Republic of Ireland V Colombia - Thursday, 29th May 2008 - Friendly - Craven Cottage

[beepbeep]

hear traps post match interview?? AHH i had to laugh:D. 'John Delaney at the back'

ah good on ya trap. ur making a difference, and its quite clear.

[paulie_walnuts]

Didn't see it as I was at Oriel but from what I have read, Miller was predictably annonymous. Hopefully he won't be near the starting XI, the 2 Reids will be there or thereabouts, Miller just doesn't have enough presence about him, I've never rated him.

[irishultra]

The Trap effect in my opinion is working. I am confident we can score in Georgia and the country that Serbia don't think should be a country. I also believe we will create chances. I know looking at tonight you might not see this but even though we weren't good on the ball(or on the ball) for that matter, we looked very mobile at some points.

With Andy Reid and hopefully Steven Reid(and maby Ireland because he's a very good ball carrier) the future could be good.

And this is the worst thing about Int.football, the fecking wait till our next game. It should be an interesting game none the less.

[Diarmo]

I'm warming to Delaney, there's options with Kilbane or hopefully Finnan. But I think he'd cope in the important matches at left back.
:eek:

I think someone must have hijacked Ciaran's account. Not like him to understand football.

[tricky_colour]

I have just been watching my recording and it looks like Mcgeady should have had a definate penalty on 70 minutes.

[cheifo]

Agree a tight ground suits us better.Similar to the way NI use Windsor park to their advantage ut nothing can be done about that so hownever.
Colombia play some lovely stuff, a pleasure to watch and will do well in the African heat in 2010 presuming they qualify.
Good dicipline from our lads in the second half but more than a few of them are just not up to this standard.Maybe Whelan will improve getting some experience in the Premier but I would have love to have seen McPhail and maybe Garvan as our midfield pair.Thought Doyle did well considering the lack of service.
The two Reids,Duff,Finnan and O'Brien(or both of them) will improve the side.

[irishfan86]

I have just been watching my recording and it looks like Mcgeady should have had a definate penalty on 70 minutes.

Yeah, when I was watching it live I thought it was a clean tackle, but when I saw the replay, I thought it was a definite penalty.

Oh well, I'd rather the ref miss a call in a friendly.

Let's save our luck for the qualifiers!

[pineapple stu]

The Trap effect in my opinion is working. I am confident we can score in Georgia and the country that Serbia don't think should be a country.
You're mixing Montenegro with Kosovo.

[barney]

Not a good performance at all. Great result though.

Obviously Kiely did well and the back four in general did well. They had the better of the first half coz our midfield was anonymous. Have to say though that Dunne, athough a great defender, is not a great footballer. Whacked the ball long all night even when he had an option. McShane had a good game as well as the full backs.

McGeady was okay, Keogh below average (though out of position). Whelan was absolutely dreadful while Miller did okay but not enough to stake a claim for a starting berth.

Strikers got nothing.

We have a long, long way to go. We are so poor in possession, our movement is so bad that it'll be a while before we are anywhere near where we need to be. Trap ain't a miracle worker.

[tricky_colour]

Yeah, when I was watching it live I thought it was a clean tackle, but when I saw the replay, I thought it was a definite penalty.

Oh well, I'd rather the ref miss a call in a friendly.

Let's save our luck for the qualifiers!

Yea, I have only saw it twice because I have to watch the recording as if it is live, can't step back etc.. but it looked like a penalty, even the first time I though penalty, although it did not seem worthy of one, however technically
it appeared to be one, I just saw the highlights on Sky Sports News though and they never mentioned it.
I'd like to see it again but it means watching the whole match again :rolleyes:

[irishultra]

****....*walks away with head down*

[passinginterest]

I thought Whelan did OK. He broke up an awful lot of attacks. Miller offers nothing beside him, far too little presence. Whelan is a play breaker rather than play maker, he just needed someone beside him to demand the ball and offer support. I wouldn't argue that centre mid was outclassed, but, I would say I think Whelan has more to offer the squad long term.

Though Doyle was brilliant in the air. For a fella that's six foot at most he won an amazing amount of ball in the air. He held it up well at times too. Just a few final balls that were a bit poor.

