Macedonia V Republic of Ireland - Saturday, 4th June 2011 - Euro 2012 Qualifier

[DannyInvincible]

Did anyone see/hear Stan on Sky? It was like a bad dream. For the first time ever I was glad when the ads came on. He was talking complete ******ology. Manuela wouldn't be able to tranlate his incoherent ramblings. Makes you appreciate Trap that much more.

That's what talking complete Scientology does to you. See Tom Cruise.

[tricky_colour]

Worth pointing out that we had a good goal ruled offside.

[therock67]

Review of the game I wrote for another site:
http://www.thefreekick.com/blog/2011/06/ireland-2-macedonia-0-tactical-review/

[geysir]

All of the defenders had at least one brain fart tonight, bar Kelly maybe, but overall they were OK. O'Dea gave the ball away badly in the run up to the penalty, JOSH was caught unawares and KK and O'Dea conspired to let a high ball fall to Pandev, who handled it before scoring.
Kelly did well but he did have a brain fart, he got badly caught out of position in the 1st half when the ball found a player in an acre of space behind him in the box. Atm, I forget what happened afterwards.
Great win, delighted - held firm from 45 -65 mins when the back 4 were tight as a ducks .... , cruised the rest of the game - but not a game I would ever watch again.

[pineapple stu]

Joint 3rd <cough> :p
Nope; just third. No joint about that.

[BonnieShels]

So we should have had a free out on the edge of our box?

That's what I read and that confused me more. Gonna look at that properly later.

[pineapple stu]

From that wiki article actually -


The match between Argentina and Germany also came down to penalties and Jens Lehmann was seen looking at a piece of paper kept in his sock before each Argentinian player would come forward for a penalty kick.
Quality!

[BonnieShels]

Yeah. I watched that shootout and don't remember that at all. Fair dues to Lehmann the krafty Kraut.

[tommy_c12000]

Superb result. I've been walking on air since. Sore head this morning but still feeling on top of the world. Fair play to the lads and well done to Robbie and Trap.

Shocking game of football though but at the end of the day it's a results driven game. How Macedonia didn't score is beyond me though. Given was superb and made some crucial saves especially the one from Pandev in the first half. They had a legitimate penalty not given in 1st half (what the hell was O'Dea doing?), and missed a penalty to boot. Saying that our makeshift back 4 were ropey is an understatement. In the first half, Kelly played like a man whose last competitive start was Nov 2010, O'Shea was surprisingly unreliable and O'Dea was a liability. They improved a lot in the second half and ultimately did themselves proud. As I stated previous (and got slated) starting Kelly and O'Dea were poor decisions and almost cost us 2 goals.

Even though Cox had a quiet game, I was impressed with his link up play with Keane. They gave the impression that they had played together for years. In hindsight, it was a good decision by Trap to start him and I commend him on that. I hold my hands up and admit my hysteria at Long not starting was a bit OTT in retrospect.

Regardless of any gripes I had with team selection, all Trap has to do is point to the 2-0 scoreline to vindicate all his decisions. Can't argue with that. Kudos to the man. This result puts us in a great position in the group. Well done to the lads!

[pineapple stu]

They had a legitimate penalty not given in 1st half (what the hell was O'Dea doing?)
I don't think that was a penalty. There might have been a bit of a push initially, but it was outside the box. O'Dea (wasn't it O'Shea? Or am I remembering a different incident) didn't have his arm around the other lad or anything; looked like a bit of clumsy shoulder-to-shoulder.

Also, not sure how your pessimistic analysis can include the likes of the above, but not our goal ruled out. Granted, the four defenders had all stopped when they saw the flag, but it was still a great chance and doesn't deserve to be ignored in any balanced analysis.

[DannyInvincible]

That's what I read and that confused me more. Gonna look at that properly later.

Or would it be from where the offending player was positioned inside the box at the moment the penalty-taker struck the ball? All very technical, this.

[tommy_c12000]

I don't think that was a penalty. There might have been a bit of a push initially, but it was outside the box. O'Dea (wasn't it O'Shea? Or am I remembering a different incident) didn't have his arm around the other lad or anything; looked like a bit of clumsy shoulder-to-shoulder.

