Not too shabby in the end. Cullen very impressive and I'd like to see him come on for Hendrick if, as unfortunately is the norm, Hendrick doesn't play well on. Monday
Brady had a good, solid game. Think he'll be starting on Monday
Not too shabby in the end. Cullen very impressive and I'd like to see him come on for Hendrick if, as unfortunately is the norm, Hendrick doesn't play well on. Monday
Brady had a good, solid game. Think he'll be starting on Monday
Another one of those games where if players do well, it doesn't mean much as it's only New Zealand. Players can only make themselves look off the pace.
Once Ireland woke up they won it easily, as they should. Hard to read too much into anything good though.
Vote for your man of the match
Josh CullenQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Lee O’Connor, lad’s first ever senior appearance anywhere, he was outstandingQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
I was actually thinking the opposite. I thought he was terrible today and that he was the one player who might have had a chance for monday with good performance. I thought he played himself out of the teamQuote:
Originally Posted by rebelmusic
Agree with that, he looks a very good player.Quote:
Originally Posted by greendeiseboy
Cullen too, very tidy footballer, looks to get on the ball as much as possible.
Probably Cullen. Thought he was very sharp and bright. Byrne tired in the second half. Clark didn’t have a lot to do but he was good.
Kevin Long looked like Franco Baresi out there.Brady was obviously off the pace by some distance, I really hope this is only a temporary loss of sharpness but he has no chance of starting Monday.I think Byrne will start, clearly the instructions were to move the ball fast to the runners upfront and that’s what he did.O’Connor had a brilliant debut and Cullen has given himself a chance of seeing some game time. I don’t think he’s played a competitive minute for us yet.
I can’t see any of them starting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fizzer
If I had to put money on who of those will start, I’d say Derrick Williams
Thought Brady was very poor. Disappointed he took charge of all the set pieces, as Byrne has equally as good, if not better, delivery than him.
Cullen was my man of the match. Looked comfortable on the ball, always willing to take the ball, and not shy in defensive duties.
Byrne was good, but nothing spectacular. His passing and vision are second to none though.
Maguire was poor in the first half. His running in behind defense is excellent, but seems a bit void of confidence in front of the goal, despite that wonderful effort into the top corner. He could have had a hat-trick on another night. Dare I say it, looked a shadow of the player who left Cork.
Nicely taken goal by Williams. He looks like he could be an option on the left. Interesting to see what decision Mick makes against the Danes after that performance.
Young O'Connor looked at ease in the senior squad too. Couple of shaky moments, but assured throughout. Still can't get my head around him not playing at Celtic. Needs a move away from there in January if he's to progress further as clearly Lennon has no interest in playing him.
You haven't voted yourself? Who are u going forQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
If think we needed to see a real eye-catching display for anybody to stake a claim for a starting position on Monday, and I don't think we really say enough of that from anybody.
It's a positive that we can have a 'second team' of that quality though, even considering the opposition.
I seem to be in a minority but I thought Brady played well in the first half before fading in the second, understandably enough given his lack of game time. Good point regarding mixing up the set pieces a bit more and using Byrne, but maybe this was an instructing by Mick, who knows.
If ever a player needed a goal it was Maguire, and his interview suggested the same. He played with much more confidence after it. Robinson too to a lesser extent.
Parrott looks well able for the physical side of things which is a big plus if he's to be fast-tracked, won countless free kick à la Aaron Connolly.
O'Connor stole the show really I felt. Looked at home all through and had some real moments of quality.
I'm abstaining. If there's a draw at the end, I'll cast a voteQuote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
id agree with this. had some nice touches and interplay with others in the first half. one or two of his passes around the NZ box went astray but on at least one occasion i was blaming the receiver.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
he took on the role of a senior player among a number of lads with much less experience and i thought he handled it well. he is definitely one of our better footballers and he looked physically strong on a number of occasions last night. real pity he hasn't a few more 90 mins under his belt this season as he would definitely be a plus for us Monday if he had.
Brady showed flashes of being a player but didn't have a good game. Why he wasn't played on the left or even tried out at LB when Williams went off annoys me. And annoyance is the feeling I have with last night's game. It wasn't used as a dry run for Monday's game, it wasn't used to give those players just outside the starting 11 a genuine chance to stake a claim for Monday's team. All we did was give the squad players a run out - same as with the Bulgaria game. Nothing learned, all boardline pointless really.
Mick probably saw the game as pretty pointless though, he didn't organise it. He obviously felt a dry run wouldn't have been worth the risk of injuries or even adding the slightest bit of fatigue to his preferred XI.
I think it went well all the same. We learned a little about O'Connor and Parrott, got some minutes into Brady and Kevin Long in case they are needed, and got two forwards off the mark in terms of goals.
P.S. I thought the new kit actually looked well.
Parrott has a real feel of Anthony stokes about him great technique, intelligent runner, physical, and goal instinct and not blinding quick. Went wrong for stokes but at 18 he was a top player and goalscorer