McGeady never really got past his man, he worked hard, did OK, still not really doing what we hope he can do though.

Delaney looked the most composed of the back four I felt, he tried to pass it more than the others too. Overall the defence was OK, considering the midfield was under severe pressure in the first half especially.

[irishfan86]

Have to say though that Dunne, athough a great defender, is not a great footballer. Whacked the ball long all night even when he had an option.

If I had only watched Ireland's last two matches, I would agree with you.

But at Man City, he will very rarely go long ball.

This is because the central midfielders do a great job of showing for the ball.

I felt Whelan and Miller did not look particularly hungry to get on the ball.

[theworm2345]

Capped from a stream
3' Keane Goal: Sharebee (http://sharebee.com/592055f0) (cut from Analysis)
Full Time Analysis: Sharebee (http://sharebee.com/d08ede07)

[Qwerty]

Whelan was shocking. I know it's never in vogue to criticise newcomers but if John O Shea played a game like that this thread would be flooded with "O SHEA OUT" comments. I couldn't see one positive thing he did with the ball, he gave away possession time and time again, he didnt tackle well, he didnt pass well, he didnt mark his man well. He had a nightmare, he wasn't just poor he was a liability for the side.

:eek:

Are you trying to get a response from eirebhoy? I'm surprised he hasn't jumped to Glenn's defense as he has been champioing Whelan & McGeady for the past 2 years, perhaps he is on vacation or found a better use for his free time...

[strangeirish]

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/29/fullj.6dd0c0db9244883e759c96abdd2d8db3/6dd0c0db9244883e759c96abdd2d8db3-getty-fbl-ireland-colombia-friendly.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/1a/fullj.da1e18759264cc9bb426a8793b0a1c50/da1e18759264cc9bb426a8793b0a1c50-getty-fbl-ireland-colombia-friendly.jpg
Check out the ball in the above pic with the FAI logo? Is this new?
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/92/fullj.161db39273ab91f6983a30186b70a267/161db39273ab91f6983a30186b70a267-getty-fbl-ireland-colombia-friendly.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/3d/fullj.30da8f0fc6f8ea80662b96636c182aaa/30da8f0fc6f8ea80662b96636c182aaa-getty-fbl-ireland-colombia-friendly.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/4d/fullj.f085f1d9ee8a703d292cb799c7607bb6/f085f1d9ee8a703d292cb799c7607bb6-getty-fbl-ireland-colombia-friendly.jpg

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20080529/capt.cps.moo03.300508001107.photo00.photo.default-512x326.jpg

[Claret Murph]

I have to agree centre mid was a waste land , I don't want to go on about Miller as he has never or will ever be anything but a championship player in my view .
On a positive note I was happy how the Trap sent them back out again in the second half and they only had one or two at best chances to score from open play , it is a sort of thing the Italians would do . Hang on is our manager from that neck of the woods ........................;););)

[shakermaker1982]

I just hope our luck holds out for the games in September. The Trap clearly doesn't like substitutes. The centre of MF was woeful, it offered no protection to the back 4 and if the Colombians had ran at the centre backs instead of shooting from 45 yards every time they might have had more success. We need more players with a physical presence and I'm delighted we have found one in Delaney, he'll be dangerous at set pieces and likes to get stuck in. If only we could find a couple of live wires in MF....

Kiely - 9 - outstanding performance.
O'Shea - 6
Dunne - 6
McShane - 8 - Looked like a man with a point to prove and played well.
Delaney - 6.5

McGeady - 7
Miller - 5.5
Whelan - 5.5
Keogh - 6

Keane - 6
Doyle 7 - worked hard and held the ball up well.

[The Scientist]

Colombia play some lovely stuff, a pleasure to watch and will do well in the African heat in 2010 presuming they qualify.



those hedge school boys in Donegal love their geography !!!:D:D:rolleyes:

[irishfan86]

those hedge school boys in Donegal love their geography !!!:D:D:rolleyes:

I think he was just saying that they would do well in African heat because they're used to the heat in Columbia...

[craig7042]

I sky+ it and am watching it tommorrow (working tonight). Was it worth me doing so??

