Andorra V Republic of Ireland - Thursday, 3rd June 2021 - Friendly

[Fixer82]

Drew with Germany too.

4-0 away to Denmark was notable, even if it was a friendly.

1-0 home wins and 2-2 away draws against Wales and Slovakia were decent enough.

0-0 to Germany was a decent performance yes. Wales weren’t great at the time. 2-2 away to them was poor. Slovakia were ok.

I don’t count friendlies. If we were going only on friendlies Kerr would be one of our greatest ever managers

[Razors left peg]

Well I said I'd be out of excuses for him unless something drastic happened in 2nd half. 4 goals count as drastic.

We always under multiple managers play down to the standard of the opposition and rarely score 4 no matter who its against. Hungary will tell us more, but hes not dead yet!

Great to see Parrott showing that there might be a playing in there yet too

[pineapple stu]

0-0 to Germany was a decent performance yes. Wales weren’t great at the time. 2-2 away to them was poor. Slovakia were ok.

I don’t count friendlies. If we were going only on friendlies Kerr would be one of our greatest ever managers

Yep, that's all probably fair enough alright.

[Exgrad]

To go back to an old topic, i think James Collins is the worst real player to ever play for Ireland.

Will be happy to never see him in a green jersey again. Curtis wouldnt be too far behind but maybe hes young enough to improve a bit.

[centre mid]

Gonna be a punch up in the studio

[TheBoss]

If we were going only on friendlies Kerr would be one of our greatest ever managers

Well here is Kerr's record ;)




TYPE

H/A/N

PLD

WIN
DRAW
LOSS

F
A

W %
D %
L %

F/pg
A/pg


ALL

TOTAL

33

18
11
4

39
20

55%
33%
12%

1.18
0.61


COMPETITIVE

TOTAL

16

7
7
2

19
10

44%
44%
13%

1.19
0.63


FRIENDLY

TOTAL

17

11
4
2

20
10

65%
24%
12%

1.18
0.59

[paul_oshea]

Good sense of perspective, I noted sadlier say on rte 2 that no one seemed to know where to stand for their goal. That they were all sorta looking at eachother not knowing who should be where , we also had a similar issue on 7 or 8 mins I think when they had a free kick and their player got a free header at the back post. As said we're strongest in defense so why are we so disorganised and porous?

[osarusan]

Gonna be a punch up in the studio

I turned it off - what happened?

[Fixer82]

Good sense of perspective, I noted sadlier say on rte 2 that no one seemed to know where to stand for their goal. That they were all sorta looking at eachother not knowing who should be where , we also had a similar issue on 7 or 8 mins I think when they had a free kick and their player got a free header at the back post. As said we're strongest in defense so why are we so disorganised and porous?

Is this a case of over-coaching?

ie we weren’t told what to do when they are in this particular shape?

I haven’t seen the second half yet by the way

[centre mid]

I turned it off - what happened?

Collins and Sadlier having an argument about whether beating Andora is a positive or not having not won the previous 11.

[the 12 th man]

Scoreline papering over huge cracks that are there for all to see,Andorra running out of petrol a huge help this evening.

[centre mid]

Kenny's post match interview


https://twitter.com/RTEsoccer/status/1400520069722083328?s=19

[tetsujin1979]

Drew with Germany too.

4-0 away to Denmark was notable, even if it was a friendly.

1-0 home wins and 2-2 away draws against Wales and Slovakia were decent enough.

Staunton wasn't in charge for the 2-2 draw in Wales, it was Givens

[Razors left peg]

Scoreline papering over huge cracks that are there for all to see,Andorra running out of petrol a huge help this evening.

That often happens with smaller nations. When have we ever gone in and given someone a thumping. Most times these countries are well organized and set up to defend. Usually they run out of steam in 2nd half once a couple of goals go in.

[tetsujin1979]

I'm happy for the win, and that Kenny finally has a win, but I can't shake the feeling that the biggest influence on the result wasn't the players he selected, or the formation, or tactics, it was the fitness levels of the Andorrans.

