Republic of Ireland V Czech Republic - Wednesday, 29th February 2012 - Friendly

[theworm2345]

Very nice goal Cox, nice ball in from Andrews

[geysir]

Simply a brilliant goal from Cox

[BonnieShels]

Cracking goal

[tricky_colour]

wow threaded the eye of a needle there, what a genius trap is :p

[Paddy Garcia]

Cox knows where the goal is!

[Charlie Darwin]

Now that's a goal. Great work by Andrews and terrific finish by Cox.

[Closed Account]

goallllllllllllllllllll1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn you tc, you're ahead of my stream.....

[Philly]

Lovely goal!

[Maroon 7]

That goal might have booked Cox's plane ticket.

[BonnieShels]

That goal might have booked Cox's plane ticket.

Hopefully. Have a lot of time for him and his attitude is something else!

[BonnieShels]

Delighted with the end to that.

So we have ended up learning a thing or two.

[Sullivinho]

I didn't know Cox had that kind of finish in him. The extent to which they played around us at times is a bit worrying with the likes of Croatia and Spain in mind though.

[the bear]

usually they don't have names on their jerseys except for in tournaments.

the players were numbered from 1 to 17 or so and then skipped up to 23,24,25,26.

does anyone think this is trap saying 1 to 17 are certain picks and theres a couple of spaces up for grabs?

[tricky_colour]

Damn you tc, you're ahead of my stream.....

or a quicker typer! ( actually I guess you might have saw my post before you saw the goal, so sorry if I spoiled it for you)
it was this stream http://sharpstreams.yolasite.com/stream-2.php by the way, very good quality so
it may well have been ahead of some of the others.

(it showing the england game now)

(judging by the game which is on ITV, which I have on as well, the stream has about a 10 second lag, which is pretty good,
some have a lag of a few minutes)

[born2bwild]

Delighted with the end to that.
So we have ended up learning a thing or two.
I learned that George Hamilton is a class act - best of health to him - somehow my stream had al-jazeera film and George and Ronnie commentary (??)
They knew it wasn't going out live - you could hear them giving it all the 'Dublin we'll do the promos for you now..wait until the announcer finishes' stuff at the end - but it was top class stuff.
Actually, this post has more holes in it than Ireland's defence tonight.
What were those 3 clowns doing for the Czech goal??????

[geysir]

McClean did his chances no harm at all, but the area of concern is at CM, we were so poor there that when Green came on he plugged a few gaps and improved the situation.
The defensive lapse, primarily by O'Shea (imo), was just that - a bad lapse, in an otherwise sound defensive performance from the back 4.
Overall we defended well and just tried to have a nuisance factor elsewhere. We finished well, benefitted from the battling physical presence of the subs and no small amount of skill from Cox.

[born2bwild]

I thought it was Ward that got sucked into ball watching (that sounds wrong) and forgot to track the eventual scorer's goal - it was O'Shea, was it? really bad -I was training a pack of 15 year olds earlier today and they wouldn't do that. (well, actually, they would, but you get my point)

[the bear]

McClean did his chances no harm at all, but the area of concern is at CM, we were so poor there that when Green came on he plugged a few gaps and improved the situation.
The defensive lapse, primarily by O'Shea (imo), was just that - a bad lapse, in an otherwise sound defensive performance from the back 4.
Overall we defended well and just tried to have a nuisance factor elsewhere. We finished well, benefitted from the battling physical presence of the subs and no small amount of skill from Cox.

the 2 cms started well i thought and then faded to being almost completley anonymous in the second half. andrews impressed me in the first with his eagerness to get forward and better than usual passing, he also deserves credit for creating the goal out of nothing. the descision to bring on green rather than mccarthy is crazy. other than that you cant complain to much bout the subs although i would of brought more of the youngsters on personally. great finish from cox. dreadful defending for their goal. boring boring match, waste of time really. mcclean was very composed on the ball

[DannyInvincible]

I learned that George Hamilton is a class act - best of health to him - somehow my stream had al-jazeera film and George and Ronnie commentary (??)
They knew it wasn't going out live - you could hear them giving it all the 'Dublin we'll do the promos for you now..wait until the announcer finishes' stuff at the end - but it was top class stuff.
Actually, this post has more holes in it than Ireland's defence tonight.
What were those 3 clowns doing for the Czech goal??????

Had the same one myself.