Also, not sure how your pessimistic analysis can include the likes of the above, but not our goal ruled out. Granted, the four defenders had all stopped when they saw the flag, but it was still a great chance and doesn't deserve to be ignored in any balanced analysis.

O'Dea rushed in like a man possessed totally missing the ball and Pandev instead of standing his ground, wouldn't see it in street leagues. O'Shea let Pandev get on the wrong side of him and clearly hauled him down inside the penalty area. Stone wall penalty.

I wasn't giving a balanced analysis, just simply making a few points. To muse you I will balance it though:
Given was world class and confirmed his status as one of the world's best in my eyes while the man he plays understudy to had a horrific day in Wembley.
Makeshift back 4 did not concede a goal in Skopje. Any defence in the world would be proud of that. All the more remarkable considering we were missing so many 1st choice defenders.
Centre of midfield did well. Struggled to keep hold of the ball at times but they did their job well. Andrews was surprisingly effective considering the lack of football he's had all season.
Bar one or two times that McGeady took too much out of the ball, he was excellent. Almost supplied a superb assist for Keane in 2nd half.
Hunt worked tirelessly all game and is a great man to have for tricky away assignments like this. One point I'd make is that he almost fell over himself a couple of times when he tried to cross the ball with his right. It was obvious to me straight away that McGeady should have been on right and Hunt on left. However, as Popov's quality began to shine through as the match developed, it proved a shrewd move by Trap to persist with Hunt on the right to protect Kelly
Keane - brilliant
Cox - Quiet but can be pleased with debut. Took his "offside" goal brilliantly as well.
Long - did ok when he came on.
Personally I would have brought on Coleman too in last 20 to give us an extra bit of energy going in the closing stages.

That's as balanced as i can make my weighing scales. Hope that suffices

[pineapple stu]

O'Dea rushed in like a man possessed totally missing the ball and Pandev instead of standing his ground, wouldn't see it in street leagues.
It is the same incident so. Yeah, that's right alright. I think "missing the ball" is a bit kind; he was nowhere near. His tackle was like an irrelevant sideshow at the bottom of the screen.


O'Shea let Pandev get on the wrong side of him and clearly hauled him down inside the penalty area. Stone wall penalty.
While O'Shea did left Pandev get wrong side, I don't think he "clearly hauled him down". For a start, his arms weren't around Pandev, so it would have been hard for him to haul him down. Definitely not a stone-wall penalty.

[tetsujin1979]

Personally I would have brought on Coleman too in last 20 to give us an extra bit of energy going in the closing stages.Actually, I was happy to see Hunt finish out the game, he pushed Popov back and restricted his impact in the second half. The defensive side of Coleman's game has been noted as something he needs to improve on, and I wouldn't want to risk it in the last 15 minutes of a qualifier.

[tommy_c12000]

Actually, I was happy to see Hunt finish out the game, he pushed Popov back and restricted his impact in the second half. The defensive side of Coleman's game has been noted as something he needs to improve on, and I wouldn't want to risk it in the last 15 minutes of a qualifier.

Agreed. But I was just a bit concerned whether Hunt would have kept the tempo up for 90 mins considering his recent spate of injuries. He surprised me though and certainly kept going like the proverbial duracell bunny up to the final whistle. At the 70min mark last nite I was badgering Trap to bring Seamus on though (he ignored me yet again though), but in hindsight it proved a good decision to keep Hunt on. Was impressed with Trap last night I have to admit, and I'm one of his fiercest critics. I'd have used the phrase of "wily old fox" to describe him last nite rather than my usual disrespectful phrase of "senile old man."

[Sullivinho]

Trapatonni was talking about winning in Russia after the game last night which is great to hear. Beat Slovakia at home (which I expect us to do) and make that Russia game a winner takes all encounter. Pile the pressure on the Russians and see if they can handle it seems to be the Trap plan and I like it.