[Razors left peg]

I'm happy for the win, and that Kenny finally has a win, but I can't shake the feeling that the biggest influence on the result wasn't the players he selected, or the formation, or tactics, it was the fitness levels of the Andorrans.

Hungary will give us a better idea on if we are improving at all. Tonight all just about getting the monkey off the back and 4 second half goals should give them confidence not matter why they came.

[ifk101]

but I can't shake the feeling that the biggest influence on the result wasn't the players he selected, or the formation, or tactics, it was the fitness levels of the Andorrans.

Yeah. We ran them ragged with our energy.

[Fixer82]

That often happens with smaller nations. When have we ever gone in and given someone a thumping.

7-0 V Gibraltar under O’Neill

[John83]

Collins and Sadlier having an argument about whether beating Andora is a positive or not having not won the previous 11.
I got the impression it was more that Sadlier didn't get Collins' point and Collins tried repeating it until it got through. I'd argue it was poor presenting, but that Collins is the least of our worries.

So, that was a heap of ****e. Positives in the goals at least, but I'm with Sadlier on this: you learn nearly nothing from a win against Andorra.

As others have noted, the defending at set pieces is ... I'm going to go with "terrifying". Someone's going to put 4 or 5 past us some day soon at this rate.

[Razors left peg]

7-0 V Gibraltar under O’Neill

We also only beat Gibraltar 1-0 under McCarthy, yet some people would rather we get him back.

[Comic Book Guy]

Their goal was as bad as we've conceded over the years, I'm glad for SK that they got the win. Curtis, Collins and Hourihane were poor though. I thought that when we crossed it first time rather than checking back we were a little more threatening.
It might suit us to be playing a team that will have more of the ball than us; playing a team just before the Euros might be no bad thing, trying to avoid injuries etc?

[Eirambler]

I'm happy for the win, and that Kenny finally has a win, but I can't shake the feeling that the biggest influence on the result wasn't the players he selected, or the formation, or tactics, it was the fitness levels of the Andorrans.

Yes, pretty much. Scoring the equaliser quickly after going behind was the difference, if we hadn't done that they might have dug in. Once we got the equaliser it nullified the lift they got from the goal and after that the fatigue set in.

Scoring four massively flattered us if we're being honest. We were just so poor for that first 55 minutes despite the hopeless standard of the opposition, it's hard to take any positives in terms of the overall team performance really.

Individually the performances of Parrott and Knight were the big takeaways, having two young players who aren't defenders make a statement was something to be really encouraged about, regardless of the standard of opposition.

In terms of the Kenny era though that first 55 minutes was another nail in the coffin for me. For now he struggles on though, let's see what the Hungary game brings.

[Fixer82]

Any highlights of the game anywhere?

[Charlie Darwin]

A goal and an assist for Daryl Horgan in his 20-odd minutes on the pitch. Just imagine how many he could have got if he wasn't rubbish :o

[ontheotherhand]

It was a late McCarthy era performance in some ways. Not great and painful to watch at times but we got an acceptable result with a bit of a late rally.

Really disappointed in Egan, Doherty and Hourihane. Very disinterested performance from 3 senior players. I don't care who your manager is, you go out and play well for your country. That might be harsh on Egan but it was his man for the goal. We were disjointed in the middle of the park and I was expecting Hourihane to shine against such weak opponents. I'd be fairly confident the likes of Jack Byrne would have loved taking on that sort of team but Hourihane wasn't showing for the ball which is a basic requirement for an attacking midfielder you'd think. He wasn't the only player guilty of it either though so you'd wonder what they have been working on in training.

I'd be happy enough if Doherty never got another cap. He is so slow and cumbersome. Or just doesn't care. Or a bit of both. The ball went out his way in the final third about 4 times in the first half and he just cut back and slowed us down every time.

Delighted for Troy, Knight and Horgan.

[Eirambler]

To be fair to Egan it was actually McClean's man who scored the goal. You wouldn't know it given how far away he was from him by the time he headed it though. Hard to know what McClean was thinking, he seemed to play for offside or something, just got it all wrong.