Uninspiring performance generally. Cox's goal was the obvious highlight. Great work from Andrews and himself with a lovely finish to top it off. Were there two nutmegs or just the one involved? Thought McClean was lining up for a top-corner dream debut goal at the end. Looked energetic when he came on but frustrating not to have seen more of him. You can't really gauge a player's worth from ten or fifteen minutes at the end of a game. We all know what Hunt can bring. As for bringing Green on, I dunno. Is there a serious chance Green will be on the plane to Poland? That's worrying. The goal we conceded was a result of some abysmal defending. Can't imagine it would have happened with Dunne in there. Not sure if we've learned much from this but at least we didn't lose at home and the unbeaten record continues. That's good for morale.

[geysir]

I thought it was Ward that got sucked into ball watching (that sounds wrong) and forgot to track the eventual scorer's goal - it was O'Shea, was it? really bad -I was training a pack of 15 year olds earlier today and they wouldn't do that. (well, actually, they would, but you get my point)
It was O'Shea's responsibility to cover Baros. But it's par for the course here to blame Ward for anything and everything :)

[Closed Account]

I predict a 1-1 draw.

Robbies withdrawn role will see us fail to get enough men in the box. McGeady will frustrate and give away the ball in promising positions too much. The defence will do well as a whole but 1 mistake from Ward or O'Shea will see the Czechs score.

Hopefully our goal will come from a midfielder, as we need to offer more of a threat from there. The game will peter out when subs disrupt the flow of the game around the 70-75 minute mark.

Optimism....... ;)
I wasn't far off !!!:victory:

A few things to work on:
1. Shay really has room for improvement on his kickouts, a couple of times they went straight out of play.
2. We still don't value possession as much as some of our continental friends. We do create a lot of chances on the break, and I don't want to compromise that, but maybe we should play the percentages a bit more, playing it back to ensure possession some of the times.

Fans won't of learnt a lot, maybe Trap has. Suprised McCarthy didn't get a game after Trap had been talking about him. Maybe he's sees him in a 5 man midfield defending a lead.

Didn't do any damage to rankings, will be 19th ahead of Bosnia or 20th if Mexico beat Colombia.

He avoided an unwarranted media frenzy by giving McClean a few minutes, he did well. Unfortunately I don't think he'll be given the chance to be the bolter we all would like to see.

[the bear]

It was O'Shea's responsibility to cover Baros. But it's par for the course here to blame Ward for anything and everything :)

sledger was tracking his run across the goal then left him to go to the ball and o'shea went straight for the ball aswell. a bit of simple communication is all that was required. easy stuff

[geysir]

In that helter skelter situation I think it's down to instinct not communication.

[the bear]

both of their instinct was to go for the ball if there had been a shout maybe one could have stopped. sledge looked like he was gonna track the runner then suddenly stopped, if o'shea had of shouted he was going for the tackle maybe sledge would of stayed with baros

[Closed Account]

In that helter skelter situation I think it's down to instinct not communication.Probably a bit of both. If I'd been any of the 3 defenders around the passer, you'd have to be aware that an opposition player must be free. So close down the passer as much as possible, give away a free kick if necessary, just don't let him get a pass away.

[DannyInvincible]

usually they don't have names on their jerseys except for in tournaments.

the players were numbered from 1 to 17 or so and then skipped up to 23,24,25,26.

does anyone think this is trap saying 1 to 17 are certain picks and theres a couple of spaces up for grabs?

I'm guessing they were numbered based on position and order in which they were called up. The initial numbered list would have included those players who were originally selected and then dropped out of the squad due to injury. I assume that's why McClean would have been numbered 26, for example.

[SwanVsDalton]

Missed the first half. Doesn't sound like I missed much.

Dreadful defending for their goal, very uncharacteristic of us, don't think we'll make a habit of it.

Andrews did well for the goal and a fantastic finish from Cox.

Nice to see McClean on for a while. Not particularly surprised it wasn't longer. However Ray Houghton banging on about it for 45 minutes was easily the most irritating aspect of the game.

[the bear]

I'm guessing they were numbered based on position and order in which they were called up. The initial numbered list would have included those players who were originally selected and then dropped out of the squad due to injury. I assume that's why McClean would have been numbered 26, for example.

makes sense danny, i don't remember seeing it happen before

[geysir]

I didn't find the game boring despite our lack of quality with passing the ball and holding possession, I have a soft spot for the technical ability of the Czechs, seems not to matter what team they manage to put out, their players are technically proficient.
Pity we have no more games until just before the Euros.

