Might be some comfort Germany only beat them 3-0 at home and Sweden 2-1 away.
Austria are looking stronger than Sweden, but they only have one home game remaining (against us).
However our future is our hands, which may or may not be a comforting to know!!
Just to be clear, I know everything worked out tonight and I would actually think GD won't be a factor in the end. But I have such low expectations for those crunch games.
That second goal was a thing of beauty.
so the austria result is what we wanted right?
I think a draw would have been the most optimal, for GD purposes as much as anything, but an Austrian win is not bad. Beating them in Vienna will probably be a requirement, barring unlikely results elsewhere.
Why poison a lovely summer's evening listening to them?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bottle of Tonic
I turned on mute on tv and put on Lyric Fm after half an hour.... life sounded alot better from there:)
I guess it depends on point of view, if you read back many were saying it would be the best result...we will see!Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Possible, it seems a bit complicated depending on how other results go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
they play each other again so a draw there would be good.
As it standsQuote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Unfortunately the editor is crap so you do not get what you see.Code:Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 11
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Sweden2 5 2 2 1 9 7 8
a draw would give ignoring goal difference ( assuming I made no mistakes)
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 9
Sweden 5 2 2 1 9 7 9
Assuming Sweden win game in hand
Sweden 6 2 2 1 9 7 12
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 9
Now I don't like the look of that,
As it is if Sweden wins game in hand we get
Austria 6 3 2 1 15 5 11
Republic of 6 3 2 1 12 10 11
Sweden2 6 2 2 1 9 7 11
I think given we do not know future results that a draw putting us al level may be best but I am not 100% sure.
Not a bad prediction, if I say so myself!Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Happy enough with that; played decent enough stuff (for us); controlled and patient, by and large; picked off gaps when they were available and the Faroes had bugger all to show at the other end.
Sammon with his second nice assist for Keane in four days; are they getting an understanding? :p
Keane's record is just phenomenal. Hoolahan I thought faded after a good start. Would have liked to see Dunne get a run-out at 2-0; there was no real threat.
It's pretty simple really: Let's assume Sweden wins on Tuesday. That means us, SWE and AUS have 4 games left and are level on points.
Sweden arguably have best chance of getting anything from Germany, but lets assume we all lose and we all win our one remaining Faroe or Kazakh game.
That means a straight mini league between 3 teams for second, all starting from scratch but IRL handicapped by goal difference (GD counts as first differentiator this year, and against every team - so we're fcuked there).
6 points ought to secure second, but that's not how IRL does things.
Will 4 points be enough to win that mini league?
If Sweden beat Austria:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 3, AUS 1. We're exposed to a Swden home draw with Germany though.
- We beat Austria, draw with Sweden - SWE 4, IRL 4, AUS 0. We'd be third unless we outperform the others in the GER and KAZ/FAR games.
- Anything worse than 4 points and we're toast unless we outperform the others vs GER and/or KAZ/FAR.
If Austria beat Sweden again:
- We draw in Austria and beat Sweden - AUS 4, IRL 4, SWE 0. We're toast unless we get a better result in Germany than Austria (who have played KAZ twice already but play Faroes away).
- We beat Austria but draw with Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 3, SWE 1. We're OK as long as Austria don't get something in Germany, or Sweden beats Germany.
If Austria and Sweden draw:
- We draw with Austria and Sweden - we'll all tie and our GD is rubbish so we'll need to outperform the others in the GER, FAR / KAZ games.
- We draw with Austria and beat Sweden - IRL 4, AUS 2, SWE 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- We beat Austria and draw with Sweden - IRL 4, SWE 2, AUS 1. We get second and even can afford the others getting a draw with Germany.
- A defeat for IRL in either game in September will require that rival to slip up against Kazakhstan or Faroes, or (and?) us winning in Germany.
Of course, the assumption that we all lose to Germany and beat Kazakhstan or Faroes isn't nailed on, but the permutations are too plentiful otherwise. So unless I've made a mistake, I think the above is the best way to view things.
Another quick way to look at it is that if there is a positive result in SWE v AUS, then we must beat the winner of that game. If that game is a draw then 4 points ought to seal it unless a rival beats Germany. A draw for either vs Germany still won't be enough.
