Amnesty International called. They're looking into the Irish national team's torture of their own fans.
I'd expect the Russians and Slovaks to do that lot but it'l be a massive bonus for us if one of them slip up out there.
Kevin Doyle...supreme.
Phew!
They might pull of a surprise draw against one of the top two in the group. Then we'll really be delighted with this result
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Good first half performance, not so good in the second half. Good goal by Fahey well taken. Lads that is a big result, we dont win many games away from home and that can set the tone for the campaign. No team will go there and beat them well. The lads looked fecked at the end particularly Whelan, Lawro and Green. Really couldve done with someone coming on in midfield to bolster the last 10 mins.
From RTE...
Armenia 0-1 Republic of Ireland
Friday, 3 September 2010 17:53
A second-half goal from Keith Andrews was enough to give the Republic of Ireland a winning start in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
More to follow.......
:laugh:
Lawerence played very well in second half. Given slow off his line a couple of times and I still don't completely trust us when defending from corner kicks. Whelan improved second half and Green gets stuck in but has to improve his decision making regards leaving passes short and making square passes in dangerous positions. Good luck to Russia and Slovakia when they play these away!
Yep, zero out of ten for enjoyment value. 3 points though. Left back area looked really vulnerable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar
Excellent victory.
3 points is all that matters, and that fixture was very very tricky, considering the season has only begun and the temperature and heat the players were playing under.
So happy for Fahey - delighted to see him get us the victory.
Roll on goals on Tuesday!
Super start. For what it's worth I though we deserved it but to be honest, noone will remember the intricacies of the game after today- getting the 3 points was the objective.
As Daniel McConnell wrote today:
Oh, and delighted for Fahey also :)Quote:
Two years ago, Ireland were in Montenegro and came away with a draw which, considering the heat and the difficulty of the assignment, was regarded as a satisfactory outcome. Four points from six was deemed an acceptable return from the opening two games, following a win over Georgia in Mainz.
Yet Trapattoni, at that point, was speaking about Italy as likely group winners and Ireland immersed in a race for second. So, it was an acceptable result in that context. Later, after two draws with Italy that could have been wins, there was rueful reflection on the occasions where the Azzurri built up the lead; specifically, seeing off Bulgaria on home soil and going to Montenegro and winning.
Might aswell throw out the Player Ratings
Given -5 : Probably the worst performance i've seen from Shay. But a clean sheet and a couple of confident saves at the end should end any issues
O'Shea -7 : Very composed on the ball i thought, very little attacks came in from right full. Long balls were a little wasteful
Dunne -8 : Usual solid self, except for a very close to OG howler. Decision making was spot on bar that
Ledge -6 : Pretty solid but made a couple of bad decisions. Still think the oshea dunne partnership is stronger
Kilbane -3 : Almost every dangerous armenian attack came from left full. Kept drifting into the center...should be his last start, ever!
Lawrence -7 : Played well i thought. Some nice crossing and won most of the decent free kicks. Still deserves to be picked
Whelan -6 : Definitely the more composed in the centre. Did very little wrong, but still lacking a lot of imagination. Broke up play well at times
Green -4 : Some decent enough break up play but a few absolute howlers and seems a liabilty to me. Gibson is a far better option.
McGeady -4 : Anonymous and wasteful. Did one decent cross in the whole game. First touch was very poor
Keane -7 : Made the goal in fairness. Missed a couple of sitters but a few goals against andorra will sort him out. Still our most important player
Doyle -8 : Terrific hold up play, some lovely runs, should have got a goal. Man of the match
Subs
Fahey -6: Goal was very well taken, besides that some nice defensive play. Should start over McGeady
Keogh -6: Did well i thought coming on at the end. Not much to do, but helped where he could.
So harsh on Kilbane. Harsh on Green and McGeady too.Quote:
Originally Posted by rebelmusic
Given: Great, he let a couple spill, but it was good goalkeeping. Other keepers try to catch them first time and drop them.
O'Shea: Great professional, was in the correct position for 90 minutes.
Dunne: He's struggling with injury, thats why he's not confident enough to attack and get back from a corner. Still got a 9/10.
