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

[brianw82]

I was all set to ring an Italian friend and scream down the phone, "Silvio Berlesconi, your boys took a hell of a beating tonight!" I guess I'll be waiting another few years. :(
To be fair, it shows how far the team has come under Trap that we're disappointed to concede a 90th minute equalizer to a team like Italy.

[irishultra]

who was rafael cretaro supporting?????????????????????

[fionnsci]

By the by anyone know what the song is that plays as the Irish team is being announced?

[soccerboy]

dunphy and giles are two negative tossers...i'll take results over free flowing football anyday of the week!!

[thepiedpiper]

Been lot of criticism about Croke Park atmosphere but it was superb last night. Happened to be in schoolboy section in Cusack which I thought was going to be crap but despite odd gob****e attempting Mexican Wave singing throughout and level of noise was pretty incredible. Atmoshphere was good throughout the ground it seemed.
Performance was good but limited but we are limited. Italy were fortunate to get two points over the two games which is one demonstration of how far we have come under Trap.

Given 6 - Thought his distribution was too slow and he could have released players a lot quicker with ball in hand though perhaps he was following out instructions. From first viewing thought he could have done better for second equalisier too
O'Shea 7.5 - Good in tackle and one of his better fullback performances.
Dunne 7 Not too much to do but what he did he did well
St Ledger 7 - Let ball bounce in dangerous situations too often. Defended well enough by and large and great for him to get the goal. Too slow in possession
Kilbane - 7 Slower in possession than Kilbane. Didn't have much to do defensively. Would like to see Nolan tried out on Wednesday
Lawrnece - 7 Good defensive shift and distribution was decent. Kept hold of possession. Has real big limitiation to his game though where he doesn't ever look like going by a player and has lack of pace. Allows their defence to tuck in and doesn't stretch oppossition enough
Whelan - 7 Wonder strike, got tackles in but didn't do much
Andrews - 5 Far too quiet
McGeady - 7.5 Our most dangerous player. Had beating of fullback and a threat with ball at his feet though he suffered from not getting it enough through no fault of his own. Final ball was bit ambitious at time where he went looking for strikers instead of giving ball to others who were in inferior positions
Keane - 7 Tried to turn them but with little success
Doyle - 6.5 Didn't look threatening. A little too predictable

Thought Best looked sharp when he came on. I think suspensions carry through to playoffs so would probably drop Andrews, McGeady to ensure they don't miss out. Do yellow cards carry through anyone know?

[Fizzer]

Just wondering lads is there any possibility that Italy could be docked points seeing as Cannavaro has failed a drugs test. I know it's a real outside shot but has it ever happened before?

[John83]

Kilbane - 7 Slower in possession than Kilbane.

Poor old Kilbane. We set such impossible standards for him.


Just wondering lads is there any possibility that Italy could be docked points seeing as Cannavaro has failed a drugs test. I know it's a real outside shot but has it ever happened before?
No, that won't happen. It doesn't even look like Cannavaro will get done - turns out that the Juve doctors did submit some paperwork initially about the bee-sting, and the problem is actually over them failing to respond to a request for some other document. Some punter from the drugs body has come out and said it's not a big deal too.

[soccerc]

Dunphy?

Isn't he the muppet that watches the game on the studio monitor so he can pontificate like all the great barstoolers?

http://photos2.pix.ie/27/90/2790FC9B6ADB4737ACF862E6A0DA6D3E-800.jpg (http://pix.ie/soccerc/741008)

[Fizzer]

Poor old Kilbane. We set such impossible standards for him.


No, that won't happen. It doesn't even look like Cannavaro will get done - turns out that the Juve doctors did submit some paperwork initially about the bee-sting, and the problem is actually over them failing to respond to a request for some other document. Some punter from the drugs body has come out and said it's not a big deal too.

Cheers, clutching at straws here

[Qwerty]

Poor old Kilbane. We set such impossible standards for him.


No, that won't happen. It doesn't even look like Cannavaro will get done - turns out that the Juve doctors did submit some paperwork initially about the bee-sting, and the problem is actually over them failing to respond to a request for some other document. Some punter from the drugs body has come out and said it's not a big deal too.

