I did not think we had that second half in us. First was one of the grimmest I've sat through. I know it's only Georgia, but I'm chuffed with that. The first half was so pedestrian I couldn't see how we'd inject some life into the match. There was a bit of needle and scrapping early into the second period and it provided us with the fuel to keep the intensity up throughout the second 45. Well done to team and management on this occasion.
In fairness that's not altogether true. The panel were as positive as I've seen them in a long while whilst being realistic about our chances v Germany (Giles and Brady). Totally OTT at the end from Eamonn but that's classic Dunphy.Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Let's take the victory and move on and dream of beating the North in Marseille next year.
I thought this was one of Whelan's better games. He showed leadership, won tackles, won headers, tidied up and moved the ball around well. Fair enough, he did completely sh*t himself when he found himself in a near one-on-one with their keeper, before turning around (I don't think he even looked at goal) knowing he was always going to lose the race on speed. It was a moment that was as forgiveable as it was amusing. But no, I would definitely rate him at the very least a 7, if not an 8, tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Hendrick has really impressed me these last two games. He's an excellent player and will be playing EPL football very soon if he gets a move his ability deserves.
Maybe I'd need to re-watch it. However, from what I can recall, Long got a slight touch but completely scuffed it, resulting in it coming off the defender rather than going into the back of the net. I thought it was the sort of chance he should be putting away if he wants to end the Long-Robbie debate once and for all. But perhaps I'm being overly expectant in my desire for him to have scored it. I'd need to watch it again to be certain.Quote:
Originally Posted by SkStu
Definitely. You can see the instinctive difference between, on the one hand, a player like McClean and, on the other hand, players like Whelan and McCarthy who lack a bit of progressive or forward-moving initiative, if you could call it that. There were two separate moments tonight when the latter two could have powered on forward towards goal as there was space to do so, but even daring to do so didn't seem to cross their minds. The yellow sees McClean suspended for the Germany game though, doesn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by osarusan
If it transpires that ourselves and Poland need just a point each from the final game in order to secure our respective positions in the final group standings, what are the chances of a Warsaw pact? :cool:
If this game was O'Neill's defining game, I think he's well and truly passed the test. I think that's worth saying. What did the RTÉ panel have to say for their doom-mongering the other night? Did they credit O'Neill for having delivered?
Good article here: http://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/is-...f-praise/38863
The argument for Keane is that while he is not fast, physical or offers aerial prowess, he gets you goals. When we play Keane we have a passenger in the team. That was never a problem when he was getting the goals against Germany and France, but now he is only getting the goals against Gibraltar.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
If Keane isn't getting the goals, then you might as well play Long. He offers you pace, he hustles like Keane can no longer hustle, and he has aerial ability. He is a handful for defenders, which can help stretch defences and open up opportunities, either for himself or for others. The Georgia match tonight was a game of two halves. When Long came on he helped to stretch the Georgian defence and make room for others.
I've been impressed by him ever since that amazing assist to Hoolahan in the friendly against Poland a couple of years ago. That was something special. Been following him closely since.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
I really hope he doesn't end up in the EPL, but in a continental league which would suit him better.
I don't think it was a defining game, and I don't think he well and truly passed the test either, to be honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
We played a pretty poor team and looked just as poor as them for 45 minutes, and I don't think that the tactical change was much more than 'press them further up the pitch and deny them time on the ball.' We got a 1-0 win at home to the 5th seeds.
I'd say it is very possible that we will go to Poland in the last game needing something to make the playoffs or even the automatic spot (we lose to Germany, Scotland draw with or beat Poland). That game - and O'Neill's approach to it - would be the defining game for me, if it happens.
An evil first half, probably after a hot half time talk from O'Neiil that hit the right buttons, we had a good 2nd half and from the 60th minute onwards it began to look like an irish team on the job, brilliant improvisation from (Jimmy) Hendrix and after that we closed it out nicely.
That Georgian team probably would have beaten us in the 2012 campaign, they were better that any other incarnation we have played against.
We are what we are, average but eventually enjoyably spirited.
Shane Long's chance wasn't that easy. Robbie Keane missed an easier chance in the same game, yet Long gets stick...Quote:
Originally Posted by Olé Olé
The problem here is that you are measuring 28 year old long against the standards of a 28 year old Robbie Keane. I'd pick that Robbie too. But 28 year old Robbie Keane doesn't exist any more. He's 35 now and in this campaign he has scored zero goals in 303 minutes (five full hours) against the non-Gibraltar teams.