It was a great game..not a good game!

Anyway.. positive to get the win and we always look up for it. Not conceeding was important.

The major thing that Colombia taught us is that we have to pass better through midfield. Its quite amazing how top premiership players like we have just dont have the instinct for that. The English were talking about the same thing in their game against USA the other night. Its weird but maybe its harder than we think?!

The other point is that Colombia were not as good as the hype on the TV made out. They had no end product - blazing the ball over the bar frequently and they gave the ball away atleast as much as us. At times they could pass the ball brilliantly in build up play and a draw would have been fair, but to say we were taught a footballing lesson is extreme.

[Dr. Ogba]

Have to say lads that I've been an advocate of McShane for a while on this board but every time the ball came near him on the ground I cringed. He's just far too uncomfortable on the ball to be allowed anywhere near the team in the qualifiers. Also he was responsible for playing the Colombian forward onside on several occasions in the first half. If only the game was constantly played in the air cause his headed clearances were excellent.

Also Miller - I can't remember the last time I've seen such a lazy central midfield player. After he was so poor last week I wanted to keep an eye on him in this game and by Jaysus the amount of time he was just strolling around while his opposite number dictated the play. Seriously, workrate wise, he makes John O'Shea look like Roy Keane...
I felt awful sorry for Glen Whelan as he's been having to try and do the work of 2 central midfield players in his first 2 international caps!

Apart from that I though Keane and Doyle showed glimpses of a possible partnership forming. Also a bit of a shame Hoolihan didn't get a bit more game time, he's a classy little player...

[Duggie]

poor performance but ill take the win. we did well enough at the back but our midfield were very poor on the night. whelan was terrible have to say. and delaney was caught out a few times moving inside and leaving his side way to much space. but a win is a win, if we play poor and get to the WC who will care.

[tomred23]

Miller and Whelan were very bad, all of Columbia chances very created through the middle. The full backs for ireland defended good as i dont remember a cross coming in to our box, they could of got forward a bit more though. I was impressed with Delaney. I taught McShane did ok but he did make a few mistake that could of cost us a goal or two, if Kiely wasn't on top form. All of our corners were very bad, McGeady never delivered a good cross in the whole match, i will put that down to tiredness.
I think Trap didn't make many subs as he wanted to win the game.

[Duggie]

did anyone else see how delaney came inside to often and left his side exposed a few times ?

[Wolfie]

The 1 nil scoreline flattered us a bit - but we'll take it.

Has to be said that Kiely was excellent - Man of the Match for us. Imagine he could have featured heavily in the last campaign with Given injured, although that alone wouldn't have saved us.

Thought we were solid enough at the back bar a few dodgy moments for McShane and Dunne - again moments where concentration in possession was lacking. Delaney has potential but his distribution on the ball needs to improve. O'Shea was solid defensively to be fair.

Yet again, centre midfield was the root of a lot of our problems. The Colombian lads, Torres and Guarin were excellent and showed Ireland how it should be done. Everything that was good about Colombia involved them. Time and again, one or the other of them dropped off 15 yards to show for the full back. Once in possession, they had a variety of options. Contrast this with O'Shea and Delaney with no option but to punt for Doyle.

Miller and Whelan were very poor. Miller was slightly less brutal than Saturday - but he's not the answer.

I think Andy Reid has the ability to play a similar role that Torres or Guarin played and could be complemented with either Carsley or Stephen Reid.

I though McGeady needed to offer us more width last night. He endeavoured to cut inside too often. I think he need to stay wide and run the line in order to create more chances for Doyle and Keane last night.

Overall - the ship is steadying but a fair bit to go yet.

[amaccann]

I thought the performance was awful, but we were solid and organised & the manager should take praise for that. Especially at the back, where a poorer manager, like Stan, would have had us running around like headless chickens & conceding goals left, right an centre. So I think we have to praise the fact that we didn't lose our head even when totally outplayed by a fairly impressive Colombian team. McShane had a good game (though he panics too often & goes for the thoughtless clearing header / row Z thump even when under no pressure )

Having said that, we desperately need a better midfield & it's gratifying to know that there are ones, albeit currently injured. I am somewhat baffled as to why Garvan didn't get a run out; he seemed like the right type of midfielder that we needed at the time.

