Republic of Ireland V Portugal - Thurs, 11th November 2021 - 2022 World Cup Qualifier

[Insidetherock]

How many games did it take John Aldridge before he finally scored for Ireland (eventually being handed a penalty against the mighty Malta).. and he was a top scorer at Liverpool at the time

Idah is 20, learning his trade. Are we going to give young players a chance to grow and develop at all anymore.

I see people here and elsewhere complaining that some of our current players aren't as good as Paul Mc Grath.. the Black Pearl was 26 before he made his Ireland debut..wonder were people looking at a 19-20 yr old Paul Mc Grath and writing him off as no better than a LOI journeyman?

Give players time.. patience

[samhaydenjr]

Here's a hand grenade into the discussion for fun. Idah reminds me of Sammon. Holds the ball up well, doesn't know where the goal is, surprisingly poor in the air.

12 caps now, not a hint of a goal, and not getting into a poor Norwich side. I think he needs a loan move fairly soon.

Discuss. :)


Hasn't pushed on but only 20. Plenty time for him.

1. Based on minutes played, has six goals in just over ten club games, due to Farke only wanting to use Pukki up front. We'll see if the new manager is willing to give him a proper shot - if not, then yes, a loan move would be important for him
2. 22 goals at underage level for us, top scorer in Euro U17 qualifiers a few years ago - definitely knows where the goal is. Doesn't only hold play up, I've seen him roast defenders to get to the byline as well as lay of the ball very well, as he did to Robinson today
3. Took John Aldridge 20 games to open his account for us

[geysir]

Very soft.

But if we're complaining about that, we have to allow that Pepe shouldn't have been sent off.

The ref was crap
The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.

[backstothewall]

Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.
I agree. For me is the end of the road for Kenny but I cant understand why he would get an extension for a 2nd campaign

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.


Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.

Flemming Povlsen was another nuissance for defences. Wynton Ruffer Yekini and the koreans had a 9 that was a beast Cha- Bum unbearable for defenders

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.


Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.


The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.
3-6-1 is not a very offensive formation but it worked

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.


Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.


The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.

We should have lost this game Ronaldo was denied by a crucial Coleman block and the post

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.



Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.


The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.


What bothers me about Brady is he says “we must at all costs wait until the friendlies before making a decision on his suitability” while (during the exact same discussion) having said “we can’t read anything into positive performances in friendlies”. That’s absurdly twisted logic….

For me a guy who played as number 10 as the way he did for Ireland Juve Inter La Samp Arsenal.and the whu. ....is always right

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.


Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.


The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.


What bothers me about Brady is he says “we must at all costs wait until the friendlies before making a decision on his suitability” while (during the exact same discussion) having said “we can’t read anything into positive performances in friendlies”. That’s absurdly twisted logic….


That’s incorrect : he said we’ve approx 3 friendlies in March and 4 Nations cup games in June - and after that a decision should be made i.e. allows FAI more time/facts to help formulate a decision - made complete sense to me.

Personally just the fact alone that Kenny persists with giving McClean game time is enough to question whether he should get a new contract

I heard yesterday in La Red AM Radio in Bs As that we are gonna play a friendlies in.Europe in March the radio host Gustavo López said the rumour is Ireland and France but there isnt any concrete at all. If I get something more I will let you know. Dont know if we are gonna do one or two friendlies in March 2022. We will play Italy for a cup.

[pineapple stu]

1. Based on minutes played, has six goals in just over ten club games, due to Farke only wanting to use Pukki up front. We'll see if the new manager is willing to give him a proper shot - if not, then yes, a loan move would be important for him
2. 22 goals at underage level for us, top scorer in Euro U17 qualifiers a few years ago - definitely knows where the goal is. Doesn't only hold play up, I've seen him roast defenders to get to the byline as well as lay of the ball very well, as he did to Robinson today
3. Took John Aldridge 20 games to open his account for us
U17s record is irrelevant in fairness. Lots of players don't bridge the gap from 17s to senior.