[ontheotherhand]

To be fair to Egan it was actually McClean's man who scored the goal. You wouldn't know it given how far away he was from him by the time he headed it though. Hard to know what McClean was thinking, he seemed to play for offside or something, just got it all wrong.

Was it? Fair enough. Haven't seen a replay yet. Can we still blame basically any of the 11 as well as the coaching staff for it though?

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, there's letting your man go at a set piece, and there's the entire team standing still while the keeper obligingly wanders into no-man's-land alright. It was a nice header, but it must be so much easier when under no pressure at all. That one was a team effort.

Interesting stat at the end actually - Andorra had one shot on target and we had four. So none of the three keepers made a save between them apparently.

[Eirambler]

The Andorra keeper saved one didn't he? It was straight at him though and he still made a bit of a meal of it.

Bazunu looked out of position for me for their goal - not sure if he'd have gotten there anyway as the scorer had all day to pick his spot in the corner, but Bazunu seemed to be much too far over to one side as the free kick came in.

[pineapple stu]

The Andorra keeper saved one didn't he? It was straight at him though and he still made a bit of a meal of it.
It's always hard to tell how those stats are worked out. It was on the RTÉ stats stream at the bottom. Sometimes yeah, you can remember a shot saved and you're wondering was it so weak it didn't count or something. Not sure tbh

Agree on Bazunu. It was a good free in fairness - an inswinging teaser which was ultimately too far out to be the keeper's - but Bazunu left an awfully big target by coming off his line and then retreating a bit again. I'd blame others more than I'd blame him, but still, it's another example of the dodgy decision-making we saw three or four times in March.

[DCWA]

Yeah, there's letting your man go at a set piece, and there's the entire team standing still while the keeper obligingly wanders into no-man's-land alright. It was a nice header, but it must be so much easier when under no pressure at all. That one was a team effort.

Interesting stat at the end actually - Andorra had one shot on target and we had four. So none of the three keepers made a save between them apparently.

Yeah that can’t be right, Andorra keeper saved a Manning shot straight at him.

[Razors left peg]

It was a late McCarthy era performance in some ways. Not great and painful to watch at times but we got an acceptable result with a bit of a late rally.

Really disappointed in Egan, Doherty and Hourihane. Very disinterested performance from 3 senior players. I don't care who your manager is, you go out and play well for your country. That might be harsh on Egan but it was his man for the goal. We were disjointed in the middle of the park and I was expecting Hourihane to shine against such weak opponents. I'd be fairly confident the likes of Jack Byrne would have loved taking on that sort of team but Hourihane wasn't showing for the ball which is a basic requirement for an attacking midfielder you'd think. He wasn't the only player guilty of it either though so you'd wonder what they have been working on in training.

I'd be happy enough if Doherty never got another cap. He is so slow and cumbersome. Or just doesn't care. Or a bit of both. The ball went out his way in the final third about 4 times in the first half and he just cut back and slowed us down every time.

Delighted for Troy, Knight and Horgan.

Why are we constantly surprised by Hourihane and Doherty. They have been terrible under multiple managers now. I would have liked to have seen McGrath come in for Hourihane tonight

[Diggs246]

Why are we constantly surprised by Hourihane and Doherty. They have been terrible under multiple managers now. I would have liked to have seen McGrath come in for Hourihane tonight

Hourihane is a poor player... disappears every game and gives possession away the whole time. It's like he is trying to be Paul Scholes with none of the talent. On a positive note, I have to say Troy's first goal was absolutely excellent.

[tetsujin1979]

Yeah, there's letting your man go at a set piece, and there's the entire team standing still while the keeper obligingly wanders into no-man's-land alright. It was a nice header, but it must be so much easier when under no pressure at all. That one was a team effort.

Interesting stat at the end actually - Andorra had one shot on target and we had four. So none of the three keepers made a save between them apparently.

