Very good result for us (ended 0 0 )
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Very good result for us (ended 0 0 )
Happy with that. The Czechs have some very good players but wow some real wasters as well. Wales with a full team are a good side. Played some good football in the 2nd half. This group (well 2nd place) is now wide open. Stan is turning into a lucky ****er and with our improving squad we can get that 2nd place.
The Czechs just a point ahead.
My predictions.
Ireland fixtures:
Slovakia (a) - Draw
Czech Republic (a) - Draw
Germany (h) - Win
Cyprus (h) - Win
Wales (a) - Draw
Czech fixtures:
San Marino (a) - Win
Ireland (h) - Draw
Germany (a) - Lose
Slovakia (h) - Win
Cyprus (a) - Draw
Both finish on 22 points but we qualify thanks to the 2 away goals in Czech Republic. ;)
That could well happen. The only thing I worry about is the loss of Duff. Hunt is not Duff but in his own way can be a dangerous player for us. As might Murphy. Kevin Doyle is going to be our key player. If he has another good season then we are going to get that 2nd place.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
I agree about Hunt and I don't know if I'd play him. Doyle up front with Murphy/Long/Stokes/other and Keane the link between midfield and the front 2. The 2 Reid's and Carsley in midfield and the usual defence.
I can't see us getting second without an away win, if not 2, along the way.
We need to have our remaining senior players fit: Given, Doyle, Robbie, Dunne & Finnan. If Steven and Andy Reid regain fitness we'll have options and one of the young turks may prove a wildcard.
I hope Stan doesn't read eirebhoy's predictions as it'll lead to the usual " draw away, win at home" bullsh1t.
Great result for us though. That's two points we can gain that the Czechs didn't. That's how you have to look at it.
Its a good result for us but not a great one. We still have an awful mountain to climb and id imagine we will have to get 2 wins away from home.
We'ill gain those two points and i can see us going for it when we go away.....its a good result today for sure but I have 5-2 tattooed to my brain still....its too soon to let the mistress gain the upper hand...
I definitely don't think we'll need 2 away wins. If we fail to beat Germany we will but I think Germany at home is easier than any of the away games.
Must say I'm pleased, too bad that free kick didn't go in for Wales though. 4 points from the Eastern Bloc tour and we could be in business. The big problem with Eirebhoy's predictions is that our qualification in that scenario is for the Czech's to draw in Cyprus. Although they were in big trouble when they played Cpyrus at home, that fixture is a long time away and the Cyprus team probably wont be up for it at that point and the Czechs will no how important it is.
Steven Reid is to be fit by the end of July. He is the strong midfielder we need.
The thing that gives me hope is the fact that we do have players coming through and the squad is getting better. The Czechs today had at least 3 players who looked out of their depth. And the subs who came on offered nothing. We can beat them away. But I really believe Stan is lucky. The way we have played in most of our games we should be dead and buried in this group. But here we are with a real chance of sneaking 2nd. Its in our own hands which is almost beyond belief. I'm not sure how all the results will go but somehow we are going to get that 2nd spot.
IF we qualify, and it's a big if, would Ireland be the first team to qualify after losing to Cyprus?
Good result but still a lot of football left to play in the group :)
eirebhoys prediction of a germany win is not going to happen, nor is a czech draw to cyprus. be realistic lads. we will do well to not lose one of those eastern bloc away games. i honestly think we have to hope for a germany draw this week against slovakia, that means all teams need to win from now on to be sure. and we have germany at home....plus they have wales who could def get a draw there, which looks more hopeful.
its not so much in our hands as in our hands + others to do us a favour.
Well realistically If we're not capable of beating Germany at home then we're not going to qualify. Realistically the Czechs will be doing well to win in Cyprus. That's my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Still Germany 0 San Marino 0 at almost half time
Gernamy had one disallowed for offside.
San Marino almost scored when the keeper made a mistake!
Anyway German just scored 1:0
San Marino should have scored after Lehmans mistake. Pity about the goal. 0-0 at HT would have been great. The Germans making the same mistakes as us. Not enough players in the box and tempo too slow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar
Anywhere to watch it?
As Stan said "San Marino were always going to improve as the group went on"Quote:
Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar
;);)
Just got back to Swansea. Best performance for a long long time-we deserved the win. We made the Czechs look average although we still can't finish our chances which is a big worry.