I don't think the John Aldridge comparison is relevant. Aldo was a proven top forward. If Sammon had played 20 games, he'd probably have scored for us. Does that mean Sammon was as good as Aldridge?

Not really interested in goals per minutes stats if he's not getting minutes. Why's he not getting minutes? Because the manager simply prefers someone else up front? Or because he's not ready yet? If he's not ready for senior club level, then he's not ready for senior international level.

Yes, he's only 20 and has time, and yes, the manager change will be interesting, and yes, we are desperate for options up front. But for me, Sammon Mark II - and even Sammon got a couple of assists in his nine caps

[pineapple stu]

The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game?
Ah, you can always trust geysir to have a cantankerous view for the sake of being different. :)

The ref was crap. He gave far too much soft stuff. The only saving grace is he was consistent. Ogbene's booking was nonsense. Both Pepe's bookings were nonsense. I think the foul on the keeper at the end was as soft as you'll see. There were plenty of other examples.

Does that mean we should have won the game? I don't see where you're jumping to that conclusion from. If you take it the goal at the end should have stood, then you have to accept that Pepe should have been on the pitch to defend it. And also, the whistle had long gone by the time Doherty put the ball in the net, so the Portuguese, only half interested in the game to start with, had probably completely switched off

[liamoo11]

Idah is quality. Played very well when he came in everything stuck played some lovely first time balls . Brought people into the game and let us really have a foothold for the last 35 minutes. In that same time ogbene gave the ball away on the few occasions he got involved hugging the touchline and had 2 straight line runs going nowhere and a mi**** bobbling cross that Steven's put over. Ogbene has lots of talents but his link up play and appreciation of the play around him is poor at the moment. That straight line kick it past and chase style will get frustrating very quickly of there isn't development which sure there will be. He seems incapable of coming off the line and combining with his centre forward in central positions and showing some guile

[jbyrne]

that was a very good performance last night. not excellent, but very good.

we look like a proper well prepared team with a plan. keeping possession when needed but also not afraid to go direct either. definitely the right balance imo.
to say portugal were only half interested is such nonsense. it was a wc qualifier where their qualification still hangs in the balance. a serbian win on sunday is not out of the question.
every time we have a decent performance the usual suspects trot out the same old excuses... (take your pick from... the opposition were only half bothered / sent out a weakened team / took their foot off the pedal). give us a break!

no one can argue that SK isn't getting the very best out of the players we have since June. that's all we can ask from manager and players. the recent enthusiasm and obvious excitement from the crowd that turn up to watch says it all for me. a bit of a buzz around the team again.

[pineapple stu]

to say portugal were only half interested is such nonsense. it was a wc qualifier where their qualification still hangs in the balance. a serbian win on sunday is not out of the question.
Whether the drew or won yesterday made no difference to the result they need on Sunday. They left out five of their six players on a yellow, including Jota and Ruben Dias, which I think was one of the most solid indications that the focus was to come through unscathed for Sunday.

[jbyrne]

Whether the drew or won yesterday made no difference to the result they need on Sunday. They left out five of their six players on a yellow, including Jota and Ruben Dias, which I think was one of the most solid indications that the focus was to come through unscathed for Sunday.

if they lost a draw on sunday would have sufficed for serbia. if you turn up half bothered then you risk losing, which they nearly did.
yes, they left out players but still had a team on paper light years ahead of ours

[pineapple stu]

yes, they left out players but still had a team on paper light years ahead of ours
But maybe that explains why they felt they could leave out players against us and still be confident of not losing. The manager will argue that they've no suspensions (except Pepe, who isn't far off being past it anyway) or injuries or even much in the way of fatigue, so they're nicely set up for Sunday now. And really, they were rarely in danger; their keeper had one save of note to make.

I don't agree with the approach - I remember Jack Charlton saying he told the players to ease up at 2-0 up at half time against Lithuania as we were playing Spain the next week, and he regretted it as we never got going against Spain - but I don't think it's "nonsense" to say Portugal were only half-interested last night.