Before the group kicked off I considered the Russians practically invincible at home, didn't fancy our, or anyone else's chances there at all. But they've been beaten by the Slovaks, struggled at times against Armenia yesterday and still have Macedonia and us to come. I think we can get something there but still expecting the likes of Arshavin to wake up and start playing just in time for our arrival. What a shame we allowed them the win in Dublin, good as they were on the night. I'd be bitterly disappointed to finish below Slovakia in this group. Apart from the opening win against Russia, they haven't been at all impressive and I'd expect them to lose more points before all is said and done.


Did anyone see/hear Stan on Sky? It was like a bad dream. For the first time ever I was glad when the ads came on. He was talking complete ******ology. Manuela wouldn't be able to tranlate his incoherent ramblings. Makes you appreciate Trap that much more.

Did you just question the gaaaffer? the boss? You do know that what he says goes right?..

[AlaskaFox]

Player Ratings:
Kilbane 10

That is all.

[OwlsFan]

George noticed that at the time. And reckon it would have been retaken.


On looking at the replay it was actually Ronnie who spotted it. George usually spots very little although I have a feeling that Ronnie may have called one of their players "Sh*tovski" at one stage but I can't be sure.

Every time I see Shay going the wrong way for a penalty it reminds me painfully of Korea :( but great to see him back and at his best.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Delighted with an away win at a tricky venue, but I genuinely don't feel that surprised. The whole performance was quite predictable really. The early goal(s), the sloppy passing, couple of nervy moments, defensive hour of scrappy closing down, but no real panic. Great credit to Trap, none of that last night was any fluke or coincidence. He (and we) know what we are doing at this stage. Its all very dull to watch and effective. I love it. Its not perfect by any means though. We should have won in Slovakia and I have a feeling that might end up costing us a table topping position and send us another fixed, unsporting 'play-off' spot.

Big hangover today! Had to go on the beer all day yesterday to kill time. And then celebrated long into the night. Class.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Anyone else think the Macedonian supporters were a right quare shower. Passionate and noisy for sure but a bit muppetty with it?

I'm not talking about laser-pens either -there's always going to be one gowl who'll turn up with something like that but just booing kick offs and the like.

[amaccann]

Ask any Brit right now if he/she would have rather won vs the Swiss (AT HOME) or played Beautiful football? They did neither, but I am sure where the answer is, because I just talked to more than a few who are here on vacation. And they are ****ing mortified. "We do nothing well." Said one.

Good post Owl. Let's not forget, if we all had to show real names, and age, the tone of this board and all sports message boards on the world wide web, would be vastly different. Credibility would take on a much more important roll than say, I live in my parents basement and so can have a million posts on internet websites, instead of using it as its original intention, like a fan does who actually enjoys the precedings.

Right, so because people like me call into question the manner in which we gain this otherwise good result, I'm dismissed as a proper fan, and assumed to be some antisocial internet troll. Classy.

Well if it makes you feel any better, my name's Andrew; I'm 30 years old, living in Dublin but from the North originally; have been supporting Irish soccer since being in single digits, and watched manys a good & bad day for Ireland. It still doesn't make matches like Saturday's any less turgid to watch & leave me with a concern that Ireland's brand of football will only take is so far and no further: and whether that's the finals of Euro 2012 remains to be seen.

There may only be a handful of teams that can play "nice" football, but there's a helluva lot of teams around us in the mid-table of the rankings who don't resort to row-z tactics in the 30th minute.

[shakermaker1982]

I don't think there is anything wrong with criticising some aspects of that performance amaccann. It was a great result but we could have made it so much easier for ourselves if we just kept the ball. I just don't understand this lumping it long into areas where there isn't an Irish shirt. It's just bizarre and only invites more pressure on the team.

I think we can play better and there is nothing wrong with striving to improve.

I have to say it is a nice feeling that everything seemed to go our way last night. We've played well in the past, deserved a result and ended up with nothing.

[Stuttgart88]

I sympathise fully with Andrew, but am still happy enough. We had something to defend so we defended it. It was a crap pitch (I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that yet), it was end of season and it was a banana skin. We fecked up there twice before so right now I'm delighted with the win. I do want to see us playing more expansive football, and looking like we're capable of playing like we did in Paris for even short periods would be nice. There were missed passes aplenty last night and that bugs me. But that's the icing on the cake, the cake is getting the points and we doing well enough on that front.

