Republic of Ireland V Northern Ireland - Tuesday, 24th May 2011 - Carling Nations Cup

What surprised me most about this game? How poor NI's enthusiasm for the game was. I kinda expected NI, as the scrappy underdogs, to bust a gut to get a result, to prove a point against their neighbours & rivals, while we'd just coast on autopilot. In fact, I had some fear there might have been an upset. What I saw though was the complete opposite: NI just didn't seem to care, whereas our fringe players pushed themselves to the last minute. Certainly encouraging signs for the future, no question. Cox in particular impressed me, he's one to watch in a position we sorely need options in. Stokes really shot himself in the foot bigtime because there could be a legitimate alternative to him around the corner.

Mind you, with Irish League players & players from the Lower English leagues (though not that low down, looking at the team-sheet), perhaps it's fairer to suggest the NI lads were just plain shattered after a long season.

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Would the 6 points be worth all that player eligibility discussion?

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Yes. Especially if it winds up Jim Magilton and Nigel more. And has anyone asked Jackie Fullerton his thoughts?

Gonna post the Magilton comments over in the Eligibility Thread. Well the official Eligibility Thread, not the Shane Ferguson, Marc Wilson one or the now 2 Celtic Cup ones... :P

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

Yes. Especially if it winds up Jim Magilton and Nigel more. And has anyone asked Jackie Fullerton his thoughts?

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At least Fullerton is a real orange man.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eFullerton.jpg

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Originally Posted by amaccann

What surprised me most about this game? How poor NI's enthusiasm for the game was. I kinda expected NI, as the scrappy underdogs, to bust a gut to get a result, to prove a point against their neighbours & rivals, while we'd just coast on autopilot. In fact, I had some fear there might have been an upset. What I saw though was the complete opposite: NI just didn't seem to care, whereas our fringe players pushed themselves to the last minute.

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Was thinking that earlier myself. Said it to a mate of mine that I think that we would hammer them and he pointed out that he reckoned that the north had a point to prove etc. and then I kinda agreed with him then. After the first 10 minutes though it was clear though that that would be their ability all night and that we would run riot once we got the first goal.

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Originally Posted by boovidge

Apparently the yellow provincial Ulster flag was flying from Aviva instead of the NI flag. Bit cheeky.

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

That would be odd considering they carried the Ulster Banner out onto the pitch for the anthems.

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They replaced it.

When I heard it was up I thought that maybe it just always flies there cause the fact the IRFU owns the place (and I believe that all 4 provincial flags fly for rugby games?), but apparently not. Either way it had to be changed else the FAI would land themselves in bother.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

It's not that odd really. The FAI or IRFU wouldn't likely have too many Banners hanging around Lansdowne. Maybe they asked the Ulster Branch for a lend of the flag from Ravenhill for the pitch?

Watching the highlights on BBC and really, the north were awful. Magilton though saying we were flattered by the scoreline.

As regarding the eligibility issue. Trap handled the question well though indicating that the players eligible for both associations approach the FAI first.

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There is no issue. The rules are the rules, we don't make them, but we make maximum use of them. The players in question qualify to play for Ireland. That's the beginning, middle, and end of the discussion.

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Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Horribly one-sided mismatch this evening. Very comprehensively-controlled second-half. What were the final possession statistics? Did Forde even touch the ball with his hands? McShane looked like the ginger Pelé at one point towards the end. Felt bad for Robbie to be substituted as I reckon, had he stayed on, he might have bagged another few and maybe even broken the 60 mark. :p

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Not horrible at all. Tonight was revenge for '99. Decent atmosphere from those that showed up, and we played good football too. Barring a Scottish hammering of Wales later, a point on Sunday will be enough for our first trophy at senior level for 25 years.

Their fans booed McAleese showing up, while our fans held a sit-down protest when the song masquerading as their "anthem" was played. But the real downer of the night was the lack of crowd. If we were playing England, the place would be full, at whatever price on whatever night.

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Originally Posted by mypost

There is no issue. The rules are the rules, we don't make them, but we make maximum use of them. The players in question qualify to play for Ireland. That's the beginning, middle, and end of the discussion.

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What are you talking about? There is clearly an issue. Stephen Watson and the BBC haven't a notion of what the rules are along with most fans of OWC and a lot of ours.
We are particularly informed here as we don't assume what the rules are and we read them and understand them. We read the CAS judgements and then we listen to what Danny says if that all fails.

Also to say "End of discussion" at the end of a post in which you mentioned eligibility shows your ignorance of the rules of the eligibilty discussions on Foot.ie. :)

Darren Gibson is eligible to play for us. And he does. We also find eligible players from England and Scotland, and use the rules as they currently are. If NI or another country want someone to blame for that, it's FIFA they should look to, not the FAI.

