Edge of the seat stuff.
Edge of the seat stuff.
Thank christ. 3 points
That'll do.
lots of positives from that game but still a work in progress.
Congratulations to James McCarthy, Irishman.
If surrendering the initiative was a sport in itself, we'd be world-beaters.
Duffer: magnificent. Well deserved man of the match.
Darron Gibson making the tackle of the night.
Westwood with a very passable Given impression.
Foley slightly tentative but generally Finnan-esque.
O'Dea solid. Fair play to him.
The McCarthy eligibility saga: they think it's all over......it is now.
No Dunne for Skopje.
1 Slovakia 5 h 1 1 0 a 2 0 1 t 3 1 1 5 4 +1 10
2 Russia... 5 h 0 0 1 a 3 1 0 t 3 1 1 6 3 +3 10
3 Ireland.. 5 h 2 0 1 a 1 1 0 t 3 1 1 9 6 +3 10
4 Armenia. 5 h 2 1 1 a 0 1 0 t 2 2 1 9 4 +5 8
5 FYROM.. 5 h 0 1 1 a 1 0 2 t 1 1 3 5 6 -1 4
6 Andorra. 5h 0 0 3 a 0 0 2 t 0 0 5 1 12 -11 0
Can somebody edit the title to include 'McCarthy capped'? :p
Wow another heart attack.
Thoughts:
1. Hope Doyle is OK obviously.
2. Whelan was/is awful. Way overrated by many Foot.ie posters.
3. A few on here need to eat their medicine about O'Dea. He was great.
4. Will be hard getting another 3 off this team in that hot june weather....Without Honeymonster.
5. Ireland dick around with the ball way too much.
6. I can't be sure but I think when they put the camera on Trap yelling in McCarthy's ear before he went in, Trap said, In English: "Just go Fuc*ing play." Which is cool.
These are not an easy team to beat. there was never going to be a 3 or 4 nil. I thought we played out the last ten minutes really well. The 20 min period before that was mostly awful, nerve wracking stuff. O'Dea played well. Great save from Westwood to keep it at 2-1. A half fit Dunne was a rock. McGEadys beest game for Ireland. Gibson made the second goal for Robbie who stuck it away. Duff put in a great shift. I always knew this would be a very tough match so three points is great.
Surprisingly we pretty much controlled the crucial last 15 minutes, a part of the game were least likely to control
I relaxed anyway when Fahey came on for Gibson.
3-1 would have been nice but ....
I guess if yesterday the offer was, We win 2-1, Russia draws nil, Mac gets capped......We would all take that in a heart beat.
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Brady gets in a knockout punch before Bill could deliver :D
Would have snapped that up, absolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Thought the 3 "new" guys did well enough. O'Dea wasn't tested very much but didn't make any mistakes and looked composed on the ball. Westwood looks like a very capable back-up and replacement for Shay when the time comes. Foley got caught out a few times but a got in a few very important tackles in the middle. It was also refreshing to see an Irish right back allowed to get forward and put a few crosses into the box. I was also very impressed with how McGeady played, his step-overs and fancy dan stuff was exactly what we needed in the last quater of the game. Long never gives up and made some chances for team mates with from what seemed like lost causes. Again the biggest disappointment was our CMF neither of Gibson or Whelan had a terrible game but they offered nothing going forward. All this team needs is one solid CMF player who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and hopefully that will be McCarthy or Myler.
I hope James starts on Tuesday and performs to satisfaction. It is the only area of the pitch that needs immediate repair - apart from LB.
CM tonight had, at crucial times, a powder puff presence.
We will miss Richard Dunne in the away game. His reading of the game is second to none. Although only half fit he made three interceptions as last man that were top drawer. Hopefully O'Shea and St Ledger will be back. And it is definetely time to give McCArthy a full game on tuesday.
O'Dea was grand I thought. Good decision to play him :)
Productive game altogether.
McGeady's first goal, McCarthy pinned down, and credible alternatives up front (Long), at right-back (Foley), at centre-back (O'Dea) and between the sticks (Westwood). Also, in the first half, some serious football played. I also felt, nervy as it was, Ireland were a lot more comfortable defending their 2 - 1 lead than they have been defending leads in games passed.
McGeady was excellent throughout.
Draw-back: centre-mid.
It was a good decision. As was the instruction to shoot on sight. Trapatooni had obviously done his homework on their keeper (he did improve in the secondhalf)Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Lets not forget Mick Martin who was the scout who did the reports on Macedonia.
McGeady goal, typical type of shot from him, sacrificing that bit of extras power for accuracy. He deserved it, we deserved it.
Kingdom scored a 4/1 double there, McGeady goal and Ireland to win.
well lads i said 2-1 as usual i was right.we never make it easy.great save by westward.we never make it easy.don't know how Duff got man of Kathy.mcgeqdy class
Beglin took 1 second to name motm, no discussion needed, none necessary.
What about O'Dea POSH? :cool:
Thought McGeady should have got Man of the Match. Duff done a great job and had his hands full with Popov. Delighted to see the new lads doing so well, Westwood, Foley and especially O'Dea.
dunne suspended for the away game but don't forget he gave away the goal. Pandev outpaced him easiy for the yellow as well. O'Dea did well. hopefully O'shea and /or St Ledger will be back for it.
Thought we played well in the last 15 minutes after starting the second half poorly.
I like how he's willing to go straight through attackers. Similar stature to Dunne physically; a brute. Playing next to Dunne obviously helped him.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
McGeady had a good game. I'm happy for him finally getting his first international goal, but his desire to beat men and run into trouble frustrates me, especially when there are men in the box waiting on a cross. Westwood also showed that he's a reliable back-up and option for the future.
