when he had Best as an obvious target.

There is a fantastic spirit in the team, and they should go into the playoffs with no fear. Rest the yellow carded lads on Weds (I don't think even a win will get us 2nd seeds in the Euro qualifiers, so its a bit of a nothing game).

The crowd were brilliant on the night, as always when they are given something to shout about! What an atmosphere for those glorious 3 minutes!!!

Roll on the Playoffs and hopefully Greece.

[irishultra]

Dunphy is just an awful pundit. Listening him on the Champions League coverage is so annoying. Every season he comes out with the same stuff about the same English clubs. I mean his Ronaldo bashing just got tedious at the end.

'Italy are useless' just about sums up the depth of his analysis. He's a joker. I never watch their analysis anymore. They're not 'cutting edge' or anything like it, its a poor panel, which is past its sell by date.

[lopez]

We still can't hang onto a lead though a problem that goes all the way back to Kerr's reign. This could cost us in the play-offs.It's a problem that goes back further to Holland in 2000, Macedonia and Turkey in 1999 and Belgium in 1997 (In fact Poland 1991 also comes to mind).

This is one area we need to address. I also agree that someone should have chopped down an Italian on that move, and picked up a card, but then if we got the win yesterday, we would have needed a strong team on Wednesday to win the group, and there were a number of players likely to miss it.

Personally I'm happy with a draw yesterday. Watching the game I was cr*pping myself when St. Ledger went up. I thought, lose it, quick break out and we're finished. We have some serious problems in defence, particularly the full backs, and in a midfield that is failing to get the ball off a team that upped the tempo in attack. Without this being solved, yes, that will cost us in the play-offs unless we take a three or four goal lead.