Republic of Ireland V Germany - Thursday, 8th October 2015 - Euro 2016 Qualifier

[chickennuggets]

Tonight was special

[SwanVsDalton]

That drive back to Belfast felt like it took about eight minutes...

Can't really believe that happened. Didn't really think results like that were possible for that team any more - little did I know they were just suckering the Germans (and everyone else) into complacency. Top tactics all round.

Shane Long, sorry I doubted you before but that was exactly what everyone wanted - big, juicy, major goals. Top marks.

Darren Randolph, fantastic - came on and played like he belonged. Seriously impressed, oozed composure.

James McCarthy - best performance in green, superb. Made a few errors in possession but honestly his tackling, tracking (often up against three runners at once) and general play was awesome. Think he answered where he performs best.

Wes Hoolahan - You're the one for me, Wessi.

Jonathan Walters - this man's a beast. A beast who can play football. Do they not make guys like this in the Bundesliga? Germany had no answer to Walters' sheer bloodminded brillance tonight. I can't get enough of this guy.

Everyone else, fantastic. A clean sheet off a defence boasting Randolph, Keogh, Christie and Ward is no mean feat, kudos to every single play - magnificent to a man.

My thoughts might coalesce into something more coherent tomorrow (if so I'll try again) - or they may not coalesce into anything ever again such has been the reality-warping evening we've all just experience. We're truly through the looking glass here people.

[back of the net]

On cloud 9. Cannot recall last time sport made me feel this good. I'm drained after the last 20 minutes. Hands sweated litres!

Exactly as my above friend said

Unreal so proud!!!!!!!####


COYBIG

[colonelwest]

Just home there a while ago from the match and gargle afterwards. Town after the game was mad, most every car, taxi bus etc on the road beeping the horns to beat the band at the crowd leaving Landsdowne all the way into town, haven't seen the likes in years. Absolutely fantastic display tonight from us, trying not to repeat whats already been said but we were tactically brilliant, Christie looked like he was running in treacle first half but was great second. Everyone had a stormer and yes, Germany were in Harlem Globetrotter mode to a certain extent but do we care? Nope. 1-0 to us, thank you very much. Wesso? What can be said that hasn't already? What I wouldn't give for him to be 10 years younger. 4 generations of my family including myself in Landsdowne, going back 50/60 years of ST's/ heading to all the games year in and year out & us slightly younger heads being rared on it by the auld fellas, will never have a moment like that again when Long knocked that in or the final whistle as long as I live. The first time the new Landsdowne was as up for it as the old as well, the roar has been missed big time but came back tonight. Roll on Warsaw on Sunday, 7 of us heading over for the weekend for that, thank Christ I'm booked off work til next Wednesday!

[gastric]

Just a few questions and reflections after the game. Have we any players banned for the Poland game, and if not, might we have some selection headaches? Not something we normally have! Will this win help our ranking a lot or not? And lastly, if we qualify I wouldn't mind being in the same group as Germany. I can't believe I even think this!;)

Edit: Sunday is going to be one of the biggest days ever in Irish sport, already getting butterflies!

[Wolfman]

Wow, wow, wow. What a result. Hat never tasted so good.

[tricky_colour]

Don't think we had to qualify though? Just exist?

Indeed I believe the requirement was failure to qualify!!

[samhaydenjr]

Absolutely fantastic result and I've got to say that Martin O'Neill got the tactics absolutely right - set out the team to battle and contain in the first half and then went for it in the second half - even the choice of Daryl Murphy alone up front has paid off because instead of Shane Long trying to cause problems for a fresh German defence from the start (which is what many people were advocating), he came on fresh, to torment a tiring German backline. And I'm glad he has proved my prediction slightly wrong - in the Keane vs Long debate I had said that I expected Keane to get 4 or 5 goals in the campaign but merely hoped that Long got one important goal - well two of his three have been precious. A little note about the "route one" nature of our goal - this wasn't an aimless hoof and hope from Randolph - when you see it from behind, he doesn't hit it first-time. Rather he takes a touch - at this point Long is already on the move and Randolph hits a ball into the space behind the German defence that Long is charging towards and with the ideal weight to give him a shot at catching it.