[shellyriver]

I keep hoping that with every new game, the Irish team will justify the tag of the best players from Ireland. However, game after game, this side, shows a zombie like willingness to trudge forward, in its zombie determination to keep to the programme.

What a horrible game. A flukey goal by Keane in first half and a dreadful piece of defending in the second, allowed Keane in for second. Fair play to Keane, he took the chances, but Macedonia are cack.

Is the current midfield partnership the most limited Irish duo ever?

Whelan, a donkey, no touch, no pace, no awareness, got nothing from him but pointing to other players to do something he should do. Andrews, is hapless. Hunt, huffed and puffed, attempting to shut them out, but really it was Keystone Kops footie.

The back four, what a laugh. Kilbane got caught out almost everytime. Kelly, say no more, simply the worst player on the pitch. O'Shea, is he clueless or what. O'Dea was ok but is there anyone on the back line capable of a bit of basic communication and/or leadership?

Cox, fair enough, got a goal, but was utterly absent after that. Why Long wasn't on at the beginning to benefit from any crosses is baffling.

Some posters seem to criticise McGeady -- ehm, he's the only Irish footballer on the park. Ehm, you need two or three other players of his standard to be able to string a few passes together. He was forced down the wing on his wrong foot, with absolutely no one to pass to.

Great three points. Dreadful game, and as for the future -- this is hardly inspiring.

The standard of Irish international football is back to where it was in the 1980s in relative terms.

[Lionel Ritchie]

I keep hoping that.....

Uhm ...this post deserves proper deconstruction and I don't have time tonight. But it reads like a piano falling down a staircase. So for now just two things ...Cox DIDN'T get a goal (dubious offside) and if Irish football could only get back to where it was in the 1980's I for one would be pretty pleased about it.

[MeathDrog]

I keep hoping that with every new game, the Irish team will justify the tag of the best players from Ireland. However, game after game, this side, shows a zombie like willingness to trudge forward, in its zombie determination to keep to the programme.

What a horrible game. A flukey goal by Keane in first half and a dreadful piece of defending in the second, allowed Keane in for second. Fair play to Keane, he took the chances, but Macedonia are cack.

Is the current midfield partnership the most limited Irish duo ever?

Whelan, a donkey, no touch, no pace, no awareness, got nothing from him but pointing to other players to do something he should do. Andrews, is hapless. Hunt, huffed and puffed, attempting to shut them out, but really it was Keystone Kops footie.

The back four, what a laugh. Kilbane got caught out almost everytime. Kelly, say no more, simply the worst player on the pitch. O'Shea, is he clueless or what. O'Dea was ok but is there anyone on the back line capable of a bit of basic communication and/or leadership?

Cox, fair enough, got a goal, but was utterly absent after that. Why Long wasn't on at the beginning to benefit from any crosses is baffling.

Some posters seem to criticise McGeady -- ehm, he's the only Irish footballer on the park. Ehm, you need two or three other players of his standard to be able to string a few passes together. He was forced down the wing on his wrong foot, with absolutely no one to pass to.

Great three points. Dreadful game, and as for the future -- this is hardly inspiring.

The standard of Irish international football is back to where it was in the 1980s in relative terms.
We had quite a good team in the 1980s.

[Noelys Guitar]

Fair enough so who should Trap pick? McCarthy was a no show. Gibson was a no show. Foley and Coleman have failed to impress so far in their albeit short stints. Ward is no better than Kilbane at left back (I see Ward as a much improving forward player). This is what we have when down to the bare bones. Fahey has a case for inclusion but again touch and go with Andrews. Long came on and did OK. Certainly no better than Cox. If would be fantastic if 2/3/4 medium to top class players come through the ranks or declare but at the moment the team playing yesterday was the best available and turning up. The zimmer frame fans remember Irish teams containing world class players playing free flowing football drawing with Spain 3-3 and yet leaving Landsdowne kind of deflated. Because we knew in our heart of hearts we would go away from home and lose. And never in a million years would we beat Russia (USSR) away. Yet, I fancy this team of journeymen to win in Russia. We now have a bunch of mainly journeymen footballers who believe in their manager and his tactics and who are willing to put in that extra 10%. That is how we are joint top of this group.

