Republic of Ireland V Faroe Islands - Friday, 7th June 2013 - World Cup 14 Qualifier

[Charlie Darwin]

Beautiful touch and assist from Sammon.

[brine3]

Sammon. Lionel Messi, I'm tellin' ya.

[paul_oshea]

sammom did well.

[BonnieShels]

Oh noes!

Great pass from Sammon. I take the noes back.

[christo]

Vision from Sammon there that Walters lacked all night

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, really really well done Sammon.

[brine3]

Not sure if was Messi. It was more Zidane really...

[SkStu]

2-1 elmander.

[Charlie Darwin]

2-1 elmander.
I see the trademark Swedish late comeback is on.

[SkStu]

Yes, and Austria aren't sitting back and do look dangerous. Could be costly tactic.

[paul_oshea]

kind of like us then...

[Charlie Darwin]

Yes, and Austria aren't sitting back and do look dangerous. Could be costly tactic.
They should take off a winger and put on the Austrian Paul Green.

[paul_oshea]

good man hoolohan in fromt of trap and everything

[brine3]

yep, i'd have given hoolahan man of the match.

[Stuttgart88]

I think first 30 mins deserved more goals. We went a bit flat after that but I think a team with no ambition just drags you down too. Better finishing, 5-0 and we'd be much happier. Decent enough showing. There's little upside to these games.

[SkStu]

Sweden lose. Austria win. Ireland i dtrioblaid?

[Closed Account 2]

Happy enough with that, fairly comfortable win no apparent injuries and no suspensions. In an ideal world we would have won by a few more and the players would have looked a bit sharper, but the result is key and it was enough

[SkStu]

I think first 30 mins deserved more goals. We went a bit flat after that but I think a team with no ambition just drags you down too. Better finishing, 5-0 and we'd be much happier. Decent enough showing. There's little upside to these games.

Will reserve judgement til I see the game but would generally agree with the sentiments here. It's usually only the true powerhouses of the game that rack up the cricket scores.

[tricky_colour]

50p, am I right?

Well yes 50p at 22-1 then when I lost that I had another 10p on at 25-1, got screwed by Robbie again!!

Robbie is always short odds so I don't bother with him. Coleman was optimistic I must admit, he doesn't tend to shoot at all these days.

[paul_oshea]

what height is hoolahan he is tiny!!!

well at the end of the day we have it back in our own hands. but imagine if we had beaten austria.we could have afforded drawing away.we still need to beat them.

[BonnieShels]

what height is hoolahan he is tiny!!!

Seeing him beside JOSH made him look like a 1st year against a 6th year!

[SkStu]

Jesus, people say players have the touch of a rapist. McGeady has the shot of a rapist!

[Charlie Darwin]

Well yes 50p at 22-1 then when I lost that I had another 10p on at 25-1, got screwed by Robbie again!!

Robbie is always short odds so I don't bother with him. Coleman was optimistic I must admit, he doesn't tend to shoot at all these days.
Yeah, you're right. Hold out for the mega jackpot.

[BonnieShels]

Jesus, people say players have the touch of a rapist. McGeady has the shot of a rapist!


Where does a rapist aim?

[SkStu]

Anywhere will do! :D

[tricky_colour]

good man hoolohan in fromt of trap and everything

Yes, Trap is often seen at Ireland matches.

[Charlie Darwin]

Trap: "In the first half there was the sun in the eyes."

Most teams counter this by not booting the ball straight up in the air at every available opportunity.

[tricky_colour]

Yeah, you're right. Hold out for the mega jackpot.

Well I looked at the correct scores odds and they were pretty abysmal at lest I would get a good return on Coleman in the unlikely event he scored next.

[Bottle of Tonic]

Yeah, it was adequate. No need to be getting worked up about any game vs the likes of the Faroes once you win it comfortably, which we did. I had to switch of my rte stream at half time and go looking for a sky one such was the irritating whinging coming out of the gobs of Whelan and Hamilton.

I'm getting really tired of the mainstream accepted opinion of this Irish side and our manager, where every comment or analysis has to be based on a massive whinge. Hamilton, after about 30 mins came out with something like "a familiar pattern developing here, Ireland ahead, but failing to build on it" in the same tone as you would say "a familiar pattern developing here, Ireland 1-0 down inside the first ten minutes" or the like! Joyless ****es himself and Ronnie.