Got a good laugh out of Dunphy's summation in his analysis of Hoolahan's performance; "LOVE him. EVERYONE loves him. HAS to play."
It's true though. He really keeps us ticking over and does challenge also. His ability to drift into the final third and pick out positive passes is unmatched by any of our other players. Furthermore, it allows our wing players (including our full-backs), the chance to get in behind the opposition. If we had had a proper winger rather than Cox on the right then I think we would have grabbed another few goals. I don't think Cox managed to put one positive ball into the box during the whole game, while Wilson, Coleman, McGeady and (to a lesser degree, even if he did supply the ball to Sammon for one of Keane's goals) McClean all managed to do so. Coleman, in particular, looked very dangerous because of the balls that Hoolahan was feeding him.
It's a pity we can't play with 12 players. If we could then Hoolahan would be in front of the two centre midfielders. As it stands, I don't think Trap is willing to sacrifice a striker for Hoolahan. I think if we put Hoolahan between Keane and the midfield and put Shane Long on the right wing in an inside forward-esque role using his tireless running to support both Coleman and Keane then we would be well-served in attack and defence. But I don't think Trap trusts his players tactically.
In relation to the midfield conundrum, McCarthy is a certainty. Whelan offered zero against the Faroe Islands. That is a damning indictment of him and suggests that McCarthy+0 is clearly a weaker pairing than McCarthy+Hoolahan. Trap doesn't view it that way, however, which worries me ahead of the two crucial games.
Is Hoolahan going to NY - indo or IT this morning said he had a hamstring problem?
Funny, the two players I have been most critical of lately did well last night I thought - Whelan and Sammon. But it was only the Faroes.
Sweden at home is a massive game now. Sweden don't host Austria until October, so I think it's imperative we try to win both.
Just after watching the RTE coverage. Dunphy, Sadlier & Whelan have to be the most miserable cnuts in Ireland. I feel sorry for the wives(if they have one)...
My ratings:
Forde - 6: Did nothing wrong but not tested.
Wilson - 3: I'm a big fan of Marc but he was very poor yesterday.
St Ledger - 5: Nothing to really test him.
O'Shea - 5: See above.
Coleman 8: It might be the Faroes, but he shone out for me.
McGeady - 7: Mixed bag from Aiden. Was tempted to give him a 6, but I think he probably deserved a 7 because he played the type of football that the rest of the lads should have been doing against much poorer opposition. He ran at them playing fast football and wasn't afraid to have a crack at goal. His final ball remains poor though and he is a frustrating player.
Whelan - 5: Didn't do anything of note, but solid.
Hoolahan - 8: Terrific performance from Wes. It's wonderful to have an Irish midfielder who actually wants to make love to the ball as my Brazilian mate would say :) Hopefully he can be embedded into the team with McCarthy because I would feel far more hopeful of 4-6 points in September if he's there.
Cox -5: Played out of position. I can see the logic of him playing there against the Faroes, but if Trap picks him ahead of other wingers for the rest of the campaign it would be a total joke.
Walters - 5: Jon didn't do much of note. Gamey as ever.
Keane - 9: Has to be the mom purely for the hat trick. Terrific desire to play for the country. The Sky Generation who think every player must be as skillful as Messi or the anti-Dublin brigade which is in our support might mock Robbie, or others might feel that he never became the consistently world class player that he should have, but for me he's an absolute legend and I'll be devestated when we lose him.
Big shout out for Sammon. I'll be the first to admit that I don't particularly rate him and I put my head upto heaven when he came on, but he was excellent when he came on.
Well said Bungle. Maybe a 7 for Coleman and a 6 for Whelan, for me. Coleman was great at times but drifted out of it for a bit.
The forward on the right wing thing frustrtaes the **** out of me. It's been a relative constant under Trap and it neuters the right side from an attacking sense. What a shame Robbie Brady got injured.
3-0 win, 3 well set up and taken goals, hat tricks, loads of chances for more, good crowd, level on points, 6 games unbeaten.
The verdict: "Trap has to go" :(
It might seem pretty simple to you but it looks pretty complicated to me!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
But thanks for the analysis!
Do you really think he'd have played ahead of Cox, Keogh or Walters if he was fit?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88