Republic of Ireland V Serbia - Tuesday 5th September 2017 - World Cup 2018 Qualifier

[RiffRaff]

Not sure why the papers are talking about the play offs because if we win our last 3 matches we qualify as group winners, and if the team grew some balls all the matches are winnable. On the other hand a play off spot could see us come up against a better team than either Wales or Serbia. I though Serbia were there for the taking in our first game, we simply sat back after scoring. I also haven't seen anything about Wales to be scared of in this group.

[KrisLetang]

Not sure why the papers are talking about the play offs

So you are like this guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

[passinginterest]

Hoolahan and Meyler in for Whelan and Arter. Flight about to take off. Hope to land to good half time news!

[DannyInvincible]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DI-gW9VXYAAg59G.png

Promising.

[johnnyc]

Promising indeed. Formation though? Walters on wing?

[pineapple stu]

Three wingers if Walters out wide though?

[koneinc]

Interesting, there's goal in that there team! ;-)

[CraftyToePoke]

4-3-3 RTE radio saying.

[shakermaker1982]

It's attacking. Where does Brady play?

At least under this regime if you play like muck there are changes next game.

[DannyInvincible]

At least under this regime if you play like muck there are changes next game.

Fair point, although as SvD indicated earlier (http://foot.ie/threads/225065-Republic-of-Ireland-V-Serbia-Tuesday-5th-September-2017-World-Cup-2018-Qualifier?p=1934818#post1934818), it's all very reactive rather than proactive.

[DannyInvincible]

Three wingers if Walters out wide though?

Sky Sports News have the following:

Randolph
Christie - Duffy - Clark - Ward
Meyler - Hoolahan
Brady - Walters - McClean
Long

[pineapple stu]

Hoolahan defensive?

McClean there as per the end of Saturday seems more likely.

I'm...not convinced. Seems a bit unbalanced

[DannyInvincible]

RTÉ, meanwhile, have the following:

Randolph
Christie - Duffy - Clark - Ward
Hoolahan - Meyler - Brady
Walters - Long - McClean

[DannyInvincible]

I imagine it'll be more like the following:

Randolph
Christie - Duffy - Clark - Ward
Meyler
Hoolahan - Brady
Walters - Long - McClean

[DannyInvincible]

Vladimir Stojković starts in goals for Serbia. Unfortunately, the hapless Predrag Rajković misses out.

[DannyInvincible]

Hadn't realised Serbia are actually favourites to get a win tonight with the bookies. I'd assumed a draw might have been most likely outcome with the bookies. William Hill, for example, have Serbia at 8/5 to win, with Ireland at 2/1 to win and a draw at 19/10. Paddy Power have them at 13/8 to win with the odds of us winning or a draw both at 2/1.

[NeverFeltBetter]

God bless the kid in the Bohs jersey.

[Irish_Praha]

Anyone got a link to a decent stream?
I'm outside of Ireland.
The one I'm looking at is terrible.
Thanks.:D

[shakermaker1982]

This is more like it.

[DannyInvincible]

Much better tonight. Really good start. We're pressing and using the ball a lot better when we have it. The difference Hoolahan makes is absolutely huge. Meyler playing well too.

[passinginterest]

Sounds good. Is it on RTÉ player outside Ireland? Hopefully get to hotel in time for second half.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Doing well overall. Hoolahan's impact is obvious. Has an air of the Italy game to it, the way lads are flinging themselves around. If Christie could cross the ball we'd be set.

[ger121]

You could see something like that happening when Serbia finally got on the ball. Clinical strike.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Looking like more long ball since the goal. Nothing doing yet. Heads are dropping.

[Closed Account 2]

Ouch... Gonna be hard to claw a positive result back now

[Closed Account 2]

As I type we somehow engineer a chance from a nothing punt upfield and Serbia get a red card

[sbgawa]

Any chance o Neill will feck off tonight .....and apart from going bananas if we score my view won't change.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Every time the ball drops to them outside the box, they just smack it without looking and blaze it wide.

[sbgawa]

We could have not qualified playing football as opposed to the **** we've played.

[osarusan]

Really good in the first half, and the more likely team to score right until the moment they did score. After that they went very defensive and we just struggled to break them down or create real chances.

I wouldn't be too critical really. They are experienced and were composed when they needed to be.

The only thing that I thought should have been better as some of the decision-making in the last 5 or 10 minutes. Too many hopeful shots when we should have kept it, and two full backs who were reluctant to just get crosses into the box from good positions, but instead wanted to go back into the midfield or back up the line, and we ended up sending in worse crosses.

And as always, we look so much better, more attacking, more composed, with Hoolahan in the team. So much better that it's hard to believe he doesn't play whenever he is able to.

[Calcio Jack]

Any chance o Neill will feck off tonight .....and apart from going bananas if we score my view won't change.

Agree - taking off Hoolahan summed what an idiot he is- a chancer who's been truly exposed.

2 points at home from Serbs,Wales and Austria sums it up

[pineapple stu]

Got what we deserved there tbh. Poor poor stuff. Subs were confusing; not the kind of guys I'd have called on at such a key moment.

But ultimately we ran out of steam and had very few ideas.

Don't know to what extent that's O'Neill and to what extent it's the lack of players coming through.

We're in for a long spell in the doldrums here

[Closed Account 2]

Wales at home and Serbia at home we have had a man advantage against higher seeded teams for much of the game but still failed to score. I know he's hated with a rabid passion on here due to comments about the LoI, but I think Trap was a better manager than Martin O'Neil if I'm honest.