Sky Sports saying we had five shots on target - https://www.skysports.com/football/andorra-vs-republic-of-ireland/stats/443226 - which would include Manning's chance.
Some sites differ on how various stats are calculated, most will differ on things like possession and passes, but they'd all be around the same value

[Razors left peg]

Hourihane is a poor player... disappears every game and gives possession away the whole time. It's like he is trying to be Paul Scholes with none of the talent. On a positive note, I have to say Troy's first goal was absolutely excellent.

It was a super goal, seemed to have the attitude that he was going to grab game by scruff of the neck and have a go at them. Really hope it can kick start him into the player that we thought he was going to be.

[tetsujin1979]

This quote from the post match press conference is troubling - https://www.the42.ie/stephen-kenny-39-5457427-Jun2021/

We haven’t conceded from a set play but that was a poor one today and I have to have a look at it. It’s not something we had been focusing on, defending set pieces. We haven’t had that long, only four or five days off with a day off in between that. We can’t train every day coming into a match so we haven’t been focusing on defending set pieces.
Teams like Andorra focus on set pieces as their best chance to score, surely he knew this? Are we supposed to believe that at no point during the training camp to date, nobody thought to tell the defenders who to mark at corners, frees and throw ins? Because their goalscorer had the freedom of the penalty area when he scored, and that's not an exaggeration.
Are they going to focus on set pieces before facing Hungary on Tuesday?

[dr_peepee]

On a positive note, I have to say Troy's first goal was absolutely excellent.

Missed opportunity for a pun on “Cracker” there!!

I was delighted for him getting the second goal. I felt sorry for him after his first. It seemed anti climactic for him, given the context. A teenage forwards debut goal should have had them buzzing. Instead the recovery from the concession against such a low profile nation just sucked the good out of it for him.

[ontheotherhand]

Missed opportunity for a pun on “Cracker” there!!

I was delighted for him getting the second goal. I felt sorry for him after his first. It seemed anti climactic for him, given the context. A teenage forwards debut goal should have had them buzzing. Instead the recovery from the concession against such a low profile nation just sucked the good out of it for him.

What gave you that impression? First celebration was your bog standard "I've scored to tie things up but we have a lot of work to do" look and the second he celebrated as you'd expect. Seemed delighted. Said he was over the moon in his interview. Don't think there's any need to feel sorry for the lad.

[ifk101]

I think the biggest issue is the consistent underwhelming performances of the senior players selected in the team - when they should be setting the example. Last night again. You can fob it off as our players being technically inferior but not against Andorra. Maybe this is the lingering legacy of previous management(s) - a culture of playing the percentages and fear of being proactive on the ball.

[jbyrne]

This quote from the post match press conference is troubling - https://www.the42.ie/stephen-kenny-39-5457427-Jun2021/

Teams like Andorra focus on set pieces as their best chance to score, surely he knew this? Are we supposed to believe that at no point during the training camp to date, nobody thought to tell the defenders who to mark at corners, frees and throw ins? Because their goalscorer had the freedom of the penalty area when he scored, and that's not an exaggeration.
Are they going to focus on set pieces before facing Hungary on Tuesday?

was on some of the tv coverage last night that they were concentrating on attacking situations in camp all week.
The panel was questioning how effective that was given there was so much sideways and conservative passing in midfield most of the evening

[tetsujin1979]

Missed opportunity for a pun on “Cracker” there!!

I was delighted for him getting the second goal. I felt sorry for him after his first. It seemed anti climactic for him, given the context. A teenage forwards debut goal should have had them buzzing. Instead the recovery from the concession against such a low profile nation just sucked the good out of it for him.
I know what you mean. I was thinking of Stephen Ireland's late, late winner against San Marino, or Steve Finnan's equaliser against Cyprus. You should celebrate a goal, but in both cases the performance beforehand drained the joy from the strike

[Eirambler]

This quote from the post match press conference is troubling - https://www.the42.ie/stephen-kenny-39-5457427-Jun2021/

Teams like Andorra focus on set pieces as their best chance to score, surely he knew this? Are we supposed to believe that at no point during the training camp to date, nobody thought to tell the defenders who to mark at corners, frees and throw ins? Because their goalscorer had the freedom of the penalty area when he scored, and that's not an exaggeration.
Are they going to focus on set pieces before facing Hungary on Tuesday?