[SwanVsDalton]

Portugal did seem poor and disinterested last night but that sort of language suggests it's a one-off but they were pretty poor in Faro too for the most part.

The context is important - it felt like a weird game for sure - but a really solid showing against one of the world's best teams is absolutely fine by me.

The most encouraging part imo is how much more assured we seem at the back, hopefully it's a proper trend but it does feel like we're tightening up in a way that will be extremely important next campaign (especially since, as ever, we're not going to score loads and loads of goals).

[passinginterest]

Lucky enough to be at the game last night. I thought it was a really solid performance, with few clear chances for either side. I was a bit surprised at Robinson man of the match. Though he did ok but nothing major. Coleman and Cullen stood out for me. McGrath was barely in the game and Ogbene struggled early but put in some exciting runs. I thought Idah was excellent when he came on, I always feel he's a player who needs regular games and hope he gets them soon, his strength and awareness is impressive and the goals will come for him.

I didn't think the "scary" moments playing out were all that scary. I think there was only one really dodgy one into Cullens feet when he was under serious pressure. Mixed it up well, rarely felt under the cosh and kept the ball well enough to have some decent pressure ourselves. I was pretty close to the second yellow for Pepe and though it was fully deserved, knew exactly what he was doing. Thought the Ogbene one was very harsh, didn't look to have really enjoyed extended the arm at all, it was a much more natural defensive position.

Need to go and beat Luxembourg now to drive home the progress.

[Stav]

Interesting approach as if they ,had won last night they were in the driving seat on Sunday. Ireland are improving and hopefully that continues in Luxembourg.

[osarusan]

to say portugal were only half interested is such nonsense.
It isn't nonsense though.

Whether we drew with them 0-0 or they beat us 10-0 made no difference to them, so they went with the approach of resting players on yellow cards and playing quite conservatively and expending relatively little effort. In the case of Bruno Fernandes, he might as well not have even been on the pitch.

And for what, 80 minutes, it worked out fine for them. Only after Pepe's red card did we really put them under sustained pressure, and even then, that didn't lead to any real chances.

Now, even taking all that into account, we can still be positive about the performance and result, because even a weakened Portugal side trying to see out a game are a cut above us so we did well and can celebrate a solid team performance with some good individual showings, but it makes no sense to ignore how Portugal approached this game.

[jbyrne]

It isn't nonsense though.
In the case of Bruno Fernandes, he might as well not have even been on the pitch.


never plays well with ronaldo


It isn't nonsense though.

Whether we drew with them 0-0 or they beat us 10-0 made no difference to them, so they went with the approach of resting players on yellow cards and playing quite conservatively and expending relatively little effort. In the case of Bruno Fernandes, he might as well not have even been on the pitch.

And for what, 80 minutes, it worked out fine for them. Only after Pepe's red card did we really put them under sustained pressure, and even then, that didn't lead to any real chances.


we had a few half chances in the first half and forced a number of corners.
id agree they were a bit more conservative in their approach than i expected but that's not the same as half interested

[pineapple stu]

Portugal did seem poor and disinterested last night but that sort of language suggests it's a one-off but they were pretty poor in Faro too for the most part.

The context is important - it felt like a weird game for sure - but a really solid showing against one of the world's best teams is absolutely fine by me.

The most encouraging part imo is how much more assured we seem at the back, hopefully it's a proper trend but it does feel like we're tightening up in a way that will be extremely important next campaign (especially since, as ever, we're not going to score loads and loads of goals).
Yeah, the Faro game was weird too. I'm not sure how good their manager is - yet he won the Euros with them, so he can't be that bad. But there's still a sense he's not getting the best out of the squad, and I think it was mentioned before the away game that he was under pressure.

I don't fully agree with you on the defensive aspect though. We were assured - but I think we've always been fairly assured there under Kenny. It's where our best and most experienced players are - Coleman, Doherty, Egan, a revitalised Duffy. Even when we didn't score for seven games in a row at the start of the Kenny reign, we only conceded six goals, and three of those were in a friendly in England that we shouldn't have arranged. In fact, the only times we've conceded more than once under Kenny have been away to England, away to Serbia, and away to Portugal.