You would have to wonder though if Trap doesn't get a little bit frustrated at the inherent lack of technical ability some of the (admittedly fringe) players like Whelan or Miller.

[kingdomkerry]

Anyway lads, Im going for one nil to Ireland. At 18.13 im telling ye Trap will get his first win and first clean sheet!

:eek::cool: Told ye so!! :p

[Morbo]

We were badly molested in the 1st half but somehow kept a clean sheet by a combination of luck, Kale and crap finishing.
In a way this is probably better for the team than if we had one by a few, the players kept their concentration for 90 minutes and it was important not to concede a late goal like we have in the past.
McShane actually played pretty well there might still be hope for him yet.
Midfield was brutal, Whealan unfortunetly just isn't up to it and Miller was ok but should only be used as backup.
I would have liked to see Garvan play, I think he could have done a better job than Whelan or Miller, hopefully he will get a chance against Norway so we can find out if he is ready for international football.
What did Ronnie mean when he said Carsley is gone?

[Morbo]

:eek::cool: Told ye so!! :p


Put any money on it? I think my prediction of 1-1 was more accurate as the Colombians at least deserved a 1-1 draw, hopefully the bookies will see it my way too when I go to collect my winnings

[the doc]

Loads of new posts appeared in the time it took me to write my last reply.:eek: So it's good to see that there is a general opinion that the biggest problem with tonights game was a poor CMF pairing resulting in Colombia having too much of the ball to come and attack and also limiting our attack to hoofing the ball out from defence again.
Delaney and McShane had decent games which sweeps our defence problems under the carpet until the next game at least. However, these players could really be found out when the competitive games start. Fingers crossed that they develop into solid international-class players, neither will be world-class.
What's really interesting for me, if the defence holds steady, is how we will play when all MF players are available.
Carsley has his knockers on here but he would have shored up the MF tonight if he played instead of Whelan. Anyway, from Reid x 2, Carsley, Ireland we can surely find a paring that would work better than tonight. Will Trap employ a style where we will create more chances or will he use the more solid CM pairing to make us more difficult to beat. Pity we have to wait until August to find out.:(

To be fair McShane had a good game, a little too hasty at times but overall he did ok.
The slow build up play from the Columbians suited his game, as he wasn't put under any real pressure, which he tends to panic if closed down quickly.
Still doesnt hide the fact that there are better players in his position, not in the squad and that is something that needs to be addressed.

[ifk101]

Agree with pretty much everything said already. Miller and Whelan weren't at the races last night. Distribution from the back was poor but Miller and Whelan weren't showing for it. McShane played a number of 25 yards back passes to Kiely as nobody was showing for the ball. Also noticed Delaney got caught on the ball a number of times - to a certain extent because Miller and Whelan weren't showing for the ball. McGeady needs to learn when to dribble and when to pass. He was our most creative player last night but it's frustrating watching him dribble into cul de sacs and subsequently losing the ball.

The positives are that we won the game, we closed them out in the second half, Kiely had a great game, we kept a clean sheet and we were organised.

But plenty to work on.

[lionelhutz]

Thank God Kiely has come back. If he wasn't in goals tonight, we could have been humiliated - especially if Henderson or Kenny were playing. I thought McShane was excellent except for 1 or 2 sloppy passes in the 1st half, Dunne looked wrecked.

Defence played pretty well as a unit. As already stated, the midfield was awful. Its up to the central midfielders to demand the ball from the defence but instead they hid and the ball had to be lumped up the field where possession was almost always lost.

Whelan and Miller simply weren't up to it. McGeady was ok, when there's better players in CM he'll get more quality ball. I was very worried to see them put Keogh on the right - did they not watch the Germany game in Croker? He's lost there.

Keane and Doyle worked hard but again due to nobody taking control in CM, they got no decent ball. They spent the night chasing balls into the corner and challenging for balls in the air they were never going to win.

Andy Reid is without doubt going to make or break this campaign for us. If he stays fit and performs to his ability, we have a real chance of qualifying. Otherwise, we don't have a hope.