Of course he won't, if he played in the Championship for a team like Sheffield Utd he would though.

[Qwerty]

Not a great performance really, we scored 2 nice goals but bottomline is that as soon as we score we sit back and invite the opposition on to us, you'll get away with that some of the time but you'll never get away with it against a side like Italy who looked fluid last night and always dangerous. You knew they would score it was just a matter of when. The mind set of the players seems to switch as soon as they score, suddenly it's hoof the ball downfield to some imaginary team-mate. Lots of work to be done there.

Why was Whelan taken off with 20 to go? He's out of the next game anyhow.

Overall Trapp is making progress and developing a decent squad of out not a lot really.

The play-offs will be a big challenge and maybe a step too far.

[John83]

Qwerty, that didn't seem to be the pattern for the last goal last night - if anything, we were caught because we didn't sit back.

Whelan seems to have been replaced because he was at risk of a second yellow - he put in 1a couple of hearty tackles shortly before he was taken off.

[geysir]

On the tv, the intrepid reporter TO'D on the sideline, made a point of saying that Whelan was replaced because he was injured.

Lawrence was struggling around the same time,
cramp or injury?

[cestlavie]

Much more positive play last night, Usually enjoy Dunphy but he was bang out of order last night regarding the performance.

[tricky_colour]

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


However that made a the fourth minute all the worse!

[SkStu]

its probably well known that i am sceptical of Trappatoni and his team selection and tactics but hats off to him and the players in green last night.

That was a super performance. But for a little naivety and a couple of individual mistakes we destroyed Italy. Yes, they had their purple patch and yes, we gave possession away too easily at times last night. But overall, that Irish performance was excellent. The equaliser in the last minute was a killer and i was ****ed right off but in the cold light of day, everyone should be proud of that performance. An average team of players had the world champions on the rack. They were shaken and trust me, they knew they had been in a game by the final whistle.

McGeady convinced me finally that he is international class. Whelan was excellent. Lawrence played like a seasoned pro ( ;) )and reminded me of Houghton at times. Keane and Doyle both did what they had to do. The back four worked well together though maybe lacked a little composure at vital times. Given was actually a bit of a disappointment but only compared to his own usual excellent standards.

This gives me hope - Greece or Portugal please.

[tricky_colour]

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.


Cos he's cheap :D

[cestlavie]

Think it would be no harm getting France at the moment sure they do have some great quality players, no better than Italy. One to avoid Id say is Russia.

[RiffRaff]

Dunphy said last night that he didnt know who Rowlands was. Thats on top of saying that Carsley should be in the squad when he isnt getting a game at Birmingham, and that Keith Fahy is a full back. Is it too much to expect that someone who is being paid to be an expert analyser actually does some research???

[John83]

Dunphy said last night that he didnt know who Rowlands was. Thats on top of saying that Carsley should be in the squad when he isnt getting a game at Birmingham, and that Keith Fahy is a full back. Is it too much to expect that someone who is being paid to be an expert analyser actually does some research???
Dude, he was only paid €300k or so by RTE last year. What can you expect for such a pittance?

[Stuttgart88]

I was disappointed in central midfield again yesterday, some decent defensive work and Whelan's excellent goal notwithstanding.

I thought the full backs played well enough actually.

Can't criticise the forwards who were feeding off scraps and worked their ****** off yet again.

I think Given will be disappointed with both goals and, as said above, his distribution - particularly late in the game - was poor.

Dunphy sounds like he has lost the plot. A got a text after the game saying he was talking shyte.

Just think of all the points we have dropped due to dumb, avoidable errors. We'll need to iron these out to get through.

If the 2 games against Italy were our play off we'd be out on GD. We're close though.

Do yellows in the Monty game carry through to the play off?

[bennocelt]

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.

Just got to see the rte panel discussion today on the web - def time for Giles and Dunphy to go.
Italy are not the best at the moment, but i wouldnt agree with dunphy in saying they are the worst ever italian team

Dunphy kind of reminds me of Jimmy Hill when he was on the BBC all those years ago - a complete ****, but im sure many here tune in just to see what he is ranting about?