So going back to O'Neill, he has come in for a lot of criticism throughout this campaign and was negatively compared to Strachan but the reality is that coming into tonight's game, we had been able to get the results to give ourselves a shout, particularly in Georgia and Germany, whereas Scotland did not. We also completely outplayed a very good Polish side at home in the second half and probably deserved to win that as well. And I believe somebody on this forum called the line-up tonight the worst Irish team he'd seen selected and yet they contained and frustrated the World Champions. Also when you look back at the first campaigns of Irish managers, this probably is as good as any of them as all of them had their negative points:
- Euro '88 under Jack - insipid 0-0 draws at home to Belgium and Scotland, away defeat to Bulgaria and near-catastrophe against Luxembourg
- World Cup '98 under Mick - limped into the playoffs well back of Romania and just ahead of Lithuania after defeat in Skopje and home draws against Iceland and Lithuania
- Euro 2004 under Kerr - OK had a difficult task coming in after 2 defeats but a draw away to Albania and defeat in Switzerland kept us out of a still reachable play-off position - in his first full campaign, failure to close out against Israel twice ruined us
- Euro 2008 under Stan - Well we were never really in the running there with the Cyprus game being the nadir
- World Cup 2010 under Trap - sure, no defeats and creditable draws against Italy but four draws against Montenegro and Bulgaria where we could have taken three wins and made it really interesting against Italy in Croker, particularly if we hadn't lost our heads after Sledge's goal

So I guess my point is that O'Neill has done quite well so far, overall and even if we end up in the playoffs and lose to a decent team, then I think he should be guaranteed another shot next autumn at least. That said, tonight proved that this Irish team has no reason to fear anybody and should go into next Monday's game believing that we are fully capable of getting the result required to get us through automatically and even if it doesn't turn out our way on the night that we can take on any of the teams in third place over two legs and win because looking at who's still in the mix, I only see teams that we can either match, at least (Ukraine, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands) or that we should beat over two legs (Albania, Slovenia, Israel, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina) as long as we play close to our potential.

And remember, we will have McClean, Whelan and hopefully Coleman back on Monday, and Clark and Wilson also to return, although given how well their replacements acquitted themselves, it might be difficult to get back into the starting line-up

[DannyInvincible]

Magic, historic night. A really special result. It was emotional. My eyes watered. We've been waiting since 2001 for a result like that. It feels great to have banished that pesky old "when's the last time we actually beat a proper team in a competitive game?" curse. (And Slovakia don't count.) The pub I was in (an Irish one, thankfully) erupted with joy when Long scored and the last 20 minutes were sheer nerves. I couldn't see it happening - we just don't experience these sorts of results any more, do we? - but the final whistle eventually arrived. Germany/Loew had been arrogant and complacent; that just added to the sweetness of it all. Great work and discipline by all involved. We really killed the game. All involved were heroes. Did Germany get any more than one or two shots on target all game? We stayed out in the pub celebrating with pints of Guinness and Irish music for hours after. I've just been trying to soak it all up since I got back; analysis, reaction and all that. Can't get enough of it. It's my birthday too, so, aye, thanks for that, Shane! Lovely, memorable present. Nice to be able to say we beat the world champs, but let's finish the job on Sunday.

The Germany defence might have been caught a bit off-guard with Long having just come on, in the sense they'd not seen him properly run until then and might have been unused to/unaware of his pace. It was slack to be caught so far up like that from a kick-out and they paid the price. Our "hundredth" long ball or not, Loew should not shirk responsibility for such poor organisation at the back.

Randolph was great (and now cap-tied; hands off, USA!). He should start against Poland. Much quicker getting the ball away and nippier off the ground. He was composed, safe and handled well. Felt way more secure with him on over Shay. Fair play to Shay - great servant and one of my all-time footballing heroes - but I reckon that has to be it for him.

Randolph factoid: he is actually the third keeper in Euro 2016 qualifying to have assisted a goal (after Rui Patricio and Pyatov).

I'm narked that Poland scored such an utterly flaky goal four minutes into stoppage time in Scotland. It took a slight sheen off the night considering we were sitting in second place and a point ahead of Poland at one stage. The sound was hard to follow in the pub, but our supporters appeared to be celebrating the Polish goal...? Was this the case, and, if so, why? A 2-1 Scotland victory would have meant a 0-0 or 1-1 draw would have sufficed to secure automatic qualification in Warsaw with Poland having to have a go at us rather than the other way around. Although, with nothing to lose in any case, we shouldn't complain too much and perhaps it will be more liberating in this position. We'll see... I'd probably feel more nervous if we were defending a position of superiority rather than vying for it, to be honest. Poland are certainly beatable if we play to our capabilities. We have nothing to fear. We just beat the world champions, don't you know?!

Is there anything to be lost from going all out for the victory on Sunday? Could losing rather than drawing cost us a place in the seeded pot of the play-off draw? I'm not sure of the permutations.