[Carrigaline]

My ratings.

Given 6 - Didn't see anything from him.
O'Shea 7 - Like the entire backline, he was at fault for the goal. Otherwise, he was very good.
St Ledger 8 - A real commanding performance from him once again.
O'Dea 7 - A few decent tackles, definitely seems to have staked a claim as our first choice back-up.
Ward 5 - I thought he was very poor. No composure and his work rate was pathetic, so much so that McGeady spent most of the match covering for him.
Duff 6 - Didn't see enough of the ball.
Whelan 6.5 - Fairly solid and unspectacular.
Andrews 8 - Got forward, tracked back, made some wonderful passes and has an incredible engine. MOTM for me.
McGeady 7 - Before he came off, McGeady was involved in nearly everything we created. A few stray passes/crosses though.
Keane 6.5 - Started well, but faded as the service dried up.
Long 5 - Didn't look fit to me.

Green 6 - He put himself about, didn't do much wrong.
Hunt 5 - Very frustrating yet again - seems to have gone backwards.
Walters 6 - Put himself about, held the ball up a few times. Average.
Cox 7 - Great work rate and a dazzling goal. What a find this guy has been.
McClean 6 - Didn't really get a chance.

[Charlie Darwin]

Without excusing the defending for their goal (I think O'Shea has to take responsibility as he could see more of what was going on), it was an excellent pass and finish. It's the kind of mistake you can get away with but we definitely won't in the Euros. I trust Dunne will have it drilled into O'Shea and Ward not to take such silly gambles.

Overall, like a lot of our performances, it started bright but ultimately the opposition's superior quality on the ball and our negative tactics meant that they dominated the majority of the game.

Was a bit surprised O'Shea got man of the match too.

[DannyInvincible]

makes sense danny, i don't remember seeing it happen before

True. I've only ever seen the FAI do it as finals, so maybe those within the first 23 are those who would have made the final Euro 2012 squad were it chosen the other week, barring injury. Or those with everything to lose, you could say.

[geysir]

Was a bit surprised O'Shea got man of the match too.

Was that Houghton's choice? I thought either one of the centre halves or Cox.

[Charlie Darwin]

Was that Houghton's choice? I thought either one of the centre halves or Cox.
I didn't actually hear it being announced during the match but I assume it must have been Houghton as Sky were the official broadcaster.

[BonnieShels]

usually they don't have names on their jerseys except for in tournaments.

the players were numbered from 1 to 17 or so and then skipped up to 23,24,25,26.

does anyone think this is trap saying 1 to 17 are certain picks and theres a couple of spaces up for grabs?


I'm guessing they were numbered based on position and order in which they were called up. The initial numbered list would have included those players who were originally selected and then dropped out of the squad due to injury. I assume that's why McClean would have been numbered 26, for example.

Ah come on lads my query was in relation to the significa... really?

[tricky_colour]

Shocking defending for their goal, at one point I can see 3 cech player who have nobody between them
and the goal, you could throw a blanket over 3 maybe 4 irish players.
Nobody seemed to be to sure about what they were supposed to be doing, at least I think not, I'm not 100% sure about that.
I guess to be fair the cechs made it hard for them by moving about.

[Charlie Darwin]

Looking at again, where did O'Dea get to? That's just disorganised defence, and doesn't bode well for us if anything happens to Dunne.

[DannyInvincible]

However Ray Houghton banging on about it for 45 minutes was easily the most irritating aspect of the game.

Houghton's commentary amuses me. He only got to grips with the "new" offside rule years after it was implemented. Often you'll hear him bemoan a player who decides to have an effort on goal and goes close but fails to score: "He rilly shouldnae be hittin' thon there if he's naw gonnae score."

Given the fact most players don't possess supernatural abilities of predicting the future, there will always be an element of risk attached to having a pop at goal. Otherwise, nobody would hit a shot because you just can't know for certain that any shot will go in. Some go in; some don't. The fortuitous "chipper" off his shin against Italy in 1994 springs to mind. :)

[DannyInvincible]

Ah come on lads my query was in relation to the significa... really?