Up front continues to be our weakness though, and in that regard the main disappointment for me from the game was that after seven goals last month, we didn't really test the keeper once even with Portugal not really too bothered. A couple of goals on Sunday (probably from Idah now I've reverse jinxed him!) will end the campaign nicely though and give us something to look forward to for the Nations League.

But "Absolutely fine by me" is a nice way of describing the performance last night actually. It's certainly a point I wasn't expecting, I think it's clear the players will play for Kenny (which was maybe a concern when he was appointed) and it was a more entertaining 0-0 than some of the 0-0s I've seen under previous managers. Those are all good things.

[Straightstory]

Interesting approach as if they ,had won last night they were in the driving seat on Sunday. Ireland are improving and hopefully that continues in Luxembourg.
No - even if they had won last night, they would still need NOT to lose to Serbia. A draw or a win put them in the same position for Sunday. So they were obviously settling for a draw.
RTE described it as en 'entertaining game'. What???
From what I've seen so far, would be very surprised if Idah or Ogbene score more than ten goals in their Ireland careers. We have huge problems up front.
If Kenny wins against Luxembourg, I expect it will save his job - if the FAI meets to decide his future before next year. I think there has been some progress - admittedly from a dismal start.

[Diggs246]

My key take away points from last night are
We were very good last night, they have world class lads we don't and we deserved to win
Kenny deserves a lot of credit for something we haven't discussed much recently and that's dismissing the myth that Matt and Seamus cant be on the pitch at the same time
The ref was correct in disallowing our goal, the footage from behind the goal shows Will Keane impede the keeper
If we play at this level over the next 2 years we are going to Germany ( thats a big if of course)

[pineapple stu]

we deserved to win
Really?

Ronaldo had the three best chances of the match. His header and his curler both inches wide, and his shot which was blocked by Coleman (I think). On the basis of chances created - and how else to decide who deserved to win a fairly dull 0-0 draw? - Portugal came out on top for me.

[Stuttgart88]

Ogbene strange call. Kenny incapable of not making random selection. Can ogbene play inverted and come centrally? Find it strange idah doesn't play as a focal point for Robinson to play off. Are we hoping to be pinned in and looking to hit ogbene wide on the break ? If that's the plan it's fairly grim.I assumed Ogbene was a near certainty!

[ifk101]

Ronaldo had the three best chances of the match.

Not Enda Stevens? What about the Ogbene header in the first half? - which followed the blocked chance Hendrick had. If Stevens and Ogbene hit the target, which they should in those situations, their goalie needs a Buffon quality save to keep them out.

We didn't deserve to win, nor did Portugal - a draw was fair. I feel we lost forward momentum with the introduction of Hourihane and McClean which maybe explains our somewhat tepid finish to a game we were shading.

[Stuttgart88]

Very dull match. Was like a dour friendly. Portugal uninterested as was shown by their selection. They were resting before their important match against Serbia. Nothing really can be read into this performance based on that but I thought we were quite poor.It's a results business.

[pineapple stu]

Not Enda Stevens? What about the Ogbene header in the first half? - which followed the blocked chance Hendrick had. If Stevens and Ogbene hit the target, which they should in those situations, their goalie needs a Buffon quality save to keep them out.
Not really for me. I guess part of it is who's on the end of the chance. Give Ronaldo chances like we gave him and you expect a goal. Give them to Stevens or Ogbene, then...

I agree with you that a draw was fair. But I think to go down the rabbit hole of "who deserved to win?" (neither did, because neither scored), then I don't agree with diggs that we deserved to win. I thought on overall play, we were the more composed side for a lot of it, but Portugal carried more threat, almost entirely because they had Ronaldo up front and we didn't.

[tetsujin1979]

Really?