[Stuttgart88]

Dunphy said last night that he didnt know who Rowlands was. Thats on top of saying that Carsley should be in the squad when he isnt getting a game at Birmingham, and that Keith Fahy is a full back. Is it too much to expect that someone who is being paid to be an expert analyser actually does some research???As an unpaid fan I make it my duty to know who these players are. As a paid pundit it's terrible that he doesn't know them and even worse that he hadn't researched him before going on the show.

[geysir]

When he actually does (or gets somebody to do) his research, the information is plagiarised from here.

[ruben_sosa]

Just got to see the rte panel discussion today on the web - def time for Giles and Dunphy to go.


what a cockmuncher is Dunphy, Andy Reid is the new Roy Keane :rolleyes:
a publicity and notoriety obsessed cockmuncher.

[Noelys Guitar]

what a cockmuncher is Dunphy, Andy Reid is the new Roy Keane :rolleyes:
a publicity and notoriety obsessed cockmuncher.

And in no way helping Andy Reids case. I'm sure Reid is ****ed off today after learning of Dunphy's self serving nonsense. It has become 'wrestling" punditry.

[Qwerty]

Qwerty, that didn't seem to be the pattern for the last goal last night - if anything, we were caught because we didn't sit back.

Whelan seems to have been replaced because he was at risk of a second yellow - he put in 1a couple of hearty tackles shortly before he was taken off.

I was really referring to the first goal, it was demoralising watching it. And then at 1-1 magic we can have some of the ball now as all Italy need is a draw so they'll let us play again. They toyed with us. This was like the visit of Germany in the last campaign, they got what they wanted. We almost stole it but let's not deceive oursleves. They were by far the better team. They are streetwise and talented, we're not.

[Stuttgart88]

This was like the visit of Germany in the last campaign, they got what they wanted. We almost stole it but let's not deceive oursleves. They were by far the better team. They are streetwise and talented, we're not.That's kind of how I saw it too. They were far more cohesive. That's not to say they weren't given a game. We gave a really good account of ourselves as an underdog with inferior players in critical areas of the pitch. In a way though, that's what made it such a creditable Irish performance. They did just what they had to do gainst Cyprus, Monty, Georgia and Bulgaria - in most cases that was winning. In our case they got 2 draws. Well done us.

[Row Z]

Fantastic atmosphere last night, missed dunphy et al afterwards though.

did anyone else notice how much Grosso bombs forward at every opportunity? he plays as an out and out left midfielder with Pirlo tucking in, must have some fitness and i think Trap was spot on to start Lawrence who done an awful lot of work off the ball.

we let the italians knock it around at times without them penetrating but still held our shape very well and i was content to let them have it where they did

Overall, desperately unlucky to concede the equalizer but i thought we were well worth the draw and were unfortunate not to win the game.

Nervous now about who the play-off's will throw up!!!

[John83]

did anyone else notice how much Grosso bombs forward at every opportunity?
Yeah. Remember their goal in Bari? That was him - skinned Keogh on the right, ran at our defence along the goal-line and centred it past McShane to Iaquinta. I thought Trap would set Hunt on him this time, but Lawrence was a good choice too.

[DeNiro]

What's trap's plans for Wednesday I wonder? Westwood in goals, Best starting maybe? Italy gave us a run around at times, particularly in the middle of the park. With Whelan out, surely he might try Lawrence in there.

[paul_oshea]

I think oshea was way over exuberant and when he got the header for their second goal he should have made sure of where he was directing hte header, he got caught out, and then they got in behind him and i saw the goal coming and i was literally a mile away!!

i think the talk about croker being crap for atmosphere will be well and truly banished. it was rocking last night especially after our second goal i just looked around to take it all in. its just a real pity we didnt get the win. I never saw an atmosphere like it before

[John83]

...i saw the goal coming and i was literally a mile away!!
You watched the game from the botanic gardens?

[paul_oshea]

You watched the game from the botanic gardens?

ok not literally, maybe i was over exuberant too. I would say though that you would need to be 1.5 to 2 miles away if you were in the botanic gardens.