[NeverFeltBetter]

What an awful game of football. Hoofing it long against a team of fishermen. Keane, Hoolahan and McGeady to an extent did OK, nearly everyone else was fairly mediocre, considering the opposition. All goals came from simple, passing football, when the team broke away from this awful, ineffective system of long ball, and take your time with everything. Cox not up to anything on the right, Wilson poor, Sammon on for Walters. A decent assist, but that is literally the only thing I've ever seen him offer in an Irish shirt. A four yard assist against a wrecked Faroe Island defence.

I don't rate Keane too highly (he won't get that room against Austria) but he really knows how to glide into the empty space when it opens up. Hoolahan was great, but its easy to be great when you're playing sixth seeds. I just wish the rest of the team had realised that.

The commentary team and the post-match panel was the most anti-Trapattoni I've ever seen.

[tricky_colour]

Might be some comfort Germany only beat them 3-0 at home and Sweden 2-1 away.
Austria are looking stronger than Sweden, but they only have one home game remaining (against us).

However our future is our hands, which may or may not be a comforting to know!!

[NeverFeltBetter]

Just to be clear, I know everything worked out tonight and I would actually think GD won't be a factor in the end. But I have such low expectations for those crunch games.

[SkStu]

That second goal was a thing of beauty.

[Crosby87]

so the austria result is what we wanted right?

[NeverFeltBetter]

I think a draw would have been the most optimal, for GD purposes as much as anything, but an Austrian win is not bad. Beating them in Vienna will probably be a requirement, barring unlikely results elsewhere.

[Grafter]

Yeah, it was adequate. No need to be getting worked up about any game vs the likes of the Faroes once you win it comfortably, which we did. I had to switch of my rte stream at half time and go looking for a sky one such was the irritating whinging coming out of the gobs of Whelan and Hamilton.

I'm getting really tired of the mainstream accepted opinion of this Irish side and our manager, where every comment or analysis has to be based on a massive whinge. Hamilton, after about 30 mins came out with something like "a familiar pattern developing here, Ireland ahead, but failing to build on it" in the same tone as you would say "a familiar pattern developing here, Ireland 1-0 down inside the first ten minutes" or the like! Joyless ****es himself and Ronnie.

Why poison a lovely summer's evening listening to them?
I turned on mute on tv and put on Lyric Fm after half an hour.... life sounded alot better from there:)

[Crosby87]

I think a draw would have been the most optimal, for GD purposes as much as anything, but an Austrian win is not bad. Beating them in Vienna will probably be a requirement, barring unlikely results elsewhere.

I guess it depends on point of view, if you read back many were saying it would be the best result...we will see!

[tricky_colour]

so the austria result is what we wanted right?

Possible, it seems a bit complicated depending on how other results go.

they play each other again so a draw there would be good.

[tricky_colour]

I guess it depends on point of view, if you read back many were saying it would be the best result...we will see!

As it stands


Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 11
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Sweden2 5 2 2 1 9 7 8

a draw would give ignoring goal difference ( assuming I made no mistakes)

Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 9
Sweden 5 2 2 1 9 7 9

Assuming Sweden win game in hand
Sweden 6 2 2 1 9 7 12
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 9

Now I don't like the look of that,


As it is if Sweden wins game in hand we get

Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 11
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Sweden2 6 2 2 1 9 7 11




Unfortunately the editor is crap so you do not get what you see.


I think given we do not know future results that a draw putting us al level may be best but I am not 100% sure.

[pineapple stu]

I'll go 3-0, with Keane to score 2.
Not a bad prediction, if I say so myself!

Happy enough with that; played decent enough stuff (for us); controlled and patient, by and large; picked off gaps when they were available and the Faroes had bugger all to show at the other end.

Sammon with his second nice assist for Keane in four days; are they getting an understanding? :p

Keane's record is just phenomenal. Hoolahan I thought faded after a good start. Would have liked to see Dunne get a run-out at 2-0; there was no real threat.

[Stuttgart88]

It's pretty simple really: Let's assume Sweden wins on Tuesday. That means us, SWE and AUS have 4 games left and are level on points.

Sweden arguably have best chance of getting anything from Germany, but lets assume we all lose and we all win our one remaining Faroe or Kazakh game.