[SwanVsDalton]

In terms of footballing quality and history, I'm not sure where we should really expect ourselves to be. But I always like to look at our neighbours in situation's like this - England, world footballing powerhouse, offer up desultory home draw against Switzerland; Scotland struggling in a group where they should really be pushing for second place; NI stagnating; Wales, nowheresville.

Considering our size, playing pool and relative history in football we're doing quite well. And I can't remember us ever playing a particularly attractive brand of football since we've never had particularly technically skilled players, with a few exceptions.

We're a limited team and we probably always will be. We could probably play a slightly nicer brand of football but, realistically, it would only be marginally nicer to look at given how technically limited the majority of our players are. And the trade off for a bit more aesthetic ball would likely be a nosedive in results - so I'll stick with results every time.

Particularly since results breed positivity which breeds confidence which is the basis for the team actually going out and playing some better football...

[shakermaker1982]

I keep seeing this population thing cropping up from time to time on here and in the media and yes Ireland is a small country but so is Slovenia, Uruguay, Croatia, New Zealand, Denmark and Trinidad. Guess what they've all qualified for recent major tournaments. Montenegro is level on points with England at the moment and has a population of just over 625,000!!

[Charlie Darwin]

We're not really far away from any of those teams though. All struggle to qualify for tournaments like us but, along with Uruguay and Croatia, once we do actually qualify we tend to do quite well. It's getting over the hurdle of qualification that's the issue for most sides.

[pineapple stu]

Also, I don't think it's fair to compare NZ or T&T's qualification campaigns with ours. Much weaker competition in Oceania or CONCACAF.

[Sullivinho]

Anyone interested in witnessing the might of CONCACAF can catch the Gold Cup which starts on Eurosport tonight.

[BonnieShels]

Bleugh!

Don't you just wish sometimes that the actual might of Europe and Samerica was properly and appropriatly dealt with in wc qualifiers.
Though... we may as well have an intercontinental tournament as it stands.

Copa America starting next month. Oh yeah!

[paul_oshea]

Фудбалски викенд во Македонија ! Интересни три дена, ви благодарам на сите:)

[geysir]

What's the last word there Paul, cute or c*unt?

[tricky_colour]

I keep hoping that with every new game, the Irish team will justify the tag of the best players from Ireland. However, game after game, this side, shows a zombie like willingness to trudge forward, in its zombie determination to keep to the programme.

What a horrible game. A flukey goal by Keane in first half and a dreadful piece of defending in the second, allowed Keane in for second. Fair play to Keane, he took the chances, but Macedonia are cack.

Is the current midfield partnership the most limited Irish duo ever?

Whelan, a donkey, no touch, no pace, no awareness, got nothing from him but pointing to other players to do something he should do. Andrews, is hapless. Hunt, huffed and puffed, attempting to shut them out, but really it was Keystone Kops footie.

The back four, what a laugh. Kilbane got caught out almost everytime. Kelly, say no more, simply the worst player on the pitch. O'Shea, is he clueless or what. O'Dea was ok but is there anyone on the back line capable of a bit of basic communication and/or leadership?

Cox, fair enough, got a goal, but was utterly absent after that. Why Long wasn't on at the beginning to benefit from any crosses is baffling.

Some posters seem to criticise McGeady -- ehm, he's the only Irish footballer on the park. Ehm, you need two or three other players of his standard to be able to string a few passes together. He was forced down the wing on his wrong foot, with absolutely no one to pass to.

Great three points. Dreadful game, and as for the future -- this is hardly inspiring.

The standard of Irish international football is back to where it was in the 1980s in relative terms.


However we did win 2-0 with a goal disallowed, so 3-0.

Lets face it Russia only beat them 1-0, so that's a positive. Also a clean sheet sway from home.

So that the inspiration, we did better than Russia by 2 goals!! (1 disallowed!).

[DannyInvincible]

Anyone interested in witnessing the might of CONCACAF can catch the Gold Cup which starts on Eurosport tonight.