Ronaldo had the three best chances of the match. His header and his curler both inches wide, and his shot which was blocked by Coleman (I think). On the basis of chances created - and how else to decide who deserved to win a fairly dull 0-0 draw? - Portugal came out on top for me.
we had the slightly better xG. I'm not a big fan of xG, but it can be an indicator of how creatively a team is playing.
1458914811975278597

[Bielsa´s irish]

Adam Idah is a strange one. Pukki is obviously a goalscorer but I find it very odd that Norwich have never tried them together.

This is one for those of us of a certain age, but with the right coaching I could see him turning out a lot like John Fashanu.

Obviously the game has changed and a lot of the things the crazy gang did would be impossible today, but big, strong, and awkward as hell are still qualities in a forward.


The ref wasn't crap, he made a poor decision re the foul on the goalie, but his other decisions were good and Pepe was good for his 2 yellows. And if you so condemn the ref, does that mean Kenny's team should won have that game? and in winning the game would you still be similarly critical of Kenny?

On Kenny, I'd say of those who attended the game, most would be okay with Kenny continuing in the role. It does say something when a top European team are rendered neutral by a distinctly average Irish team (by our standards) who offered an intelligent game plan. Offhand I can't think of any previous Irish manager who would have done better than Kenny in his preparation for this game.


What bothers me about Brady is he says “we must at all costs wait until the friendlies before making a decision on his suitability” while (during the exact same discussion) having said “we can’t read anything into positive performances in friendlies”. That’s absurdly twisted logic….


That’s incorrect : he said we’ve approx 3 friendlies in March and 4 Nations cup games in June - and after that a decision should be made i.e. allows FAI more time/facts to help formulate a decision - made complete sense to me.

Personally just the fact alone that Kenny persists with giving McClean game time is enough to question whether he should get a new contract


It isn't nonsense though.

Whether we drew with them 0-0 or they beat us 10-0 made no difference to them, so they went with the approach of resting players on yellow cards and playing quite conservatively and expending relatively little effort. In the case of Bruno Fernandes, he might as well not have even been on the pitch.

And for what, 80 minutes, it worked out fine for them. Only after Pepe's red card did we really put them under sustained pressure, and even then, that didn't lead to any real chances.

Now, even taking all that into account, we can still be positive about the performance and result, because even a weakened Portugal side trying to see out a game are a cut above us so we did well and can celebrate a solid team performance with some good individual showings, but it makes no sense to ignore how Portugal approached this game.

Totally agreed

[pineapple stu]

we had the slightly better xG. I'm not a big fan of xG, but it can be an indicator of how creatively a team is playing.
I suppose what xG doesn't take into account is whether Ronaldo or Enda Stevens is the one having the shot :)

Also a bit unusual to exclude blocked shots? Ronaldo's effort in the first half would level things up; seems harsh to exclude it because it was stopped by Coleman rather than Bazunu/the post/the netting

[Stuttgart88]

Jeez, there’s some real negativity here. And it seems like it’s a results business until such time as we get a result and then it’s a performance business.

Anyway, my only ambition for last night was for Bazunu not to make a mistake :)

Overall anyone who can’t see the progress we’re making is just wilfully blind to it. That passage of play (referred to earlier by centre mid) on around 75 mins where we were hemmed in at our own corner flag, played a few brave but accurate passes and moments later used the full width of the pitch to fashion a great chance for Stevens was just incredible. Incredibly brave, incredibly accomplished.

The individual performances were mainly really good. Duffy is like a man possessed these days.

Sure there were some frustrating moments. Notably in the first half where despite having little of the ball we messed up some transitions that could have been very dangerous. I thought McGrath wasn’t used in a good position for a lot of the first half, he’d have been better used deeper. I was a bit nervous about the substitutions too.

A few candidates for MOTM but Cullen and Hendrick really stood out. Not so much for any specific passages of play or big moments but for how – and in a 2 man midfield – they showed “moral courage” to get on the ball all the time. Twice in a minute in the first half Cullen took short passes from Bazunu in very difficult positions and nonchalantly played it back or to a full back. This really set the tone in my opinion – it screamed “be brave” to everyone else.