That means a straight mini league between 3 teams for second, all starting from scratch but IRL handicapped by goal difference (GD counts as first differentiator this year, and against every team - so we're fcuked there).


6 points ought to secure second, but that's not how IRL does things.

Will 4 points be enough to win that mini league?

If Sweden beat Austria:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 3, AUS 1. We're exposed to a Swden home draw with Germany though.
- We beat Austria, draw with Sweden - SWE 4, IRL 4, AUS 0. We'd be third unless we outperform the others in the GER and KAZ/FAR games.
- Anything worse than 4 points and we're toast unless we outperform the others vs GER and/or KAZ/FAR.

If Austria beat Sweden again:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - AUS 4, IRL 4, SWE 0. We're toast unless we get a better result in Germany than Austria (who have played KAZ twice already but play Faroes away).
- We beat Austria but draw with Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 3, SWE 1. We're OK as long as Austria don't get something in Germany, or Sweden beats Germany.

If Austria and Sweden draw:
- We draw with Austria and Sweden - we'll all tie and our GD is rubbish so we'll need to outperform the others in the GER, FAR / KAZ games.
- We draw with Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 2, SWE 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- We beat Austria and draw with Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 2, AUS 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- A defeat for IRL in either game in September will require that rival to slip up against Kazakhstan or Faroes, or (and?) us winning in Germany.

Of course, the assumption that we all lose to Germany and beat Kazakhstan or Faroes isn't nailed on, but the permutations are too plentiful otherwise. So unless I've made a mistake, I think the above is the best way to view things.

Another quick way to look at it is that if there is a positive result in SWE v AUS, then we must beat the winner of that game. If that game is a draw then 4 points ought to seal it unless a rival beats Germany. A draw for either vs Germany still won't be enough.

[Olé Olé]

Got a good laugh out of Dunphy's summation in his analysis of Hoolahan's performance; "LOVE him. EVERYONE loves him. HAS to play."

It's true though. He really keeps us ticking over and does challenge also. His ability to drift into the final third and pick out positive passes is unmatched by any of our other players. Furthermore, it allows our wing players (including our full-backs), the chance to get in behind the opposition. If we had had a proper winger rather than Cox on the right then I think we would have grabbed another few goals. I don't think Cox managed to put one positive ball into the box during the whole game, while Wilson, Coleman, McGeady and (to a lesser degree, even if he did supply the ball to Sammon for one of Keane's goals) McClean all managed to do so. Coleman, in particular, looked very dangerous because of the balls that Hoolahan was feeding him.

It's a pity we can't play with 12 players. If we could then Hoolahan would be in front of the two centre midfielders. As it stands, I don't think Trap is willing to sacrifice a striker for Hoolahan. I think if we put Hoolahan between Keane and the midfield and put Shane Long on the right wing in an inside forward-esque role using his tireless running to support both Coleman and Keane then we would be well-served in attack and defence. But I don't think Trap trusts his players tactically.

In relation to the midfield conundrum, McCarthy is a certainty. Whelan offered zero against the Faroe Islands. That is a damning indictment of him and suggests that McCarthy+0 is clearly a weaker pairing than McCarthy+Hoolahan. Trap doesn't view it that way, however, which worries me ahead of the two crucial games.

[OwenGoal]

Is Hoolahan going to NY - indo or IT this morning said he had a hamstring problem?

[Stuttgart88]

Funny, the two players I have been most critical of lately did well last night I thought - Whelan and Sammon. But it was only the Faroes.

Sweden at home is a massive game now. Sweden don't host Austria until October, so I think it's imperative we try to win both.

[IsMiseSean]

Just after watching the RTE coverage. Dunphy, Sadlier & Whelan have to be the most miserable cnuts in Ireland. I feel sorry for the wives(if they have one)...