[lionelhutz]

As i posted in another thread, it's painfully obvious that Andy Reid will make or break our qualifying campaign. He'd be important in any team but he's absolutely essential for Ireland. We have no-one else anywhere near his passing ability, technique and reading of the game in CM. Ireland is a different type of player and could be useful further forward and S. Reid And Carsley are different types of CM to A. Reid.

We'll need him to drop off and take the ball off the defence regularly so we don't have to lump it forward and lose possession the whole time like we did last night. His distribution of the ball is top notch so we'll able to hold onto the ball so much more with him there.

Also with Duff, S.Reid and possibly Finnan and Ireland back we'll have more players with the ability to keep possession. We were terrible at ball retention last night

[Blue Man]

I think the most pleasing aspect was how solid we looked under immesnse pressure and didnt crumble to a late goal a la Croatia, Macedonia and Russia. Even if it was only a friendly and not a qualifier, it was still good to see.

Yes I agree it wasnt the best performance, buts its the winning mentality that Trap is trying to drill in that will determine how well we do. So what if its a friendly, its a win and Colombia are no mugs and a better side than Serbia. At least we seem to be getting back to the thinking "if you dont concede, you cant lose" , and I think thats been Ireland's problem in recent campaigns. Personally I'll take poor performances and beat everybody 1-0

[Superhoops]

Just back from London, enjoyed last night immensely,

It wasn't just the win but the atmosphere was mighty, mainly generated by the Colombians in fairness. But watching an Ireland game in a real football ground made a pleasant change.

They should definitely play more of these games in London where, no matter who the opposition is they are likely to have a good following, and to give UK based Irish who don't normally have the opportunity to see the team playing, a chance of getting to a game. Much better than the US games they have played.

As far as the game went, most of it has been said already but Kiely and McShane were excellent. Delaney is definitely a candidate for permanent LB spot. Glen Whelan isn't good enough. Miller has talent but is lazy. Doyle looks jaded and needs to be revitalised with move from Reading.

Finally a word of praise for two of my least favourite Irish players. JOS looked comfortable at RB but in second half drifted into the centre a few times and McGeady who didn't contribute much in going forward but definitely got a big plus for the way he tracked back, especially in the second half when the Colombians had us under pressure. He just looks so small and light :(

Anyway, got to catch up on the ZZZZ's after a late night in Brogan's (Fair play to 'mine host' Tony and his crew). Got to get ready for the big match this weekend, Wicklow v Laois :D

[geysir]

The back 4 got a good work out and all did well.
But so many lumps up the field.
There is a lot of work in progress.
Compared to Colombia, we look bereft of threat in attack, can't shoot from anywhere, set pieces poor, little movement to support McGeady's cuts inside.
McGeady started weak, got stronger.

I don't yet see system imposed on the team as regards our style of play, we are waiting for the players like Andy Reid to come in and do it for us.
I would have preferred to see Murphy on instead of Doyle for 45 mins.
ATM i'd see Murphy as better suiting us as a team and as a partner for Keane.

[Emmet]

I was actually quite pleased last night overall - we were up against a very good Columbia side who went into the match with a very good record; we certainly rode our luck at times but we also created some decent chances and maybe should have had a penalty in the second-half. I definitely agree about the size of the pitch - I don't know what the dimensions are at Croke Park but our players look a bit lost out there at times. On a smaller, more compact, pitch we were able to get up to support the attacking players and were able to create more chances as a result. It's good that the team has signed off the season on a positive note - that will ensure we start next season in a positive, go-forward, state of mind.

[boovidge]

I don't understand the praise for McShane here. He was dodgy in the first half and only OK in the second. Good performance compared to his recent lot i suppose.

We rode our luck a bit in the first half but i'm pleased that we managed to keep a clean sheet and keep hold of a lead for once.

The atmosphere at Craven was great. Closer to the ground, less groups of kids and the columbians ( :eek:) helped with that. Ok so no new chants to speak of but at least we gave the usual lot (athenry, boys in green etc) a good go. :)

[amaccann]

I don't understand the praise for McShane here. He was dodgy in the first half and only OK in the second. Good performance compared to his recent lot i suppose.