I thought 6-12 months ago we were a side playing “modern” football by diktat. Now I think we’re doing it because we want to and because we believe we can. The players have obviously bought into it and I think it’s a huge leap forward for Irish football and we’ll benefit from it in years to come

I thought our “goal” was correctly disallowed btw. It wasn’t a particularly serious foul but it was just enough of an impediment to warrant a foul.

On to Luxembourg now. I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t have massive confidence we’ll win but I am now confident we’ll turn up with our A game and give it a right go. I just worry about whether we’ll get the goals.

[Stuttgart88]

What bothers me about Brady is he says “we must at all costs wait until the friendlies before making a decision on his suitability” while (during the exact same discussion) having said “we can’t read anything into positive performances in friendlies”. That’s absurdly twisted logic….Do we even know who the friendlies are against?

[Stuttgart88]

recently we've pretty much reverted to our put 'em under pressure heroics.

I think the players have taken things into their own hands.
I've seen the exact opposite. I've seen players showing for the ball and trying to develop play in a way I've never seen an Irish team do before. Seriously, what are you watching at all?

[Stuttgart88]

I didn't think the "scary" moments playing out were all that scary. It'll always be scary to me! But I appreciate it. It feels a bit like Russian Roulette to me sometimes - 1 in 6 times it might kill you. But the upside is that it creates space up the pitch once you beat the first press. I'm not sure it's a tactic for a bobbly pitch. I think Kingdom was at that ground last month and said the pitch was terrible.

[Diggs246]

Really?

Ronaldo had the three best chances of the match. His header and his curler both inches wide, and his shot which was blocked by Coleman (I think). On the basis of chances created - and how else to decide who deserved to win a fairly dull 0-0 draw? - Portugal came out on top for me.

Yeah. I thought we were the more aggressive team. I thought we were more composed in possession. I thought we were more likely to score and I thought we were the better team. So yeah we deserved to win.

[passinginterest]

It'll always be scary to me! But I appreciate it. It feels a bit like Russian Roulette to me sometimes - 1 in 6 times it might kill you. But the upside is that it creates space up the pitch once you beat the first press. I'm not sure it's a tactic for a bobbly pitch. I think Kingdom was at that ground last month and said the pitch was terrible.

I think that's the thing, it's scary to the extent we're not used to it, we've had nearly two decades of "we don't have the players" so the nerves set in, you could sense it in a few of the panicky gasps from the crowd (probably doesn't help the players!) but there was very few genuinely dangerous moments, it felt very controlled and methodical for the most part. Hopefully the more we get used to it and the more the methodology sinks in with the players, the less scared we'll all be.

If it's the same pitch the 21s played on it's a cabbage patch and we might well have to do revert to a bit of old school lump it to the big man!

[pineapple stu]

Kingdom was in Dudelange. We won't be there on Sunday. Luxembourg have a new national stadium and I'm not sure if Sunday won't be its first game actually. But Dudelange isn't the national stadium anyway, no more than Belfield is the national stadium even though it's hosted 21s before

[Stuttgart88]

I think that's the thing, it's scary to the extent we're not used to it, we've had nearly two decades of "we don't have the players" so the nerves set in, you could sense it in a few of the panicky gasps from the crowd (probably doesn't help the players!) but there was very few genuinely dangerous moments, it felt very controlled and methodical for the most part. Hopefully the more we get used to it and the more the methodology sinks in with the players, the less scared we'll all be.

If it's the same pitch the 21s played on it's a cabbage patch and we might well have to do revert to a bit of old school lump it to the big man!I've just read the Irish Times summary and this stood out in the context of this conversation:

At times it was hair raising: a back pass from Josh Cullen to Gavin Bazunu travelled too fast to the goal for comfort and the sight of Shane Duffy, with no safety net, sweetly sidestepping a rushing Ronaldo was both delightful and terrifying in the same moment

[TonyD]

It's a results business.