Just back from the game - thought it was one of the worst 45 minutes of O'Neill's tenure followed by much better in the second half.
That first half - oy vey. It was barmy bad. Our midfielders (except Whelan) were getting pulled all over the place defensively, Brady was cleaned out at LB in the first 20 minutes and we generally looked like we were freaking out all over the pitch up until about the 35th minute.
Our tactics, shape and purposefulness seemed completely off. We played far too narrow, and with personnel already suffering with some brittle self-confidence, it led to poor decision making, passing and crossing.
Final ten minutes of the first half we improved. And a possibly red-hot dressing room talking too improved us even more - dominating a half against an awkward opponent like Georgia is probably as good as we can hope for. They certainly tired, but I was really impressed by the work rate of the team in general. Although some of the silly errors we made up until the 60th minute was incredible (there was a period of ten minutes where we went on an incredible streak of misplacing ten-yard passes and miscontrolling easy balls).
Credit the team for getting the goal and getting the win. Job done. It's not a clean bill for O'Neill - the players have to take responsibility for being so flat, but we looked poorly set up in the first 45. But credit for being decisive and getting us the team moving in the right direction.
Quick player thoughts
Given 5: Bit harsh maybe? He gives me the heebies. His distribution was appalling as well. Had very little to do but did very little well.
Coleman 6: Not at his best, some very silly errors and poor crossing but his attacking verve was much needed.
O'Shea 6: Solid, particularly in the second half. Good leadership, much needed.
Clark 6: Looked solid, particularly beside O'Shea but does have a mistake or two in him.
Brady 6: If it was after the first 45, it would have been a 4. He was awful in the first 15 minutes, not just for his hilarious shank out for the corner but mostly for getting dragged out of position like the Armenian forwards had him with a magnet. In fairness, he was playing with no cover in front since the midfield were also getting dragged all over the shop but he looked completely out of place. Credit him then for having a pretty good 60 minutes and a very good second half. I do seriously worry about his positioning though (if this seems like overkill on one player, he was right in front of me in the first half).
Whelan 8: His best game for Ireland in an age. He was superb, even in the first half when nothing was going right. Great tackling, covering and constantly willing to get on the ball and set the tempo, pushing forward from deep. A leader. On this form, a big miss against Germany.
McCarthy 6: Poor first half, plenty of silly errors in the second but much more endeavour. He still looks incredibly tentative in green.
Hendrick 7: Incredible skill for the goal. Wonderous. Up until then, things wern't going for his way. Credit though, he even mentioned in the post-match invterview that he'd given the ball away cheaply four times before the goal. Like his style.
Hoolahan 6: Natural intelligence gets him into good positions and on the ball but, like Friday, misplaced some final passes or took the wrong decision on occasion.
Walters 9: Fantastic work rate + great ability at leading the line + another crucial goal in green = most underrated player in our team at present.
Keane 4: Is this the end of Keane as a realistic starter? I think so. Injury aside, almost impossible to believe he'll start against Germany or Poland.
Long 7: I credit the second half turnaround more to a much improved team performance rather than Long's introduction, but there's no doubt he linked far better with Walters, Hoolahan et al. Still, absolutely had to hit the target with the chance he had. Just scuffed it.
McClean 7: Part of me thinks he got suspended on purpose to be available for Poland. Possibly a bit too caluclated for a whirlwind like James, but still. Unlucky not to score.
Brilliant result - Martin O'Neill said afterwards that "we found a way to win". It's one of those absolutely bullet proof sporting clichés. We won, therefore we found a way to win. What it really means is that for a long time it looked as though it wasn't going to happen.
What occured with twenty minutes to go is more fitting of an even more common cliché, 'it will take a mistake or a moment of genius to separate the sides'. How often do we hear that, and how often does the moment of genius actually arrive? Seldom enough, and even more infrequent in our case. We've produced it twice against Georgia in this campaign though.
Hendrick didn't have an outstanding ninety minutes by any reasoning, and he had two very poor moments, by the left touchline, early on the second half. Many a young player would go into hiding from then on but he got stronger and stronger. He really has something about him.