Giles tried to make out of milage out McGeady not being as good as he should be and using that wayward pass (after trapping the ball from the sky) as an example. For my part I thought McGeady was excellent overall. Duff was against a big tough skilled defender and took him on. Duff was a tireless engine all through the game, winning back possession and just a class priceless act. He looks like he hasn't eaten in 3 months. I'm sure his mother just wants to give him a proper meal.
Westwood done himself no harm great save and good kickouts, Foley was solid, good tackling from O'Dea although he is abit suspect positionally but will let him away with that, Gibson done quiet well apart from a few missed placed passes, Long is a great little terrier and will always show for the ball just like Doyler, Fahey controlled things when he came on and McCarthy not on long enough but will be a class act for us if given the chance. Have to say McGeady and Duff were 1st class but overall Im happy to take the points but we were pretty average on a whole.
I'm guessing that was the one from behind. He took one for the team there. Good foul.Quote:
Originally Posted by SkStu
What did he say?Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Thought McGeady was excellent tonight, despite Beglin calling for him & Duff to swap I think he would have left Foley very exposed which is why the move wasn't made.
Long too ran his guts out and got nothing from a very poor ref.
The real initiative was lost about 10 minutes before their goal, we couldn't keep the ball Gibson & Whelan had a lot to do with it by ont showing for the full backs who then hit long balls that we inevitably lost.
I echo the sentiment that given our track record with Macedonia I'd have taken 2-1 if ou offered it to me this afternoon, especially with the Russia result
I'm tired of saying this, but not much wrong with this team that a good CM wouldn't sort out.
Curate's egg tonight. Good in parts. I think we're lacking a bit of Giles' "moral courage". We're too happy to let them have the ball, no matter who "them" is. We need a guy hungry for the ball. Barcelona have shown us that the modern way is to win it back when you lose it, we seem happy to line up behind the ball without challenging for it. When we do we're more competitive.
I'm sure Gibson will come in for criticism, but I think if he had a genuine ball winner anchoring midfield he'd shine. Just for the record: look who won the header that set up McGeady's goal. Gibson.
Just heard that Doyle is out for at least a month. Just typical that when Best & Walters don't make the trip, Doyle gets injured. Walters has no excuse for not coming over for Tuesday.
Fair play O'Dea. Textbook tackle in the first few minutes. Dunne looked ropey but not O'Dea.
Joint top, half way through. New caps making their presence felt and McCarthy getting capped. I'm not saying that there's not a lot that needs to be ironed out, but I'll take tonight's outcome all day long.
Edit: Forgot to say. Credit to Fahey. We were better where it counted when he came on.
A win is a win, good result. Impressed enough with Westwood, Foley and O'Dea. I know RTE like to see themselves as being the opposite to UK TV and more open in their criticisms. They go way over the top though, there is no need for so much negativity. After the game I just turned it off as usual, it's a waste of time to listen to them.
After Westwood's save, I thought Ireland stepped things up a gear and finished the game very well.
You can imagine that Liam was bit raw after listening to the criticism - but fair play to Dunphy he accepted to be roped back by Liam on much of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Bill then went all prepared to point out that the stadium was just over half full, as if to say that proves the punters don't like the way Ireland play.
Liam rubbished him and shouted over him saying 'thats the economy thats effecting the people who would be turning up' ' and 'many people just cant afford it'. Bill vainly tried to claim that he was asking a fair question but he had to concede, yet still as dumb as he was before he asked the question.
The place I was in had useless internet, so my stream was basically non-existent, but from what I saw O'Dea was great and Trap should be given credit for the call, Whelen was pretty poor and needs to be replaced by our newest recruit - just great to see him get on and great to hear the reception he was given.
Long could have a lengthy career at the top level if he continues his rate of improvement, he's not there yet, but I'd almost (not quite yet) have him ahead of Doyle at this stage.
Glad for Robbie, still well off his best but he scored and some of the link-up play with Long was very promising. His job is to score and he did that well.
We're scoring goals in this group, more than anyone else, McGeady and Duff are giving us a real threat down the flanks but I wish one of our CMs would push up just a few yards to try and provide an option for them, it would keep defences in two minds and free up a little more space for the wingers. Again, maybe McCarthy can be the man here.
Couldn't say much more based on what I saw, but it's been a good day for us in Group B. Halfway there, but beating Macedonia away will be tough and if we don't manage that we'll probably need to win in Russia - which we won't. Still, a good performance from team and manager. Things are beginning to look up, let's hope it continues with some different options against Uruguay.
Gibson did okay tonight. Some good tackles, shouted at this team mates and argued with the opposition. Good to see some passion from him. With roughly 6 changes ( including Long) from our normal starting line up, it wasn't a bad result despite many heart stopping moments.
I like Whelan but he's the one I was disappointed with tonight. You need to be more than just tidy. You need to be hungry and assertive and I just didn't see enough (any?) of that from CM.
Tuesday will be interesting if approached correctly.
- - - - - - - - - - Westwood - - - - - - - - - -
Coleman - St. Ledger - Dunne - O'Dea - O'Shea
Lawrence - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hunt
McGeady - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Duff
- - - - - - - - - - - Doyle - - - - - - - - - - - -
We've far too many wide options, we need to fit them into a system . . .
. . . and remove the need for a sh!tty central midfield :p
EDIT: In before "O'Shea can't play LB"