Costa Rica winning 5-0 at the minute against Cuba, who appear to be employing a very fluid mix of school-yard tactics and the original pyramid formation with one at the back - sometimes none at all - when not dropping like flies at the slightest of touches. Watching this makes you appreciate our "limited" footballers so much more. Should be compulsory viewing for the pessimists.

And then there was this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThpYsN-4p7w

Only in CONCACAF.

Edit: 5-0 a final result, for anyone who could care less.

[BonnieShels]

Or would it be from where the offending player was positioned inside the box at the moment the penalty-taker struck the ball? All very technical, this.

It is. And it all depends on who is committing the original infringement. In all cases the penalty kick must proceed and only then can a decision be made.

So last night what should have happened is that we should've been awarded an indirect free kick from where the infringement occurred before the ball was in play as they didn't score a goal from the kick. Now whilst technically the infringement occurred the second the Macedonian player crossed the line into the penalty box I assume the free would be given from the spot where the referee saw the infringement occur.

If Macedonia scored that penalty and the infringement was noted then the kick would have been taken again. Can't say I agree with this aspect of the rule as the offender is still part of the attacking team and therefore they should be penalized.

[Fergie's Son]

We simply don't have the players nor do we currently have the footballing culture to play the "beautiful game". There really is no benefit from being the Wigan or Blackpool of International Football. The fact is, we won a tricky away fixture that we typically lose or draw. We did so in tough conditions with a weakned team. I'll take that any day. We're not in with a legitimate chance to qualify for a tournament we haven't graced since 1988. All this from a small country which a strong and diverse sporting culture where football is not the far and away dominant sport. I find it quite impressive. Other than Denmark, we rank very well when compared aganst similarly situated countries.

Lastly, England were utter muck yesterday and Russia struggled to beat this lot so let's keep it in context.

[tricky_colour]

There is a download available here:-

http://www.4matches.co.cc/2011/06/macedonia-v-republic-of-ireland-04-june.html

Useful if you had to watch on a crappy stream!!

[tricky_colour]

What's the last word there Paul, cute or c*unt?

Possibly a Macedonia's commentary on Robbie's second goal!

[SwanVsDalton]

I keep seeing this population thing cropping up from time to time on here and in the media and yes Ireland is a small country but so is Slovenia, Uruguay, Croatia, New Zealand, Denmark and Trinidad. Guess what they've all qualified for recent major tournaments. Montenegro is level on points with England at the moment and has a population of just over 625,000!!

I take your point but Uruguay have serious footballing history, New Zealand only just qualified for one tournament from Oceania, Trinidad similarly from Concacaf. The others sure, we should aspire to qualify as regularly as them, but Slovenia only make the odd tournment and Denmark and Croatia often miss out too. Point is people seem to expect us not only to qualify but to play super football getting there. It just doesn't seem realistic to me. Especially since the European teams you mentioned, with the occasional exception of Croatia, play pretty mediocre stuff.

[Qwerty]

Macedonia was dire. Ireland was a little bit less so.

The last game I watched was Barca v Man U, was this really the same sport?

A win is a win.

If you look at the team in terms of where they have been playing for much of the season it was a good result.

EPL benchwarmer

EPL benchwarmer EPL benchwarmer Championship League 1

EPL benchwarmer EPL regular

injured/EPL benchwarmer Russian League regular

EPL benchwarmer injured/EPL benchwarmer


Given that there was no Doyle, Duff, Dunne, St Ledger the result was good and great that Robbie reached the 50. He might start getting a bit of respect now.

[Stuttgart88]

Liam Mackey bang on the money with this write up (http://www.examiner.ie/sport/soccer/ireland-take-the-gain-from-the-pain-156920.html) as usual in my opinion.

Critics of the lack of coherent football from Ireland should also remember that this was a side unsettled by the loss of Richard Dunne, Damien Duff and Kevin Doyle and which also had to cope with a rash of recent injury concerns as well as a chronic shortage of game time for some of its key personnel. It was a measure of the side’s battling spirit that four players on the pitch required pain-killing injections to help get them through — Keane and O’Dea beforehand and Given and Hunt at half-time.