Sunday will be a great day for Irish sport generally. Really looking forward to it. Cannot wait.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ01uH-WUAIk571.jpg

[elroy]

Absolutely buzzing today. It will take days for this to sink in. I just hope we can follow it up on Sunday.

This is the result and the shot in the arm that Irish football needed. It makes all those nights at terrible friendlies or god damn awful performances worthwhile.

So proud of that performance. The fickle media and public in this country give this team plenty of stick, well take a load of that.

Im emotionally exhausted but couple of comments, some repetitive to the above. First half not great but second half I thought we grew in confidence and composure. Wes is truly by a million miles our most skillful player, so comfortable on the ball. Loved the moment in the second half when he was in a tight corner in the LB area, worked his way out of it then played a nice pass to keogh who then shinned it into the stand.

McCarthy for me was immense. Not so much on the ball but off the ball he was everywhere. Ward had a superb first half in particular. Randolph very impressive and composed. But one of the things that please me most is how we closed out the game in the last 10 minutes, yes they have one glaring chance but this is the World champions. The way we run down the four minutes of injury time in particular, it sounds simple but how many times have we failed to do it.

All I ask now is that we quickly put this to one side and regain focus, we have a massive opportunity (almost with nothing to lose now) on Sunday. We can get a win or the score draw thats needed.

[osarusan]

Police car blasting out 'Put 'Em Under Pressure' in the middle of the night in Limerick. (http://www.joe.ie/sport/video-garda-car-in-limerick-blasts-out-put-em-under-pressure-at-3am-irish-fans-react-exactly-as-youd-expect/514915)

[pineapple stu]

Only the second time Germany/West Germany have ever lost two matches in the one qualifying campaign.

Other time was Euro 84, when they lost home and away to the North.

What worries me (with the unwelcome, realistic hat on) is that Germany would have beaten us comfortably if they had anyone who could shoot. Poland have Lewandowski, who has 21 goals so far this season in all competitions. Not sure how we can get a repeat result on Sunday tbh.

[jbyrne]

A bit of a flukey win but so what

nothing flukey about the guts and determination last night. its not as if we had more than one or two saves to make and that they peppered our goal.

[pineapple stu]

Ah no - there was a big element of luck in that win.

Possibly one of our greatest ever wins - have we ever beaten the reigning world champions in a competitive game before? - but far from our best ever performance.

26% possession in the first half! Ball retention was poor. Germany were amazingly casual in front of goal. The free header from the corner in the first half was an awful miss, as was the sidefooted effort that O'Shea deflected over the bar; the guy (Hummels?) was way too casual in placing the ball into the roof of the net, when if he'd drilled it low and hard, we'd have had no chance.

They were toying with us for the first half, and only their ineptness up front kept us in it.

Great finish from Long obviously.

Enjoy the win - it's one of the great things about football that mis-matches last night can still result in a shock result - but let's not pretend it was all down to guts and determination, and that Germany had no role in their own downfall.

And, it has to be said, Germany seem to have been like that all campaign - Scotland have equalised three times against them, Poland beat them when they should have been hammered (bit like last night), we drew out there.

[osarusan]

Fascinating game in prospect in Poland, given the possible permutations and certainty of a playoff.

[jbyrne]

Ah no - there was a big element of luck in that win.


their bad finishing isn't our good luck. its simply bad finishing


And, it has to be said, Germany seem to have been like that all campaign - Scotland have equalised three times against them, Poland beat them when they should have been hammered (bit like last night), we drew out there.

does this statement not contradict your first? if they have been "like that all campaign" it hardly means that we were lucky so

[Olé Olé]

Fascinating game in prospect in Poland, given the possible permutations and certainty of a playoff.

How in the name of God does he pick the team?

I think we need to have two up front and not set up like a usual away game. We need to score goals, either by drawing with 2 or more scored or winning.

I'd go with the following:
Randolph
Coleman Keogh O'Shea Brady
Hendrick Whelan McCarthy
Hoolahan
Walters Long

Hard luck on Christie and we also have McClean to come in. Possibility he'll give Wilson the nod ahead of Keogh and there's the potential for Christie at left-back and Brady back in midfield. We could also leave Long as a super sub but it's so hard to resist starting him.

[pineapple stu]

their bad finishing isn't our good luck. its simply bad finishing
Absolutely is our good luck. Certainly wasn't anything to do with us.


Does this statement not contradict your first? if they have been "like that all campaign" it hardly means that we were lucky so
No - although it probably requires clarification I guess. I was just highlighting that Germany seem to have been suffering a World Cup hangover this campaign (though they've still won the group)

Had they been the usual efficient Germany (and had we still got four points against them of course), we'd have all but qualified now because Poland would be on three points fewer. So in a way, the fact that Germany aren't as clinical as usual helped us hugely last night (and in Gelsenkirchen), but has hindered us elsewhere.