Hadn't seen that quote, that's really troubling actually. Surely in international football, with limited time to work with the players, you start with getting the basics like set pieces right before you do anything else. That we hadn't looked at them before the game is another example of what seems to be a real naivete in the current management.

[Yard of Pace]

I know what you mean. I was thinking of Stephen Ireland's late, late winner against San Marino, or Steve Finnan's equaliser against Cyprus. You should celebrate a goal, but in both cases the performance beforehand drained the joy from the strike

Speaking of joy being drained.....it was quite surreal to see Kenny conferring with a guy who spent Saturday night in the Chelsea dugout winning the European Cup whilst Ireland were deservedly a goal down to Andorra!

I think we have plenty of decent players but I thought their faces and body language from the first minute suggested a bunch of lads who clearly weren't enjoying playing for Ireland and, to my eyes, they actually looked like they really didn't even want to be there. Grimaces all round. So much.....not even sloppiness, way worse than sloppiness. It was dispiriting.

I don't think all of them are like that, though. Knight, for example, is a gem and some of the others seem more perplexed than anything.

I don't see the point of the whole thing anymore, to be honest. Our best match under Kenny was his first and our worst was the latest game. To my mind, we were beaten last night. Beaten by what Darragh Moloney was calling "the Andorran press". Staggering stuff.

[paul_oshea]

This quote from the post match press conference is troubling - https://www.the42.ie/stephen-kenny-39-5457427-Jun2021/

Teams like Andorra focus on set pieces as their best chance to score, surely he knew this? Are we supposed to believe that at no point during the training camp to date, nobody thought to tell the defenders who to mark at corners, frees and throw ins? Because their goalscorer had the freedom of the penalty area when he scored, and that's not an exaggeration.
Are they going to focus on set pieces before facing Hungary on Tuesday?

Thats ridiculous didnt hear or see that myself, but thats ridiculous really.

Is it me or is it very quiet on here? Are the flying columns hiding in the bushes?

[seanfhear]

Thats ridiculous didnt hear or see that myself, but thats ridiculous really.

Is it me or is it very quiet on here? Are the flying columns hiding in the bushes?
Hungry for the Hun-gary = = If thats goes pete tong then all hell is going to break loose !

[ifk101]

We're scored four times under Kenny prior to last night and the complaint is we didn't focus on defending set pieces in the build-up to a friendly game against Andorra. Sweet Jebus. And if we are practicing attacking set plays, surely defending them is an aspect of that exercise if not the focus. :-)

[EAFC_rdfl]

exactly, the build up to yesterday's game had to be focused on attacking improvements. Scoring 4 would suggest perhaps it paid off, though it did take until their legs were gone a bit.
Very disappointed in some of the senior squad members, vindicates continuing to blood the younger cohort and let them learn from their mistakes themselves, as they'll learn damn all from the older lads it seems.

[paul_oshea]

We're scored four times under Kenny prior to last night and the complaint is we didn't focus on defending set pieces in the build-up to a friendly game against Andorra. Sweet Jebus. And if we are practicing attacking set plays, surely defending them is an aspect of that exercise if not the focus. :-)

Well our attacking set pieces aren't very inventive or working out so well, so the defending wouldnt need to be up to much :P

When we say older lads, they're not massively experienced, bar Duffy/McClean really. And we know how his career trajectory has gone over the last couple of years.

[osarusan]

Sadlier was saying something similar after the game - that they've had a decent spell of time to prepare for these games, yet when you look at how they played, you'd have to ask yourself "what have then been doing?"

[paul_oshea]

"They were dropping into areas too deep to receive it, in the full-back areas, which sometimes can be very effective in controlling games against top-class opposition, but against opposition that are sitting off you, it's not effective.

Kenny thinks Andorra were dropping off?