Glad that Giggs went out on a relative high, I think today showed he is still an excellent player. With him, Koumas and Bellamy linking up we looked a moderately threatening side but I don't see us being a major threat to Germany in our next game because of the importance of Giggs to the side.
Time will tell whether today will be of any significance to the way we play in future or if this is just a one-off because it was Giggs's last game. I really hope it's the former but am not convinced at all unfortunately.
And if we don't play like this in at least 95% of future games the public are not going to be too happy with Toshack.
Its on live-footy.orgQuote:
Originally Posted by zenokelly
6-0 to germany in the end, they appear to have gone a bit goal crazy with 5 in 15 mins
Given the fall of the iron curtain nearly 20 years ago, does all this talk of "eastern bloc" refer to the Eurovision?
Wales looked very decent today, I think the team wanted Giggs to go out on a high and boy did they perform. I though their back 3 defended well especially Collins. Left wing back also had a good game.
It's a good job Wales didn't turn up to Croke Park playing like that or we could have struggled....
The Czech's on the other hand looked clueless, Rosicky wasn't at the races at all - if they play like that in September we should beat them! We should have beaten them in Dublin and if we are to have a chance of qualifying we'll need to pick up 4 points in those two away games. I just hope Stan doesn't go down the 4-5-1 route and keep Doyle on the bench. Let's pair him up with Keano and go for the 3 points.
Just out of interest do people think the home/away thing is psychological or tactical? If it's the latter, why?Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
lets hope germany can thump slovakia on wed would like to see them have won the group by the time they come to Dublin and Slovakia to be struggling when we play them in Sept.
Yer I feel the same as you Zinedine lets hope they have nothing to play for come sept .Quote:
Originally Posted by zinedineontour
Good result for us indeed, but i still feel the result that will really cost us at the end of the qualifiers will be the Czechs at home. Cyprus away was just a nightmare alround but we could and should have beaten the Czechs at home. Typical Irish response to be happy getting the draw rather than dissapointed we didnt win
For us to qualify we need at least 1 win in September and if that comes against Slovakia the one result that I would be happy with, other than a win, is a 2 - 2 draw, in Prague, as we will have scored more away goals in head - to - head. However, I'd say we'll be doing well to score a single goal in each match with our tradition of 1-0's!
Having said that I think it will come down to the odd point at the end of the group and we cannot lose in the away matches in Sept and it could come down to a vital draw in Bratislava, so we have a sneek with 2 draws.
If we play to our potential we can win away in september. I hope the stan does not pick a side with 2 draws in mind and hope its enough.
Cant wait for this trip in september, i think these 2 games will go along way to deciding our fate......... really wish Duff was available!
We won't qualify regardless of yesterdays result.
If we are to qualify we need to turn our away form on its head. The fact that we struggled against San Marino and got thumped by Cyprus tells us that we have a massive,huge,enormous task ahead against the Slovaks and Czechs. We simply don't have the leadership and mindset to do that. We have the players imo but not the kahunas.
Anyways when was the last time we beat a decent side away from home? Georgia? (San Marino,Faroes,Cyprus don't count)
I can't see Stan playing for draws. The team tried to win the game at home against the Czechs right up to the final whistle. I'm sure Bruckner thought after our Cyprus debacle we were a team in decline and that his team would go on to battle the Germans alone for first place. But it hasn't worked out that way. He was agitated like I have never seen him before at yesterdays game against Wales. Christ he was only short of taking an industrial wild kick at a water bottle and getting sent to the stands! He will be under more pressure than Stan come game time. And lucky *******s like Stan tend to get to championships. Stan has the hardest of hard necks but he brought back Carsley and his team is getting better. This will work to our benefit come the end of this group. Look at Scotland and NI. Neither will qualify because they are not going to get the rub of the green this time around. The Sweden Denmark match being a case in point for NI. Heading for a certain draw which would have been great for NI and a Poulsen goes nuts for no good reason. Swedes certs to get 3-0 victory. Both lose their managers. We tried to give ours away but couldn't! And now he is going to get us to Euro 2008 by hook or crook.
I think if we have the moral courage to go for the wins they could come. The knives are out for the Czechs and Bruckner in particular I think.
Playing Denmark away is a good rehearsal.
We need to be bold in selection and approach, and suffer no more injuries. If both Reids are back it'll be like finding 2 new players.
I'm not making any excuses for the crap in San Marino but World Champions Italy only beat Faroes 2-1.