Swings and roundabouts really.

[paul_oshea]

"To think now of the scandal of Trapattoni’s exiling of the Norwich sorcerer, Ireland reduced to creative wasteland, a tundra of daring, a wilderness of hope while the little man’s magic wand was wilfully decommissioned."

[DeLorean]

What a night!

I commented when I saw the line-up that the selection was gutless, well the performance was anything but. My main, and possibly only, gripe was that I thought it was a mistake starting Daryl Murphy, but it was a big one, and I don't think what unfolded proved otherwise. In hindsight though, in the heat of the moment I probably didn't give enough credit for the more risky and bold selections. Despite all the injury/suspension setbacks he kept the faith that Hoolahan wouldn't be a liability in such a game, using a player who hadn't played in weeks to release Brady to a more attacking role and even trusting Cyrus Christie to find his feet at the deep end, instead of more experienced campaigners that could have 'done a job'. His willingness to stick with Hendrick throughout this campaign has been the makings of him as well, and his faith has been justified ten fold.

The game itself...

While it was clear from the get-go that we had a plan and we were 'up for it', sport has a funny way of, on occasion, rewarding detailed preparation, precise application and endless amounts of bravery, even against all the odds. We had all those things in abundance but we still weighed heavily on the generous sporting Gods to give us a dig out on more than one occasion. Germany are getting a hard time for their seemingly complacent, blasé attitude. While there might be some truth in this, they still performed well enough on the night to have won that game nine times out of ten. I don't know what game those who sat in relative comfort were watching.

Off the top of my head, Boateng had a very straight forward, completely free header in the opening minutes, Schurrle had a clear opening and Muller had an absolute sitter by his standards. These were probably easier chances than Shane Long's, definitely two out of the three were. Even at the very end I think it was Hummels who flicked a header straight into Randolphs waiting arms, either side of him and it in. I thought Toni Kroos was majestic as well. We were arguably cut open less often when Germany went away with a 6-1 victory three years ago, even if we weren't remotely competitive overall. On that night though, their eye was in and they didn't even need to cut us open as they were belting them in from all angles and distances. Obviously we were far more confident, compact and clued in last night, don't get me wrong!

We weren't quite as synchronised as Celtic in their famous win over Barcelona a couple of years ago, but for some reason that game kept running through my mind. Obviously it had the David versus Goliath aspect but I think it was more the way you could see the belief grow and grow that this might actually happen as the game wore on, especially when we were starting to see a small bit more of the ball in their half approaching the hour mark.

I won't go through all of the players in too much detail because if ever there was a game that a team effort won the day, this was it. Finally we became the sum of parts and more. As mentioned, Randolph oozed composure which was infectious, his handling, in particular, excellent. I think it was worth losing a badly needed substitution such was his influence. Keogh wasn't taking any chances early on, hoofing everything in sight without a moments thought, but grew in confidence as the game wore on and picked more sensible options out of defence. O'Shea was our leader and the workrate from Brady, Hoolahan and Walters was just phenomenal. I think those three did the really hard running while the others played to the defensive system, more focussed on remaining concentrated and cutting off the space. That must be as mentally draining as the hard running is physically.

Shane Long - you really couldn't have wished a moment like that on a more likable guy, and there are few strikers capable of doing what he did anyway. I remember commenting on many similar types of opportunities which just happened to fall to Walters in the Georgia game, without pace these are not even chances to most forwards though. All Walters (and Murphy) can do is hold it up and try to bring others into play, but with Long it's a genuine chance. Once he gets his touch right there's simply no catching him, and my God did he get his touch right!

What a bonus, too, that Walters and McCarthy avoided picking up yellows that would have seen them miss Warsaw. I thought it was inevitable that one, if not both, would have got booked. Do we still look far more solid when Whelan is present? The evidence to the contrary is stacking up I think.

It could still blow up in our faces at the end of it all, but last night cannot be taken away. What a relief it is to reset the clock on our last significant win against a major force. Probably even more crucially, the new Lansdowne has been crying out for a night like that, a massive step on the road to making it a difficult mission for our opponents.

Just one more little point, is there really any need to refer to Trap in the aftermath of everything positive we do from here on in? All this talk of Trapologists and such I find a bit grating. The man has been gone for over two years at this stage, move on. It's not as if his last campaign was representative of his whole tenure, like him or loathe him. It's easy to forget that he was seconds away from a night like last night against the then then world champions in his first campaign too, which would have resulted in us gaining four points off them altogether. He didn't so much come in and steady the ship, but salvaged its remains from the depths of the ocean and got it sailing again. There were frustrations aplenty and his limitations and stubbornness were brutally exposed as time wore on and, without doubt, stayed a campaign too long, but let's not delude ourselves into thinking it was all bad.