I thought he should have been number 32, to be honest. :)

[ArdeeBhoy]

Another view. The main Ireland stuff is 3-4 pages in. Including an occasional poster from here...

http://www.wsc.co.uk/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,73/func,view/id,632142/catid,27/limit,20/limitstart,60/

[geysir]

RTE highlights ran to about 10 minutes of game time, in a program lasting over 50 minutes.

[the bear]

hey did well to get 10 mins out of it

[BonnieShels]

I thought he should have been number 32, to be honest. :)

And incur the wrath of the OWC? Dangerous.

[tricky_colour]

Was his number "26" picked on purpose?

Not sure I quite understand that?? Can someone explain?

[gastric]

Not sure I quite understand that?? Can someone explain?

26 counties or 32 counties make up Ireland, depending on your politics!

[tricky_colour]

hey did well to get 10 mins out of it

I guess they must have included the injuries.

[TerryPhelan]

Another impressive performance from Walters tonight - the apparent ease with which he can control difficult aerial balls and bring the other attackers into the game, not to mention the power and pace he showed when turning his marker (and wrongly being called back for a foul) make him a seriously strong candidate for a starting place at Euro 2012. For as long as we are going to play long ball, we may as well start deploying a guy with the attributes to make it work. Doyle has slipped out of form and, like Long tonight, generally looks agonised and frustrated by the thankless job they have been entrusted with. Walters seems to make it work for himself. I have had this opinion brewing for some time now and decided to stay up after getting home from the game tonight to put (cyber) pen to (cyber) paper and write an article about it. All thoughts are more than welcome lads - have a read and see what you think: http://lysaghtb.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/walters-claim-for-starting-role-hard-to-ignore/

[Murfinator]

Another view. The main Ireland stuff is 3-4 pages in. Including an occasional poster from here...

http://www.wsc.co.uk/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,73/func,view/id,632142/catid,27/limit,20/limitstart,60/


In McClean, Duffy, McCarthy, Long and Coleman there are five very decent young players coming through who are making their mark in the top level in England. In Given, Dunne, Duff, Keane and to a certain extent O'Shea you have five very experienced top level players. Those ten + McGeady should probably form the basis of a starting XI. 2012 is the first and last chance of all of them playing together. It's a unique chance to blend two overlapping golden generations.

I think this post really highlights the problems with the Irish media and public and how it conflicts with Traps approach. To compare, even lightly the likes of those 5 guys with some of our finest ever players is lunacy, its mental institution stuff. The public in general seems to have a serious problem differentiating between a promising youngster and a once in a blue moon talent. I would say we have none of those coming through at the moment and our actual golden generation has one world cup campaign left in them.
The likes of Duffy, Coleman, McClean and McCarthy will do well to forge premiership careers for themselves, even that is less than certain right now let alone becoming international superstars. Those guys all have a lot to prove, I think Trap would be dead right to be skeptical of them and I wouldn't necessarily disagree if he left all 4 of them at home, I certainly wouldn't consider it a travesty that I'm sure the tabloid media would.

I feel a bit sorry for Green that because of his club situation and age he's considered a lot less desirable than the rest of them. He's certainly done a hell of a lot more for Ireland than the 4 above.

[backstothewall]

Just home. Quick set of ratings before bed

Given 7
O'Shea 6 Wasn't sure who was at fault for the goal. Point off if it was him
Sledge 6.5 But ditto O'Shea for the goal
O'Dea 6.5 As Sledge & Josh
Ward 7 One of our better players on the night
Duff 7
Whelan 7
Andrews 6
McGeady 6.5 His crossing off his left is shocking. Much better when he switched wings
Keane 6.5
Long 6.5

Green 6
Hunt 6.5
McClean 7.5 Changed the game when he came on, but that was as much about the crowd as anything else I think
Cox 7.5

[DannyInvincible]

Just home. Quick set of ratings before bed

Given 7
O'Shea 6 Wasn't sure who was at fault for the goal. Point off if it was him
Sledge 6.5 But ditto O'Shea for the goal
O'Dea 6.5 As Sledge & Josh
Ward 7 One of our better players on the night
Duff 7
Whelan 7
Andrews 6
McGeady 6.5 His crossing off his left is shocking. Much better when he switched wings
Keane 6.5
Long 6.5

Green 6
Hunt 6.5
McClean 7.5 Changed the game when he came on, but that was as much about the crowd as anything else I think
Cox 7.5

Walters leaves thread dejected.