Deep down I don't think we'll do it but a year will have passed from the Cyprus game to the next qualifier and I honestly think Stan has learnt something about the resources at his disposal. The team has had a much better shape about it in the last few games. Stephen Hunt delivers a mean dead ball as well, something we should be looking to exploit.
I felt the Czechs were lucky to beat Cyprus at home and it felt similar to Switzerland scraping by them in our last group. I think if our luck was really in we'd have beaten the Czechs, Wales would have won yesterday or Cyprus would have equalised in the Czech Republic. But, the key thing is that we have a chance, far more than I expected a few months ago.
I'm by nature an optimist and I always hope we win. However let's not get carried away, we have done pretty much feck all so far in this group. Losing 5-2 to Cyprus and needing a last gasp winner against San Marino sobers me up.
We haven't beaten a good team away from home since Scotland in '87 ( 20 years FFS ) but we have got some excellents draws down the years.
At home we have struggled badly as well. Slovakia were poor so I don't think that unconvinving win changes the fact we haven't beaten a good team at home since that famous and fortuitous game against the Dutch in 2001.
Now we need at the very least to get draws away against the Czechs, Slovaks and Welsh and then beat the Germans at home....my optimism can't stretch that far...I actually fear the Slovakia game the most.
Added to that we have a leadership deficit on and off the pitch and Stan realy is learning as he goes and has made some major blunders. Duff is injured. We have no depth at center back. If Carsley is injured we are going to struggle in the middle, I have pretty much given up on Steven Reid.
points mean nothing dependin on who you have played. I mean 7 points where you have beaten san marino twice and lost to germany and drawn with the czechs, is not the same as beating germany and czech away and drawing with wales at home. Its all relative so we always knew that the group was going to be fairly even around this time. But we still have it all to do. Czechs have way easier run in than us. We have 3 away games left, tricky ones at that. This was always the case even if we were 2 points ahead at the top of the group now. SO all this talk of i cant beleive we are back in it, its in our own hands etc etc. This was always going to be the case. We still need to win away from home and if we dont win one of those games away then we are not going to qualify its as simple as that. Expecting us not to win one of those games ( i mean wales last game, no excuses ) and to beat germany at home is naive at best. I will use this post for the future come end november.
If there are going to be 10 - 12k Irish supporters in september, then surely the team can play this like a home tie. Lets forget about san marino etc, this is really a chance for the team to realise this is like a home game/neutral venue and to approach the game in the same way, if they do we can get a win in one of those games. If not as usual its going to be a crap performance with hearts on sleeves for 90 minutes.
If Germany have qualified by the time they come to Dublin, I'd be half hopeful we could nick a win. The Germans will want to test young players in a difficult situation against a team that are still vying for qualification. The thing is I think only a draw/victory may guarantee this which is a bit of a pain in the arse.
We are definitely due a big away victory.If we beat Slovakia in Bratislava, then thats third place for definite and we'll be third seeds for the next qualifiers which makes things look alot more positive. A draw in Prague and thats 4 points which puts us in a great position.
Heres my predicitons:
Ireland:
Slovakia 0 Ireland 0
Czech Rep 1 Ireland 1
Ireland 1 Germany 1
Ireland 2 Cyprus 0
Wales 0 Ireland 1
Total:22
Czech Republic:
San Marino 0 Czech Rep 5
Czech Rep 1 Ireland 1
Germany 1 Czech Rep 0
Czech Rep 0 Slovakia 0
Cypus 1 Czech Rep 2
Total:22
Slovakia:
Germany 2 Slovakia 0
Slovakia 0 Ireland 0
Slovakia 1 Wales 0
Slovakia 6 San Marino 0
Czech Rep 0 Slovakia 0
San Marino 0 Slovakia 4
Total:20
I don't consider myself a you rather a we. If we win all of our next competitive games then we get 2nd place. So in our own hands.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
I don't know about San Marino but at least we are making some shapes that we are getting better, the Czechs are showing the signs of dissolving into a disfunctioning unit. We have a decent fighting chance. If after the 2 away games we are still there then it's just a matter of beating the Germans at home to catch up those lost points.
geysir, does 2 away draws mean "we are still there"?
Noelysguitar, fair play to you by the way.
It might and it mightn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
More likely that if we do get at least 2 away draws then we will still be there and in a better position than at present.
Still, it's a tall order.