PS - a big congratulations to Michael O'Neill, Northern Ireland and their posters on here. A truly magnificent achievement. They often took a big scalp while our eyes were on the bigger prize, but last night was a case of roles reversed. Hopefully we'll get a share of the bigger prize too though!

[osarusan]

their bad finishing isn't our good luck. its simply bad finishing

It is our good luck I'd say.

It isn't their bad luck though.

[shakermaker1982]

I wouldn't start Whelan.

McCarthy looked a million times better without him.

[Yard of Pace]

He didn't so much come in and steady the ship, but salvaged its remains from the depths of the ocean and got it sailing again. There were frustrations aplenty and his limitations and stubbornness was brutally exposed as time wore on and, without doubt, stayed a campaign too long, but let's not delude ourselves into thinking it was all bad.



He got it sailing again but I think his belittling of his own players was just absolutely unforgivable, his distrust of Wes in particular, and it'll be a long oul time before I'll let go of my grudge against him. He really set a negative tone around this team which I hope last night will finally banish.

[tetsujin1979]

Got back late after the game last night, only starting to compose my thoughts now.

A team containing West Ham's second choice keeper, three championship defenders (including Burnley's second choice full back), and a striker who hasn't scored this season for his club and never for his country, beat the world champions.

The defence was organised superbly by O'Shea. Keogh was likewise immense. Christie was better going forward in the first half, but settled well in the second.
McCarthy came of age last night, anyone who think he's not an international class footballer should be forced to watch him on player cam last night, and then beaten soundly about the face and neck. Hendrick worked his socks off, didn't see much of the ball, but neither did anyone else.

I'd follow Jon Walters to the gates of hell after his performance last night. The German left full and left winger couldn't contain him in the last few minutes, and he fought for every inch they wouldn't give him.

Having said that, Hoolahan was MOTM for me. One of the most complete performances from an attacking central midfielder that I've ever seen - club or country. If there's any downside it's that he ran himself into the ground and I'm not sure he'll be able to reproduce that again on Sunday.

When I saw Murphy in the starting XI, I thought it was a mistake, but he might give their defence something to think about, and allow Long to take advantage as a fresh substitute.

Even when Long was breaking through, I was thinking "I've seen him with this chance before" but this time he did what he normally doesn't, didn't think about it, took one touch to give himself an extra yard and smashed it beyond the best keeper in the world. After that goal, I'm certain he can solve world hunger, clone dinosaurs and resolve the Syrian conflict.

Can't decide if it was better than Holland in 2001, and I'm not sure I want to pick between the two. They're both wonderful, wonderful sporting memories, and that's enough.

We took four points off Germany over the course of the campaign, but only one off Scotland. We conceded one goal to Germany, but two to Scotland. Football is a glorious, unpredictable, terrible, wonderful creature.

[jbyrne]

It is our good luck I'd say.

It isn't their bad luck though.

I think emmet Malone words it better than I ever could...


The similarities with 2001 didn’t end with the scoreline but there was none of the luck. Sure, the Germans will rue the poor finishing that marred their efforts at key moments in both halves but there was no sense of injustice about this. Ireland battled at the back as they have always done on their best days and Long, in that one sweet moment, ensured that they took their one outstanding chance when it finally came..

[SwanVsDalton]

An unashamed one in the pipe for those still under the delusion Robbie's only in it for his own caps and goals.

http://img.rasset.ie/000b381c-642.jpg

[pineapple stu]

Can't decide if it was better than Holland in 2001, and I'm not sure I want to pick between the two. They're both wonderful, wonderful sporting memories, and that's enough.
Was talking about this last night.

The only thing that elevates the Holland goal for me is that it more or less secured qualification (if we beat a poor Cyprus team at home) At best, we're now still favourites for the play-offs now, which would have been the case had Long missed and the game ended 0-0.

But I agree the comparison is facile anyway. Long's goal deserves to be up there with Houghton and Whelan in 88, Sheedy in 90, Houghton in 94, McAteer in 01, Keane in 02, even O'Shea last year. Maybe Keane in Paris, though that was eventually overshadowed, or Keane in Bari.

With the rugby world cup on now, I think it's worth noting that a match like last night's would never, ever, ever result in an upset in rugby. The better team would simply power through. But football is nowhere near as clear-cut, and nights like last night will happen again, which is one of the great things about the game.