At the risk of being accused of getting carried away in the moment, which there might be some truth in, this wasn't the first time he's produced a bit of magic for us. His assist for John O'Shea's equaliser in Germany was technically brilliant. His control, vision and technique to set up Wes Hoolahan, just minutes into his debut against Poland, was also a cut above the norm.
Every so often he loses form and sometimes his place at Derby, but from what I've seen they never look better without him, and he has contributed heavily to all of their best performances over the past couple of years.
He's a bit more ballsy in possession than McCarthy and Whelan, in particular, also. To go all Paul O'Shea on it, you'd really have to have been at the match to see Coleman in acres of space on numerous occasions, and instead of McCarthy or Whelan providing quick ball to set him on his way, it was taking two or three short passes to give him possession. By then the acres had disappeared, needless to say. Hendrick played at least two long range passes in similar situations, and was unlucky not to put Keane in on goal in the first half also.
Martin O'Neill deserves credit for sticking with him, the easier option would have been to play a more specialised winger and try to get as many crosses into Walters as possible. He looks to have found a bit of a system, it needs plenty of work but I suppose the only way to do that is by continuing to play it. I can see the logic, it gives us a bit of solidity in the middle and we have the bodies to avoid being overrun completely, which was the major flaw in Trap's system. We have two ideal fullbacks to provide the width, but we have to accept it won't always be possible for them to just bomb forward.
As for the rest of the match, probably a bit of a mixed bag but I have to say (as I did after the Poland game also) that Whelan really does surprise me every so often, and it's usually when I've fully decided I'd be happier to see him replaced. I think somebody gave him a rating of 5/10 a page or two back, I'd have to suggest that whoever it was should take another look. That's not being smart by the way, of course opinions can still differ. He was outstanding though I thought and my man of the match for sure. Aggression, showing for the ball, even displaying energy levels to join in with the attack I never knew he had.
I feel a bit sorry for McCarthy but he threw himself about to be fair. He's generally appearing further forward than Whelan and the area he normally patrols for Everton. It might just take a bit of getting used to and he could be an ideal man for really pressing the opposition up the pitch when he gets to grips with it fully.
Walters was Walters, he's a warrior in fairness but there were about three instances where I was cursing our luck that it wasn't Long in the same situation and he would have been through on goal, granted one of these was in the first half and Long wasn't even on the pitch. What about that touch from Big Jon by the right touchline in the first half though? Exquisite!
Not an awful lot else really, happy Clark is in the side and two clean sheets will serve him well. Hoolahan had a tough night, we're just not really playing the ball through him so it's a bit of a thankless task for him at the moment.
There's been about ten posts since I actually finished writing that, apologies for the bit of repetition!
You could use that line for your signature.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Anything for you Geysie!
But they beat Scotland who gave German a tough game, just goes to show with a bit of luck anything is possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by osarusan
Ireland did what they had to do, kept on top of the Georgians as much as possible, then when they burned out around the hour mark, pushed on more and scored. Reading the comments from the RTE panel is embarrassing this morning. I know that they are there to entertain and keep the ratings high so that our taxpayer funded organisation can sell more commercials, but it's a bit much.
Georgia are Georgia, lots of decent players but a severe attitude problem. Ireland did a professional job which Scotland failed to do, MON and RMK have been developing a squad of players and trying to build momentum, but the Football Manager playing public and ex-pros on TV know better, far better. When you look at where our players are playing, we're doing great to be in the hunt for qualification. The Irish-born players have been failed by the local association and too often sold across the water for a quick buck, and the English/Scottish Academies are producing such a dearth of quality players it's shameful. So maybe we need to appreciate what we have, what we're doing and actually admit MON knows what he's doing, despite the meeja nonsense.
Whelan was great last night, covering tackles for "flair" players and knocking the ball around. He's a player who will be sadly missed next time out.
Pretty mediocre. The Germans & Poles rubbing their hands?
Disappointment to follow, I reckon.
I think we have a play-off spot now anyways as Scotland will struggle to beat the Poles.
I think I'm right in saying that if we happened to lose our final two games and Scotland manage a point against Poland (and beat Gibraltar), we'd lose out on head-to-head with Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
Yes, but assuming Scotland and Poland draw, and we lose to Germany, isn't our final game with Poland set up for a draw?
Because with Poland 3 points ahead of us, a lost to us would put us ahead of them on head-to-head. If they secure a draw they qualify, if we secure a draw we're in the play-offs.
The Scotland-Poland game effectively decides the group.