[paul_oshea]

was whelan crying here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ5aDs_zgPs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=500lU6nups8&feature=related

[RonnieB]

Indeed you did, when they broke away the worst fears were realised! Couldnt believe it.

[Crosby87]

I feel better today than yesterday. Maybe its my NFL bets coming through but.....lets have at it. We can beat anyone in a home and home.

[Arnold Layne]

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if this has come up but, whoever decided on that Ole Ole music after the goals needs shooting. Very embarrassing :o

[osarusan]

Hwhoever decided on that Ole Ole music after the goals needs shooting. Very embarrassing :o
Any stadium that plays any kind of music after a score should be blown up. That tune played at Twickenham after an England try is particularly horrible.

[paul_oshea]

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

you haven't had much good minutes then lately :D

[backstothewall]

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if this has come up but, whoever decided on that Ole Ole music after the goals needs shooting. Very embarrassing :o

I realise this is similar to saying Salvatore Schillaci for Áras an Uachtaráin on here, but I like it. Reminds me of the best we ever did. Gets the crowd going.

I'm still parta Jackie's Army

[micls]

I realise this is similar to saying Salvatore Schillaci for Áras an Uachtaráin on here, but I like it. Reminds me of the best we ever did. Gets the crowd going.

I'm still parta Jackie's Army

ANY music after a goal is stupid and needs banning. If you need something to get the crowd going after you've scored then you're fighting a loosing battle anyway

[backstothewall]

ANY music after a goal is stupid and needs banning. If you need something to get the crowd going after you've scored then you're fighting a loosing battle anyway

We needed nothing on Saturday. But I still like it.

[SunnySweeney]

Just watched highlights of Irelands second goal.

I like the way Leon Best pulled Zambrotta (I think it was) away from the path of the ball as it comes into the 6 yard box. Giving the Italian defenders a toast of their own medicine.

[back of the net]

was whelan crying here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ5aDs_zgPs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=500lU6nups8&feature=related

yes he was and im proud of him

thats the passion i want off a player wearing the jersey of my country

gr8 performance last night glenn.... f**kin brilliant

[SkStu]

good to see from the lad - thats what playing for your country should mean to every Irishman. Cracking goal and he seems to be maturing into international football - long may it continue.

[Dallasirish]

Pride in the Jesery is something the whole irish team had last night. To be honest, I know its a mute point and wont happen but even if Stephen Ireland made himself available to play for the Playoffs, I would'nt play him.

Well Done all the lads last night and Im sure Trap and Co will be pointing out mistakes that can be corrected for the real test in November. We held the world champions and came close to beating them in Bari and Dublin! On our day, we can beat anyone butIll still be praying for Greece :-)

[paul_oshea]

Ya, I was just thinking it might be me looking through green tinted glasses, but thats class alright, its exactly what you want to see from a player wearing the green.

I love these comments from trap its what shows him apart from the other manages we have had the last few years, the post match interview focusing on what went wrong and to make right for the future, the "leetle details" as we always here:

'Shay Given didn't have any great saves to make, but Italy made fewer mistakes than us with their passing.

'We made too many mistakes with our passing - the second goal was from our mistake - but that is the negative.

'We were in front against the world champions with three minutes to go and we were a little bit nervous.

ANd then the focus on making these things right for the future. Love to see that. rid the team of mistakes wherever possible. I hope he had a good word with ledger as well cos he reminds me of when dunne came onto the scene(well maybe not as error prone), he does 9 out of 10 things right and does some great stuff but then whether its experience or what i dont know, but needs to keep the concentration, im refering to Italys both goals here really i spose, he left camoranesi unmarked for the 1st and then the second he shouldn't have held off for so long.

[geysir]

Ledger - he left camoranesi unmarked for the 1st and then the second he shouldn't have held off for so long.
Was it Ledger who should have been there for the first goal?
It looked to me that no one was picking up Camoranesi.

The Italian second was a horrible ugly goal to give away.

[paul_oshea]

what does trap mean here, is he having a dig at shay, after the disagreement over ledge or is it in relation to dont be talking to the papers about wanting to make your 100 cap and play against montenegro: "He said: 'If a goalkeeper doesn't talk too much, he shouldn't have a problem.'"