I was late getting down to UCD, but it was a good end to end game. Young McCarthy in midfield did seem to be a good player, you can see why Liverpool were after him. Ireland played some good football on the deck, but our best chances came from set pieces late into the second half. A draw would have been a fair result. The Irish keeper, Redmond from Forest, was probably their best player, at least he seemed to have the most influence on his teammates. The Portuguese had identified the right full as the weak spot, most of their crosses seemed to be aimed at him. The left winger (McDermott I think) needs to work on the defensive side of things, he left the full back isolated on a number of occasions. Portugal's best player was the giant at centre half, Karl Byrne was giving up about 6 inches to him, and he won everything in the air.
The right winger went down under a tackle at one point and did the whole "writhing-in-pain-clutching-my-knee-because-I-can't-bear-it" and the ref promptly told him to get up and get on with it. Disgraceful.