[Yard of Pace]

That's a brilliant photo. He's such a legend. And I mean that in it's proper context, not the term that's bandied about the place willy nilly.... :-)

Weren't we discussing here very recently whether we actually enjoy going to the games, after someone posed the question? I answered in the affirmative anyway, and last night, well, that's your reward for keeping the faith. I'm still high as a kite today.

[Stuttgart88]

In reference to a point a few pages back, I have to admit I was glad when I heard Poland had drawn level. It just relieved the agony of the next few minutes, after so many last second equalisers scorched into my pessimistic head. That said, when Muller missed that chance I thought the gods were looking kindly on us. I watched in amazement as the ball sailed into the south terrace instead of bulging the net as I had expected. There was another earlier chance, a header inches wide. I was directly in line with the flight of the ball and was fully expecting it to go in off the inside of the post. Magic stuff.

[zero]

In reference to a point a few pages back, I have to admit I was glad when I heard Poland had drawn level. It just relieved the agony of the next few minutes, after so many last second equalisers scorched into my pessimistic head. That said, when Muller missed that chance I thought the gods were looking kindly on us. I watched in amazement as the ball sailed into the south terrace instead of bulging the net as I had expected. There was another earlier chance, a header inches wide. I was directly in line with the flight of the ball and was fully expecting it to go in off the inside of the post. Magic stuff.

yeah i felt the same. i could relax a bit knowing a playoff was secured. those last few minutes were tough enough nevertheless!

[jinxy lilywhite]

Was talking about this last night.

The only thing that elevates the Holland goal for me is that it more or less secured qualification (if we beat a poor Cyprus team at home) At best, we're now still favourites for the play-offs now, which would have been the case had Long missed and the game ended 0-0.

But I agree the comparison is facile anyway. Long's goal deserves to be up there with Houghton and Whelan in 88, Sheedy in 90, Houghton in 94, McAteer in 01, Keane in 02, even O'Shea last year. Maybe Keane in Paris, though that was eventually overshadowed, or Keane in Bari.

With the rugby world cup on now, I think it's worth noting that a match like last night's would never, ever, ever result in an upset in rugby. The better team would simply power through. But football is nowhere near as clear-cut, and nights like last night will happen again, which is one of the great things about the game.

on your last point that is the beauty with football. You have to put the ball in the back of the onion bag. In rugby if you cant score a try then your out half can start finding a hole to score a drop goal or kick penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over. same for Gaa if you cant get a goal then pop it over the bar for a point.

Great performance last night. All of the lads. yeah the football wasn't pretty at times but when we had the ball on the deck we looked comfortable. Maybe the germans underestimated us but who cares. All you need is 1 one chance and we took it.

also the other game ending 2-2 I think it will suit us. if we want to automatically qualify then we need to win or better a 1-1 draw. It is also a free shot. it doesn't matter if we lose as we are still in the playoffs(maybe seeding for the playoff maybe effective).

[NeverFeltBetter]

I like the idea that Ireland's game against Poland is basically a play-off to get to France, but whoever loses out gets a do over.

[nigel-harps1954]

Rob Eliot drafted into the squad to replace Given.

I can't find any information online of Westwood being injured. What's the story there?

[pineapple stu]

So was that Given's last competitive career game I wonder?

[back of the net]

So I had a dream we beat the World Champions in a vital qualifier last night with a perfomance of Guts, Passion and intelligence in an amazing night at Lansdowne Road..

[Philly]

Rob Eliot drafted into the squad to replace Given.

I can't find any information online of Westwood being injured. What's the story there?

It's odd. Westwood has struggled a bit with injuries this season, but seems to have been okay the last couple of weeks. He could well be injured - but no journalist seems to have asked if he is in the various interviews so far.

[Drumcondra 69er]

Blog on last nights epic win for anyone interested.

http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/2015/10/ireland-uber-alles-playing-long-gam

[DeLorean]

Joe Denilson already clarified this here- (http://foot.ie/threads/90666-Keiren-Westwood?p=1841773&viewfull=1#post1841773)

[DannyInvincible]

An unashamed one in the pipe for those still under the delusion Robbie's only in it for his own caps and goals.

http://img.rasset.ie/000b381c-642.jpg

That's brilliant. Great photo. I might tweet that, if you don't mind (I'll h/t you), as Robbie-slagging is really something that gets my goat. He's an Irish footballing legend. And, as Yard of Pace says, in the true meaning of the term. It's a word I usually tend to avoid using when referring to people but I'll make an exception for Robbie. He has brought the nation so much joy over the years and he shows he's also able to celebrate with a direct competitor when he's not at the centre of it. Yet people insist "it's all about himself" or throwing his toys out of the pram when things don't go his way for Robbie; nonsense. He's delighted for Long there.