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Keane's goals are already there, including tonight's goals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_...national_goals
You need to click on the "[show]" link to expand the table

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I looked at Northern Ireland top goal scorers page to and that was blank too, however when I raised the issue with the IFA they told me that was correct!! :p

Delighted for Wardy. He should have had his cap sooner. I sponsored him a few seasons ago and got his jersey with his autograph signed and his name printed on the back. Cha-ching... ;)

Absolutely over the moon for him.

Anyone know where i could catch the game? Was in meetings all day...

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Originally Posted by SkStu

Anyone know where i could catch the game? Was in meetings all day...

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Second that - and hopefully before i leave the office cos the internet in the hotel is horrific!

1st Half:

http://www.filesonic.com/file/1061892324

OR

http://www.fileserve.com/file/M4P3Wcn

2nd Half:

http://www.filesonic.com/file/1062022134

OR

http://www.fileserve.com/file/YG4Et9r

100% credit to wigan88 at Maxxed

Legend as always!!

I felt sorry for the North. If I was the ref I'd have given the kid a yellow card.

Cox looks like a useful option and linked up well with Keano, Treacy impressed again and it's always nice to score 5 goals. Hopefully Scotland give us a game.

McShane's showboating at the end said it all.

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I felt sorry for the North. If I was the ref I'd have given a yellow card.

Hopefully Scotland give us a game.

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No need to feel sorry for him. Last man, foul, penalty, goodbye.

Would prefer another 5-0 win against Scotland, than them giving us a game. We won't win 5-0, but we can win a trophy with whatever result we need. That'll compensate nicely.

I think the last time the Reublic won 5-0 was against San Marino at Lansdowne Road.

As it happens, I was at that game against San Marino, as a guest of one of the foot.ie regular posters.

Last night was more one sided than that match.

I predicted a mismatch last night - that's exactly what it was.

Bit harsh of the ref to send the kid off for the pen - there wasn't a foul in anger during the match. No bookings, I think?

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

Bit harsh of the ref to send the kid off for the pen - there wasn't a foul in anger during the match. No bookings, I think?

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I think given our total dominance of the game the sending off was perhaps unnecessary. But Robbie was through on goal and ready to shoot when the kid jumped into his back. I think it was a penalty and a sending off but in the circumstances somewhat unnecessary given how the game was panning out.

Interesting words from McGinn about 1.10 into video (sorry if posted already)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8bkvgVTCE[/QUOTE]

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Originally Posted by awec

They replaced it.

When I heard it was up I thought that maybe it just always flies there cause the fact the IRFU owns the place (and I believe that all 4 provincial flags fly for rugby games?), but apparently not. Either way it had to be changed else the FAI would land themselves in bother.

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Dont think it would be that big an issue, do their supporters not us the union jack as their flag?

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Originally Posted by mypost

No need to feel sorry for him. Last man, foul, penalty, goodbye.

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A penalty for sure but the presence of Gareth McAuley gave the ref a very reasonable option of a yellow card.

Robbie normally flails his arms like a madman in such situations demanding redress but in this case he knew he'd the penalty and went straight to the ref when he saw the red card coming out to ask him to go easy -as did Keith Andrews. It was too late by then just.

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Originally Posted by mypost

Darren Gibson is eligible to play for us. And he does. We also find eligible players from England and Scotland, and use the rules as they currently are. If NI or another country want someone to blame for that, it's FIFA they should look to, not the FAI.

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Or perhaps the Good Friday agreement?

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Originally Posted by Not Brazil

Bit harsh of the ref to send the kid off for the pen - there wasn't a foul in anger during the match. No bookings, I think?

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Very harsh to send the kid off. I didn't even think he was the last man. No need for it, especially in a game that was well over at that stage and in a competition that doesn't mean all that much anyway

Was at the game last night. ROI played well but hard to judge against the opposition. Ward, Cox and Foley did well. McShane even against NI looked dangerous (to us!). But hard to take anything out of the game. When you see the likes of Foley and Ward turning up and playing most/all of the game with no fuss or hassle it really shames the likes of McCarthy, Stokes and the Stokes lads. Wolves were every bit involved in last day drama as Wigan were and no one would have excused them for going out and enjoying themselves on Sunday. Nonetheless they still reported for Irish duty as you would expect.

As for the crowd, oh god, abysmal. I hate to think what tonight and Friday night will be like. Dont think we'll be seeing a Nations Cup again or at least certainly not in this format.

Ref should have just used a bit of common sense. The game was over at 3 nil anyway so why turn it into an attack vs defence training session for the remainder of the 2nd half?

