Republic of Ireland V Sweden - Monday, 13th June 2016 - Euro 2016 Group E

Walters wasn't fit and Ibrahimovic standing on his knee probably didn't help.

Hoolahan signalled to come off but Keane was a pointless sub; he contributed nothing.

Quinn or Meyler should have been brought on earlier to sit on Olsson, who had the freedom of the left hand side of the pitch.

That was a game there for the taking if McClean was on from the start.

Disappointing to see the lack of urgency at the end when we still had one throw deep in their half to attack from.

Hendrick may have earned himself a PL move on back of this and Hoolahan showed the folly of the Trapattoni era.

Italy could be make or break for both teams. Don't think we will get anything off Belgium. All in all I think we will rue that Clark own goal.

Huge improvement on our last European expedition.

A goal and a point, something to build on.

We have as good a chance v Italy and Belgium in my opinion, it is not so much the opposition but how we play that matters.

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Originally Posted by Supreme feet

Clark was excellent aside from the OG.

Disappointed with the result, but it was a hugely improved and very respectable performance from the lads compared to the rubbish from four years ago. So much of our good play tonight was initiated by players who were unfairly ignored by Trap for far too long.

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A lot happened before Clark headed the own goal . There was more blame there to be honest.

Coleman was poor but seemed very exposed . Trappatony was probably watching saying that the man that delivers coal cannot defend.

A chance to watch the opposition, what result are we hoping for?

Who will win?

Belgium slight favs 7/4 v 2/1

They did play well for their goal.

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Originally Posted by tricky_colour

A chance to watch the opposition, what result are we hoping for?

Who will win?

Belgium slight favs 7/4 v 2/1

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Probably a draw or if the world standings are anything to be trusted a Belgian Win and let the rest of us fight out the other qualification place (s).

Randolph was the right choice. His save from O'Shea's leg soon after the goal might be the best of the tournament so far, couldn't do anything about the goal.

Coleman struggled, especially after Ireland scored. Really didn't think he'd be the weak link. Clark could have done better throughout, but wouldn't be too harsh on him for the OG. O'Shea was alright.

Hendrick was great, helped out Brady a lot and made himself a threat, but just needs to be that little bit more accurate. Thought Brady was exceptional on the left. Whelan very solid, that surprised me. McCarthy got roasted down the right more than once and was seriously worried he'd be sent off. Hoolahan my MOTM, offered so much in midfield and going forward, and took his goal extremely well.

Walters, it wasn't his best game, but I'll take his running, his defensive work and his attitude over Robbie Keane any day of the week, half-crocked or not. Long didn't get up to much, bar one or two instances, marked out of it.

McClean made himself useful when he came on, that one cross should have been a lot better though. McGeady didn't really have the time to do much, and didn't make an impact. Keane had more time, and it was a waste of it.

Loved the attitude up to the goal. None of this tortoising in the face of arguably more sophisticated footballers like the North did, they went out and pressed, and the Swedes were in real trouble. And then just...that 10 minute spell after the goal. It was like Trap was back in charge. They just couldn't get a hold of the game until Sweden scored, and even that spell of dominance fizzled out.

I guess we'll see how good/overrated the Belgians and the Italians are. But I'd say we'll need the win against Italy, and no matter how bad they are tipped to be, that will be difficult to get. Such a wasted opportunity out there. Honestly feel almost as bad as after Croatia in 2012.

I don't think the way the team is selected does Long any favours. He/we would have been all the better to have McClean and his pace in there when we are firmly on top of a game - not when it's fizzled out and we've collapsed.

As it was we didn't have enough pace or energy to take advantage of a rocked Swedish team.

No coincidence our best chances came from Hendrick's shots outside the box and set-pieces; the running wasn't there for players to get in behind.

Further to that, I worry about Whelan's ability to last 90 minutes over this tournament. He was dead on his feet by the 70 minute mark.

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“He strolls around like a traffic cop, pointing here and pointing there but doing nothing. He got his manager sacked at Everton this season.

“He is a waste of space, there is no other word for it.”

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Eamon Dunphy on James McCarthy.

It does feel more like a defeat but I think that is only because for the majority of the game we were far better than Sweden. The own goal was a sucker punch but it was a number of players not doing the simple stuff like tracking and knowing when to stand off vs attack the ball. I thought O'Neill picked the right team but our subs were horrendous. I'm not going to harp on too much more about someone who didn't even make the shortlist but Pilkington for Walters would have been like for like and very interesting. Keane and McGeady offer nothing and both lucky to be there.

Overall, I thought our back 4 played so well and Coleman grew more into it in the 2nd half. O'Shea and Clark were fantastic and Brady has really come a long way in the LB role.

Hendricks was a colossus, easily his best game in green, and in more ways than just the goal threats. McCarthy was awful, easily his worst game for us although he was a touch better in the second half. Whelan, I have to say, has made up for 2012 for me now. That was a real leaders performance. Walters and Long were both largely ineffective. Hoolohan scored what in my opinion was Ireland's best ever tournament goal and we really lacked his class when he was forced off.

Overall, that was a very good performance. We bossed Sweden for a good 2/3 to 3/4 of that game and looked the superior side. We got nervous after we scored but I thought we regained our composure quite quickly and for the most part closed the last 15 minutes as the stronger team.

It really is all to play for. I fancy us to do it.

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Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks

Eamon Dunphy on James McCarthy.

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How come with all the dumb stuff Dumbfy has done he has not managed to get himself sacked ?

How come so many of our players looked so exhausted ?

That concerned me a lot. The last 20 minutes against Belgium could be a horror show.

If we get that tired in the next two games we might as well go too bed !

So frustrating but so good for long spells. I think the tiredness is a natural result of the diamond in midfield, there was a mountain of work for the midfield trying to stop the Swedish full backs pushing on. I think it was a bit of an error not to quickly switch to a more conventional 4-5-1 when we scored, Hendrick or Hoolahan going wide right and McLean wide left. Would have made it much more difficult for Olsson when McCarthy was so clearly struggling to cover the ground and Coleman was very exposed. Easy to say in hindsight though. Neither Italy or Belgium look all that exceptional at the moment so definitely still all to play for. Felt like a defeat all the same.

That Italian win could be good for us. Italy will probably beat Sweden too and put out their reserve team against us as they will already have qualified. That Belgian performance gives us great hope.

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Originally Posted by seanfhear

How come so many of our players looked so exhausted ?

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They looked just as tired at the end - big occasion - lots of nervous energy in the build up - its hardly surprising.

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Jon Walters said he was nowhere near 100% fit in the Euro 2016 Group E clash with Sweden as doubt hangs over his participation in the rest of the tournament.

The Stoke City man revealed he felt the Achilles injury that he sustained earlier this month after just a minute of the game in Paris

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http://www.rte.ie/sport/euro-2016/20...fter-a-minute/

I think some lads need to take in the game as a whole and not just the periods where we were on top.

There's no doubt we were the better team at the half and could have been 2 or 3 up.

However we could easily have lost the game too. O Shea missed a sitter but so did Sweden. That cross near the end that went between Ibra and Clark was very close too.

Overall the 1-1 was probably fair.

I've always thought of Keane as a fella that needs the best part of 15-20 minutes in a game to warm up and become a real threat. Not sure he adds much as a sub.

I like the mentality a lot though.. and a huge improvement on bashful Irish tournament performances of the past. Fair play to the team.