[sbgawa]

Duff is right its not tonight its the abysmal play and management in previous games. Watch o Neill come out now and say we deserved something tonight as if the rest of the group matches never happened....

[Closed Account 2]

We're in for a long spell in the doldrums here

We should still be ok to make Euro 2020, given so many teams qualify. Anyway at every world cup there is usually at least one Uefa team which is somewhat lacking in flair but well managed (Capellos Russia in 2014, Slovenia and Slovakia in 2010, possibly Poland in 2006). It's hard but we would have a chance with a competent manager.

[pineapple stu]

A lot of semi-decent sides didn't make the last Euros. Wouldn't need as confident as to say we "should be ok"

[shakermaker1982]

I can't fault the effort. The players gave their all but I do sometimes wish they would use their brains.

Walters pushing defenders, McClean thinking he's Messi and shooting from 30 yards and
Christie never learning to cross a ball.

I thought we played well until the goal went in and then we pressed the panic button. Walters is either finished or not fit. He would have stayed with Kolarov 2 or 3 seasons ago.

I'm presuming Hoolahan is struggling after the injury rumours. Meyler played well.

I'm watching on Sky and they show the Welsh first goal....the 17 year old lad from Liverpool comes on a sub, burns his man and puts in a beautiful ball for the goal. You could ask McClean, Brady and Christie to try that 100 times each tonight and they'd overhit it. That sums us up.

[DannyInvincible]

Well, that's that then.

Great start and we showed such promise but we just turned to muck again in the second half once Wes was brought off. Was he injured or what? Even with Serbia down to ten men, we couldn't take advantage because the second-half tactics aren't effective for exploiting an extra man. Same as against Wales when they went down to ten men after Taylor got sent off.

Even if we do beat Wales in Cardiff (which is extremely unlikely) and finish second, we're almost certain to miss out on the play-offs. We're relying on miracles. The RTÉ pundits seem to be assuming that a win in Wales will be enough for us. Clueless.

Such a deflating few days when things were looking so hopeful only a few months ago.

[shakermaker1982]

Don't forget we should have got a penalty. How a supposed top ref misses something as blatant as that beggars belief. Gutted. We ultimately aren't good enough.

[DannyInvincible]

Just listening to Martin O'Neill's post-match interview with Tony on RTÉ there and he thinks qualification is "still in our hands". What planet is he on? He's getting paid thousands to qualify us for the World Cup and evidently hasn't even done his homework on the criteria group runners-up have to satisfy in order to qualify for the play-offs. Because the worst runner-up out of the nine groups doesn't qualify for the play-offs, we're relying on multiple very unlikely results to go our way in other groups now (if we do somehow finish second, that is).

At present, Wales are the lowest ranked of the second-placed teams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)#Ranking_o f_second-placed_teams):

http://i67.tinypic.com/2a8m936.png

[sbgawa]

Go for it TOD ask him will he leave if we don't win our last two matches

[Colbert Report]

Martin O'Neill thinks qualification is "still in our hands". What planet is he on? He's getting paid to qualify us for the World Cup and evidently isn't even aware of the criteria for qualifying for the play-offs. We're relying on multiple very unlikely results to go our way in other groups.

You're right, it is unlikely we'll qualify even if we beat Wales, but if Bosnia are beaten by Belgium in Belgium, they'd have to beat Estonia at home in their last match assuming we beat Moldova and Wales.

[BonnieShels]

I haven't left a match as gutted in such a long time.

I just can't work out the decision making that was on view tonight.

Whatever about taking Hoolahan off because he had tired, the lack of shape and brainless play that followed his exit was just gutting.

There's just so much I want to say but ultimately I'm too tired, sad and angry to convey it.

Such a shame. But we have ended up with what we deserved for such moronic management earlier in the group.

[Jogobonito]

Long time listener,first time caller....damage done earlier in this group,we'll look back and weep over the opportunity that was there to qualify out of this group,obviously there's still a chance but have to be pessimistic.This type of performance should be the template,aggressive,high tempo mixing it with good football.Meyler superb,mobility in the middle of the park?...what's that all about!!

[backstothewall]

Gutted. Just gutted.

I thought we were superb. Threw everything at them. It just didn't happen.

[sbgawa]

You're right, it is unlikely we'll qualify even if we beat Wales, but if Bosnia are beaten by Belgium in Belgium, they'd have to beat Estonia at home in their last match assuming we beat Moldova and Wales.

This is what drives me mad about rte TOD should have said to that Muppet o Neill well even if we beat Wales we are probably out and not allow him give out this BS let's win our next two matches rubbish

[sbgawa]

Is no one on this panel aware that 2nd place probably won't qualify ???

[DannyInvincible]

This is what drives me mad about rte TOD should have said to that Muppet o Neill well even if we beat Wales we are probably out and not allow him give out this BS let's win our next two matches rubbish

It's obvious that nobody at RTÉ had done their homework on the play-off qualification criteria either as the three pundits and Darragh were all talking about "getting into the play-offs if we beat Moldova and Wales" as well. These guys are getting paid, like... :rolleyes:

[shakermaker1982]

Group F could do us a favour. Scotland could beat Slovakia and then mess up away at Slovenia.

[shakermaker1982]

Bosnia need to beat Belgium. If they don't then that opens the door to Greece who have an away tie against Cyprus.

It's the hope that kills us.

Even if somebody did do us a favour we'd still need to beat Wales. Can you see that happening? They'll need to go for it as well.