Fair play to Keane he did chat to the ref about it.

The goat, sorry the kid had to go because as the refs performance will be looked at after the match, rules are rules.

15,092 as per Extratime.ie. Why were the Upper tiers open ? Surely it would have looked better if everyone was on the lower tiers.

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Originally Posted by Hibs4Ever

Interesting words from McGinn about 1.10 into video (sorry if posted already)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8bkvgVTCE

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So McGinn supports football apartheid. Disgrace.

Wow big statement from McGinn there. I mean, I'm sure most of us knew he supported the Republic but to say it while wearing a N. Ireland top is surprising

It's hardly surprising though, it's realistic and quite representative of nationalist footballing support in NI. It won't stop him giving his all to NI and he'd hardly be the first NI international to feel as much - but you'd like to hope it would give those hysterical FIFA botherers food for thought when it comes to screaming 'sectarian!' about the FAI or players choosing to represent the Republic.

It's not surprising that he supports the Republic but surprising for him to say it while he's a Norn Iron player. I don't recall ever hearing a Northern Ireland player saying such, even Neil Lennon.

Times-they-are-a-changing. It probably reflects well on NI support that McGinn feels comfortable to say it, though since many struggle to accept McGinn's fundamental right to once-upon-a-time play for the ROI that might be a little generous.

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Originally Posted by shakermaker1982

Ref should have just used a bit of common sense. The game was over at 3 nil anyway so why turn it into an attack vs defence training session for the remainder of the 2nd half?

Fair play to Keane he did chat to the ref about it.

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In fairness to the ref, he'll have been told to ref it as a fully competitive match. He had to make the same decision he would have in a qualifier.

There was another NI player covering. Is it still a red card offense to give away a foul in the box with a covering player around?

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Originally Posted by geysir

There was another NI player covering. Is it still a red card offense to give away a foul in the box with a covering player around?

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That's not the rule. The rule is you denying a clear goal scoring opportunity.

Not surprised McGinn is an ROI fan, but at the end of the day he gives 100% every time he plays for NI and he is more than happy to play for us and for that we will support him without issue. :)

I think McGinn played for Tyrone at one stage.
I remember Mickey Harte talking about him in an article once anyway.
I know Martin Clarke that plays for Down is a big Norn Iron fan so it would seem that the relationship between 'nationalists' in the 6 counties and the NI soccer team isn't as simple it's sometimes made out to be.

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Originally Posted by Jinxy

I think McGinn played for Tyrone at one stage.
I remember Mickey Harte talking about him in an article once anyway.
I know Martin Clarke that plays for Down is a big Norn Iron fan so it would seem that the relationship between 'nationalists' in the 6 counties and the NI soccer team isn't as simple it's sometimes made out to be.

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It most definitely isn't. I know people from the New Lodge etc that go to Northern Ireland games.

It's not the one sided affair that people think.

Tardelli downplays absentee players row

Fahey also didn't make it apparently, but according to the assistant Wilson and Walters are injured while Whelan and Fahey are coming. Definite firefighting: ""I believe him [McCarthy], I believe Stoke, I believe the other players but sometimes it is possible to come here, have it assessed with the doctor and then go back."

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Originally Posted by mypost

Not horrible at all. Tonight was revenge for '99.

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Horrible in the sense it was so one-sided it wasn't even a match. You'd have almost feel sorry for NI if all possibility of sympathy hadn't been pre-eradicated by other issues before the game. 1999 wasn't comparable at all in the sense it wasn't one-sided. But cruel revenge, if you will.

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Originally Posted by BonnieShels

What are you talking about? There is clearly an issue. Stephen Watson and the BBC haven't a notion of what the rules are along with most fans of OWC and a lot of ours.
We are particularly informed here as we don't assume what the rules are and we read them and understand them. We read the CAS judgements and then we listen to what Danny says if that all fails.

Also to say "End of discussion" at the end of a post in which you mentioned eligibility shows your ignorance of the rules of the eligibilty discussions on Foot.ie. :)

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So I'm just a last resort now? :p

Obviously you're correct that an issue still exists so long as the eligibility of northern-born players to play for us will be disputed by the IFA and NI fans. It shouldn't be an issue though, but I think we all agree on that.

For anyone interested, the BBC highlights of the game are now up on the BBC iPlayer, although, they're only open to UK-based users, as far as I know: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...ll_24_05_2011/

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Originally Posted by awec

Not surprised McGinn is an ROI fan, but at the end of the day he gives 100% every time he plays for NI and he is more than happy to play for us and for that we will support him without issue. :)

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Out of interest, what do NI fans in general make of his comment?