In reference to a point a few pages back, I have to admit I was glad when I heard Poland had drawn level. It just relieved the agony of the next few minutes, after so many last second equalisers scorched into my pessimistic head. That said, when Muller missed that chance I thought the gods were looking kindly on us. I watched in amazement as the ball sailed into the south terrace instead of bulging the net as I had expected. There was another earlier chance, a header inches wide. I was directly in line with the flight of the ball and was fully expecting it to go in off the inside of the post. Magic stuff.

Fair point. I suppose it's easy to curse the Polish equaliser in hindsight. Although after Mueller's shot went wide, I did begin to believe it was to be our night. We played down the clock so well also that the last few minutes were a bit easier to endure than some other encounters down through the years. I just didn't get the sense that Germany were going to get a goal in the dying moments, which is why the Polish goal peeved me at the time.

Last November, I vividly recall standing dejected in Celtic Park after the final whistle with ecstatic Scottish supporters streaming out of the stadium around me and really thinking there was no way back from losing up there - even a play-off place looked a distant hope then - but now we're going to Warsaw and can secure automatic qualification with any result better than a 1-1 draw. What a turn-around.

Westwood has an injury issue, as far as I understand. O'Neill was asked about it the other day.

Just also wanted to mention that Hendrick has been a real star of O'Neill's tenure.

Why was Keogh wearing the bandage round his head for the first-half but not the second, by the way? Just adding to the old "lunatic hell-bent on destruction" look?

[OwlsFan]

Nice to see a goal from "caveman football". There's more than one way to skin a cat. I haven't decided whether it was a masterful stroke to bring Long on late to replace the ineffective Murphy or whether he should start with him. The goal would seem to indicate the former. While I don't deny all the plaudits for Hoolahan, some are over the top as he did give the ball away twice in a dangerous position from which the Germans almost scored twice. On another day... Man of the match: Keogh/O'Shea followed by Hoolahan and McCarthy

The Dutch comparison is very true. Which was better? I bought Champagne all round after the Dutch game. I didn't last night. I think I enjoyed the Dutch the more because we were down to 10 men and we owed the Dutch big time after some terrible disappointments. Last night was a bigger surprise because we had no Roy Keane in the side and was against the Weltmeisters.

Days like that don't come around that often. Enjoy. Is it too much to hope for back to back victories and put that away hoodoo to bed? Probably but as ever the Poles only need a draw and that is a hard one for them: to stick or twist. Ask France when they only needed a draw against us.

[punkrocket]

The rain, here she comes, for our parade.

I hate to break it to you BS but the North are through with a game to spare.

[tetsujin1979]

Why was Keogh wearing the bandage round his head for the first-half but not the second, by the way? Just adding to the old "lunatic hell-bent on destruction" look?
Keogh think he's Neymar. Or possibly the other way around.
http://blogs.odiario.com/inforgospel/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/06/neymar-agradece-a-Jesus-pela-vitoria-na-liga-dos-campeoes-2015.jpg

[DeLorean]

Keogh got a bad, but accidental, kick in the forehead against Leeds a few weeks back. It was live on Sky actually, lots of blood and looked a really deep cut. He played on though and has been wearing it since. I don't know why he disposed of it at half time though, which was probably the main part of your question :)

[DeLorean]

It was actually the three substitutes that combined for our goal. It was Meyler who tidied up after Reus had nutmegged O'Shea, playing it back to Randolph just seconds after his introduction. It's a squad game indeed!

[DannyInvincible]

Is there anywhere or way I'd be able to re-watch the RTÉ coverage of the game? I thought the game would be on Sky Go Catch-Up but they just have a four-minute highlights reel, which isn't great for re-living the whole thing. I'm assuming it's on RTÉ Player, but Hola stopped working with that a good while back and I've not known any costless way around it since. Anyone else aware of anything or would anyone have a recording they could somehow send me?