Ha ;). Except when we get them obviously. Then it’s all about the performance. Of course, we should have beaten Portugal cos they weren’t really trying, Yada, yada.

[John83]

Jeez, there’s some real negativity here.
No, there's Pineapple Stu saying that maybe we shouldn't get carried away by a 0-0 draw against a team playing within itself and resting half their starting 11, against whom we looked like not scoring if the game continued until next Tuesday. For that, he seems to have been cast in the role of Peig.

Luxembourg is key. Win there and we finish third, and if we could be accused for making hard work of it at least the trajectory is good after a bad start. Lose or draw, and the debate about whether we keep Kenny on or not has teeth.

[backstothewall]

No, there's Pineapple Stu saying that maybe we shouldn't get carried away by a 0-0 draw against a team playing within itself and resting half their starting 11, against whom we looked like not scoring if the game continued until next Tuesday. For that, he seems to have been cast in the role of Peig.

Luxembourg is key. Win there and we finish third, and if we could be accused for making hard work of it at least the trajectory is good after a bad start. Lose or draw, and the debate about whether we keep Kenny on or not has teeth.

Yeah. Anything but a win vs Luxembourg, and all the positivity disappears like snow in a ditch.

We've been here before with a positive performances against Serbia and Portugal followed up by embarrassing results vs Luxembourg & Azerbaijan. Any repeat of that and he should be shown the door.

Eventually there has to be a defining moment. Kenny has been treading water up until now, but on Sunday night he has to either sink or swin.

[jbyrne]

No, there's Pineapple Stu saying that maybe we shouldn't get carried away by a 0-0 draw against a team playing within itself and resting half their starting 11, against whom we looked like not scoring if the game continued until next Tuesday. For that, he seems to have been cast in the role of Peig.


what exactly constitutes "getting carried away"?

pretty much all the positive posters in relation last nights game have simply cited improvement from where we were, that we look more organised, we appear to have a decent match plan, some good individual performances and that there's a bit of excitement around the team again etc.

resting half their starting 11 is neither here nor there given the players who started for them would most likely walk into our team and are playing at a higher club level than ours.

[JR89]

Well they kinda had to rest Raphaël Guerreiro, Bernardo Silva, and Rafa Silva who all started the last game as they were injured.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Ha ;). Except when we get them obviously. Then it’s all about the performance. Of course, we should have beaten Portugal cos they weren’t really trying, Yada, yada.

I think results are all important but when you get knocked out of world cup qualifying by Luxembourg after 2 games, then performances matter a lot if a manager doesn't want to get sacked.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

what exactly constitutes "getting carried away"?

pretty much all the positive posters in relation last nights game have simply cited improvement from where we were, that we look more organised, we appear to have a decent match plan, some good individual performances and that there's a bit of excitement around the team again etc.

resting half their starting 11 is neither here nor there given the players who started for them would most likely walk into our team and are playing at a higher club level than ours.

Kenny dragged us so far backwards that beating Azerbaijan was celebrated as if we'd qualified for a tournament. There are no doubts that we have improved since Anthony Barry came in but losing to Luxembourg should mean the whole coaching ticket get the boot.

[Bielsa´s irish]

with some nations ending an era, Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, France, Belgium etc etc , I could understand why they will extend his contract, but if it was my decision I would say get a proper replacement. I see things as Brady not so much of a change, and Portugal came for a point should have won if not for Seamus Coleman last grasp save vs Ronaldo and the post in his header on second half, and had one more at the very end vs Bazunu that could have nutmegged him luck it stayed in his legs

[pineapple stu]

what exactly constitutes "getting carried away"?
Well in my post #153, I flagged this one (https://foot.ie/threads/271372-Republic-of-Ireland-V-Portugal-11th-November-2021-2022-World-Cup-Qualifier/page8?p=2094572#post2094572), which I think is definitely getting carried away. A wonderful performance to be proud of?

I think others downplaying Portugal's approach to the game to add merit to our performance also counts.