[Bungle]

My ratings:

Forde - 6: Did nothing wrong but not tested.
Wilson - 3: I'm a big fan of Marc but he was very poor yesterday.
St Ledger - 5: Nothing to really test him.
O'Shea - 5: See above.
Coleman 8: It might be the Faroes, but he shone out for me.
McGeady - 7: Mixed bag from Aiden. Was tempted to give him a 6, but I think he probably deserved a 7 because he played the type of football that the rest of the lads should have been doing against much poorer opposition. He ran at them playing fast football and wasn't afraid to have a crack at goal. His final ball remains poor though and he is a frustrating player.
Whelan - 5: Didn't do anything of note, but solid.
Hoolahan - 8: Terrific performance from Wes. It's wonderful to have an Irish midfielder who actually wants to make love to the ball as my Brazilian mate would say :) Hopefully he can be embedded into the team with McCarthy because I would feel far more hopeful of 4-6 points in September if he's there.
Cox -5: Played out of position. I can see the logic of him playing there against the Faroes, but if Trap picks him ahead of other wingers for the rest of the campaign it would be a total joke.
Walters - 5: Jon didn't do much of note. Gamey as ever.
Keane - 9: Has to be the mom purely for the hat trick. Terrific desire to play for the country. The Sky Generation who think every player must be as skillful as Messi or the anti-Dublin brigade which is in our support might mock Robbie, or others might feel that he never became the consistently world class player that he should have, but for me he's an absolute legend and I'll be devestated when we lose him.

Big shout out for Sammon. I'll be the first to admit that I don't particularly rate him and I put my head upto heaven when he came on, but he was excellent when he came on.

[Stuttgart88]

Well said Bungle. Maybe a 7 for Coleman and a 6 for Whelan, for me. Coleman was great at times but drifted out of it for a bit.

The forward on the right wing thing frustrtaes the **** out of me. It's been a relative constant under Trap and it neuters the right side from an attacking sense. What a shame Robbie Brady got injured.

[mypost]

3-0 win, 3 well set up and taken goals, hat tricks, loads of chances for more, good crowd, level on points, 6 games unbeaten.

The verdict: "Trap has to go" :(

[tricky_colour]

It's pretty simple really: Let's assume Sweden wins on Tuesday. That means us, SWE and AUS have 4 games left and are level on points.

Sweden arguably have best chance of getting anything from Germany, but lets assume we all lose and we all win our one remaining Faroe or Kazakh game.

That means a straight mini league between 3 teams for second, all starting from scratch but IRL handicapped by goal difference (GD counts as first differentiator this year, and against every team - so we're fcuked there).


6 points ought to secure second, but that's not how IRL does things.

Will 4 points be enough to win that mini league?

If Sweden beat Austria:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 3, AUS 1. We're exposed to a Swden home draw with Germany though.
- We beat Austria, draw with Sweden - SWE 4, IRL 4, AUS 0. We'd be third unless we outperform the others in the GER and KAZ/FAR games.
- Anything worse than 4 points and we're toast unless we outperform the others vs GER and/or KAZ/FAR.

If Austria beat Sweden again:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - AUS 4, IRL 4, SWE 0. We're toast unless we get a better result in Germany than Austria (who have played KAZ twice already but play Faroes away).
- We beat Austria but draw with Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 3, SWE 1. We're OK as long as Austria don't get something in Germany, or Sweden beats Germany.

If Austria and Sweden draw:
- We draw with Austria and Sweden - we'll all tie and our GD is rubbish so we'll need to outperform the others in the GER, FAR / KAZ games.
- We draw with Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 2, SWE 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- We beat Austria and draw with Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 2, AUS 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- A defeat for IRL in either game in September will require that rival to slip up against Kazakhstan or Faroes, or (and?) us winning in Germany.

Of course, the assumption that we all lose to Germany and beat Kazakhstan or Faroes isn't nailed on, but the permutations are too plentiful otherwise. So unless I've made a mistake, I think the above is the best way to view things.

Another quick way to look at it is that if there is a positive result in SWE v AUS, then we must beat the winner of that game. If that game is a draw then 4 points ought to seal it unless a rival beats Germany. A draw for either vs Germany still won't be enough.

It might seem pretty simple to you but it looks pretty complicated to me!!!
But thanks for the analysis!

[Charlie Darwin]

Well said Bungle. Maybe a 7 for Coleman and a 6 for Whelan, for me. Coleman was great at times but drifted out of it for a bit.

The forward on the right wing thing frustrtaes the **** out of me. It's been a relative constant under Trap and it neuters the right side from an attacking sense. What a shame Robbie Brady got injured.
Do you really think he'd have played ahead of Cox, Keogh or Walters if he was fit?