We rode our luck a bit in the first half but i'm pleased that we managed to keep a clean sheet and keep hold of a lead for once.

The atmosphere at Craven was great. Closer to the ground, less groups of kids and the columbians ( :eek:) helped with that. Ok so no new chants to speak of but at least we gave the usual lot (athenry, boys in green etc) a good go. :)
McShane has potential - his critics say he's a championship level player at best, and yet Championship players form a good percentage of our squad. McShane though is young & raw, like all central defenders that age. No more than Dunne at the same point in his career, McShane is having a rough time of it & some shakey matches. I think Trap sees the potential and wants to coax it out.

[carloz]

Think people are being just a little unfair on Miller. He is never going to be a player to set a game alight, but he is an good honest grafter. He could have done with someone like like S. Reid or Carsley beside him, lets not forget that Whealan was in a Championship struggle with Sheffield Wednesday up to a few months ago. He is new to this so he needs time. Miller reminds me a little of Matty Holland. His passing can be a tad annoying at time but he is a decent squad player to have.
Happy for McShane. Getting a lot of abuse recently, most of it merited, but hopefully this will help get his confidence back. Dont think Dunphys comments yesterday in the Star would have helped.
Think a result like this can give great confidence. We beat a very good technical team, easily the third best in South America at the moment. If we can get a result now in Norway i would have a lot of optomism going into the September double headers

[boovidge]

what would this result do for our World rankings?

[carloz]

Dunno, but should be very helpful to us, they are ranked 19th while i think we are 42nd. If they count it as an away game for us it will be even more helpful

[Reality Bites]

Our central midfield is the only really problem from last night, we need Andy Reid back (lets hope he stays out of Burger King during his Hols) and of course S Ireland!, Carsley also as DM, not sure if S Reid is more suitable for this role...

I thought A Reid salvaged Sunderland from Relegation he is comfortable on the ball and he has vision, I remember one of his first touch during the season created a memorable goal for Daryl Murphy!

[Metrostars]

Some good pics of the game here:

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/blog.php?b=1227#comments

[kingdomkerry]

McShane showed he can do a job for us, even though we accept he is liable to the odd mistake. Finnan will give the back four a more solid look.

Finnan Dunne O'Brien/McShane Delaney/O'Se

Midfield is the real problem area and it has been really since keane left. Whelan and Miller just wont do. I think Duff and McGeady will do well as the two wingers but im not sure if you can play the 2 of them together not in away games anyway

Duff Ireland Carsley S.Reid A.Reid McGeady
Pick four from that depending on the opposition

Keane Doyle/Keogh

I think they are the players that will determine if we qualify for the world cup!

[paul_oshea]

lads missed the goal cos the stupid stadium was letting in on the gate with money as well as tickets. who actually scored was it good?

Trap said he wanted us to play it on the ground more we never did that the only one who constantly played it on the ground was mcgeady, trap was right after every 2 or 3 passess it was hoofed. I thought he said they worked on this.....

The colombians booing cos we wouldn't do the mexican wave, i think i saw Stutts, tets and Sligo_hornet starting it off at one point. Shame on them.

[boovidge]

Sky are showing the game again atm.

^Keane scored. It was a poor deflected goal that barely crossed the line

[geysir]

The colombians booing cos we wouldn't do the mexican wave, i think i saw Stutts, tets and Sligo_hornet starting it off at one point. Shame on them.
:eek:
Name and shame them Paul :D

[Superhoops]

lads missed the goal cos the stupid stadium was letting in on the gate with money as well as tickets. ...
No, missed the goal cos you stayed too long in Brogans :D


Well done owl, far more informative than myself, though I thought he was just wondering which stop to get off rather than directions. TFL is done using the main roads rather than side streets. It is definitely not 26 mins. If you look on google its slightly over a mile if you over jendal place, turn left off dawes road onto bishop street ( in the lower left of the picture posted by owl )and continue on straight onto gowan avenue. It should only take the average punter about 12 - 15 mins.
You're obviously not the average punter. :rolleyes:

26 mins from pub to ground was about right.