[geysir]

Nice to see a goal from "caveman football". There's more than one way to skin a cat. I haven't decided whether it was a masterful stroke to bring Long on late to replace the ineffective Murphy or whether he should start with him. The goal would seem to indicate the former. While I don't deny all the plaudits for Hoolahan, some are over the top as he did give the ball away twice in a dangerous position from which the Germans almost scored twice. On another day... Man of the match: Keogh/O'Shea followed by Hoolahan and McCarthy<br>
<br>
The Dutch comparison is very true. Which was better? I bought Champagne all round after the Dutch game. I didn't last night. I think I enjoyed the Dutch the more because we were down to 10 men and we owed the Dutch big time after some terrible disappointments. Last night was a bigger surprise because we had no Roy Keane in the side and was against the Weltmeisters.<br>
<br>
Days like that don't come around that often. Enjoy. Is it too much to hope for back to back victories and put that away hoodoo to bed? Probably but as ever the Poles only need a draw and that is a hard one for them: to stick or twist. Ask France when they only needed a draw against us.
I might as well just watch our game again, in a more relaxed mode, after the televised duel in Tallaght of course.
My impression was that we had done very well in the 2002 qual which had earned us 9 lives before that Holland game and we used them all to get through that game, but at the same time we played really good football with the emerging Duff, young Robbie and Roy in regal form.

Although Germany had a couple of gilt chances I thought they were outscrapped and there was nothing to compare with the many heart stopping moments v Holland, eg just after Kelly got sent off when Stan headed back to Given.

Other news
RTE have revealed that 920,000 viewers were watching RTÉ2 when Shane Long scored Ireland’s winning goal, with close to 1.6m viewers tuned in throughout the course of last night’s Euro 2016 qualifier.<br>
An additional 71,655 watched the match via the live stream on RTÉ Player.

[DeLorean]

Memories of scares from Netherlands game...

-Kluivert slotting just wide in the opening minutes when clean through. Thought it was in.
-Zenden with a fairly easy chance but didn't get enough elevation on the bouncing ball to put it over Given.
-The Van Nistelrooy penalty scare.

From last night...

-Boateng free header in opening minutes.
-Ozil missing the target with practically an open goal with Given stuck to the floor.
-Schurrle missing a very good chance after the lovely cross from Reus. Somebody said Brady did well to put him off, I'm not so sure. All Brady did was look at him really but at least he was back there.
-Hummels header that came at him kind of fast from a corner just after we scored. Thought it was in.
-Muller chance. Thought it was in (yet again!) and still can't believe he missed.
-Hummels heading straight into Randolph's arms in injury time. Either side of him and it was a goal.
-Loads of last ditch goal saving interceptions/blocks... O'Shea from Gundogan, Keogh in the six yard box, Ward a couple of times and Christie that I can remember.

In fairness, the game last night is much fresher in the memory!

[shakermaker1982]

The team we beat last night was a lot better than the Dutch team in 2001. We also had a better team back then. Prime Keano, Robbie, Duff, Dunne, Stan and Given etc.

Still cannot believe that we finally got a huge scalp in a competitive game. Just goes to show that energy, passion, commitment and a bit of luck can beat superstars. The argument of 'how can you expect a team made up of mid table PL or Championship players' to compete against the top sides has hopefully been put to bed. Northern Ireland have had some massive scalps in recent years, Costa Rica got out of a group of death at the World Cup last year etc etc.

We looked like a team had a plan and the players ran to a standstill. Also delighted for MO'N, he has delivered the shot in the arm the sport needed. It's games and results like that get kids falling in love with the game. I hope every kid in the country were out trying to replicating Shane Long this morning.

Buzzing.

[elroy]

Absolutely to see the kids around me and on the radio after completely amazed by it all is nothing short of fantastic. The more kids the Ireland bug bites the better.

[Bottle of Tonic]

The stars fairly aligned for us last night. I'm not so sure about all this criticism of the German performance. Sure they probably approached the game with arrogance but it's not like they didn't try a leg. They had a world of corners inside the first 20 minutes and it looked like a goal was coming any second. I seriously thought we would get gubbed and took to thinking to myself if I'd take a three nil loss if offered it around the 20 minute mark! Their passing was nice and neat and incisive for most of the game and in reality they created enough to reasonably expect to have won that with a bit to spare.

By contrast we only had the one clear chance and it wasn't even near being a chance when Long took off behind the Kraut back line. I feel Longs first touch is being overlooked in the euphoria. What an amazing touch to kill the ball from a long high punt while simultaneously setting it up perfectly for the strike with out breaking stride and sprinting full pelt! Did he mean to cushion it down to himself so perfectly and run on to it off his left knee?? Probably, but 9 times out of 10 that touch is running straight through to the keeper or is a fraction inside giving the advantage to the covering defender, or is a fraction to the right making a clean strike much more difficult. I doubt his controlling touch could have been more perfect to set up the hit and the fact he bobbled it off his knee right down into the turf while at full sprint and it ended up where it did is amazing.

There was a bit of talk about luck earlier. Yes, I believe we had luck in some way last night. Or like I said, the stars just aligned for us at last.