But you know what the pop psychologists like to say: no pain, no gain. Ireland put flesh and even some blood on the theory in Skopje on Saturday and, in the end, the outcome was as welcome as it was deserved.



I like Malone and think, bar the odd sh1t stirring, Dan McD is decent - he's certainly a fan of Irish football, but Mackey has seen it all and I think instinctively "gets" what's going on and what the mood is.

[French Toasht]

[URL="http://www.examiner.ie/sport/soccer/ireland-take-the-gain-from-the-pain-156920.html"]
I like Malone and think, bar the odd sh1t stirring, Dan McD is decent - he's certainly a fan of Irish football, but Mackey has seen it all and I think instinctively "gets" what's going on and what the mood is.


I like all three, but McDonnell is my favourite purely because he is on a one man crusade to rejuvinate the public's interest in the League of Ireland. There's always been a raft of journalists willing to fill column inches on the Irish national team but are less opinionated when it comes to issues surrounding our domestic league. Dan McDonnell I genuinely think gets more of a kick out of a Friday night in Sligo or Derry or Bray than being in Skopje or Moscow, and its that fervent enthusiasm for the local game that I really admire.

[Stuttgart88]

Yes, I think that McDonnell's genuine enthusiasm for the whole spectrum of Irish football is great.

I know in the past we have attributed The Indo's hostility to Trap and the FAI (wrt international football anyway) as being dowbn to their staff and editorial support for Venables. However, isn't Denis O'Brien persona non grata at INM's board level because he is a trouble-making / rebel activist shareholder? Maybe this explains it?

Maybe they just think Trap is a stubborn man with bad communication skills and a boring brand of football.

[Sullivinho]

Liam Mackey bang on the money with this write up (http://www.examiner.ie/sport/soccer/ireland-take-the-gain-from-the-pain-156920.html) as usual in my opinion.

Critics of the lack of coherent football from Ireland should also remember that this was a side unsettled by the loss of Richard Dunne, Damien Duff and Kevin Doyle and which also had to cope with a rash of recent injury concerns as well as a chronic shortage of game time for some of its key personnel. It was a measure of the side’s battling spirit that four players on the pitch required pain-killing injections to help get them through — Keane and O’Dea beforehand and Given and Hunt at half-time.

But you know what the pop psychologists like to say: no pain, no gain. Ireland put flesh and even some blood on the theory in Skopje on Saturday and, in the end, the outcome was as welcome as it was deserved.



I like Malone and think, bar the odd sh1t stirring, Dan McD is decent - he's certainly a fan of Irish football, but Mackey has seen it all and I think instinctively "gets" what's going on and what the mood is.

I don't read a big enough spread of journos (or even take note of the writers name for the most part) to make selection of a 'favourite' any way significant but I share your enthusiasm for Mackey. Humour, level head and crucially, downright correct the majority of the time.

[Charlie Darwin]

There are a few journalists from the nationals who attend a lot of LOI games. Daniel McDonnell and Mark McCadden from the Star are both regulars at (I think) Bohs. Richie Sadlier and Miguel Delaney from the Examiner are usually at Bray home games.

[DannyInvincible]

There are a few journalists from the nationals who attend a lot of LOI games. Daniel McDonnell and Mark McCadden from the Star are both regulars at (I think) Bohs. Richie Sadlier and Miguel Delaney from the Examiner are usually at Bray home games.

This Examiner?

1768

[French Toasht]

I know in the past we have attributed The Indo's hostility to Trap and the FAI (wrt international football anyway) as being dowbn to their staff and editorial support for Venables. However, isn't Denis O'Brien persona non grata at INM's board level because he is a trouble-making / rebel activist shareholder? Maybe this explains it?

Maybe they just think Trap is a stubborn man with bad communication skills and a boring brand of football.

There is a general sense of dissatisfaction with Trap in the journalism fraternity because at press conferences and interviews its very hard to discern any real footballing insights from his quotes. Much of the journalists work involves a level conjecture and interpretation of what his musings actually mean and many would simply prefer interview him in Italian and translate.

Also I think a lot of the time Manuela the interpreter uses creative licence a bit too much to interpret what he is saying. Her "the players are living the life of riley" quote springs to mind.