St Ledger: Solid performance, unlucky not to score.
Kilbane: Will play against better opponents and will get skinned. But he's a consummate professional. Got beaten once for pace, and didn't let it happen again. Until a viable option steps up, I've no problem rowing behind Kilbane.
Lawrence: Played very cleverly, has an arrogance that suits international football.
Whelan: He's asked to play a certain way and does it to perfection. When he following Dunny defending in the corner and sorted the situation out epitomised it for me.
Green: The only black spot on today, could of been catastrophic in another enviroment. We got away with it, and hopefully Green will learn from it. Over enthusiasm is a quality in the Championship, its a weakness in International football.
McGeady: ...... I dunno, one flash in the first half. Does he offer much more? A player gets the ball, maybe 60 times a game on the wing. He should play the percentages and not look down at his laces and try to beat a man every time.
Great start to the campaign - 3 points away from home in Eastern Europe is always a good result. Delighted for Fahey as well.
Roll on Andorra!
btw For those still watching on ESPN3 the Faroes v Serbia is on live now as well as the 2nd half of the Russia game.
Delighted with the win and especially so that Keith Fahey got the goal. A lot to improve on but job done. Roll on Andorra.
The left back issue must be addressed. We got away with it tonight but we have been warned
3 points makes it 10/10 for me. Enjoyment is seriously diminished by dropping points.
Doyle looked so cool out there, he wouldn't even lose sweat running around in a sauna. Lawrence again played though exhaustion, that Marc Wilson must be some player.
I was happy enough with McGeady, he will do well in Russia.
We are performing better as a team now than we did against Montenegro away.
Yes Armenia will take points off someone at home glad it wont be us!!
Its a great start that should be 6 points for us, lets hope for the other games to be draws.
I would agree with most of that. I am sorry to say but Kilbane should not be in the team ever again. His decision making and being caught out of position affected the whole left side of our team. St Ledger had to do two jobs his own and Kilbanes. Dunne along with O'Shea proved immense again. Doyle was my MOM.
Whatever I said about the players probably being sharp enough, they weren't. A few of them looked off the pace and relying on determination to see them through.
I watch so many of these qualifiers and very few of the so called favoured teams ever really impress in these places. Bag the points and leave. Job done.
A nice warm up next week (I hope!) and by October we'll all be in better shape.
Dont think so with Kilbane and Green. Im a huge McGeady fan but he did one thing decent today and that was it. Think in a weird way andorra would be great for him. He needs to score for Ireland and get a MotM for his confidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by noddy102
Agree with above aswell. Slovakia/Russia could really slip up here so a great result for us!
My ratings
Given - 8 - Felt he didn't have anything top drawer to save, they seemed to pelt shots directly at him all night but he took care of them perfectly, couldn't do any more.
O'Shea - 9 - Very impressed by him, great shepherding at one point to save a goal, great distribution through, quality overlap play and unbeatable defensively. He's got steadily better as a player last few years.
Dunne - 7 - Solid and reliable, covered Kilbane well a few times bar one crazy backwards header that could have cost us everything.
St Ledger - 7 - Very dynamic, covered well when was put under a good deal of pressure.
Kilbane - 4 - Didn't look up to the pace, gave away possession time and time again in attack. Positives are he's strong in the air and generally does his job when off the ball.
Lawrence - 9 - How is this guy not in a top tier league? He's got craft, guile, an excellent delivery, great workrate and provided great defensive cover. Him and O'Shea ran rampant for times down the right.
Whelan - 7 - Got in their faces, broke up play and got forward when he could.
Green - 4 - Made a couple of great tackles but was undone by sloppy passing and delayed a little in possession at times, totally commited but a bit headless at times. Accident waiting to happen perhaps
McGeady - 3 - Looked clumsy in possession as usual, made one good run and then reminded us all how woeful his end product is. Won't worry Duff for his spot.
Doyle - 9 - Deadly in the link up but highlighted a problem when Keane isn't firing, he didn't look like he was interested in scoring at any point and just setting up for other people, feel like he needs to be looking to put the ball in the back of the net himself as well as setting up others.
Keane - 6 - Very good positioning, scuffed his chances when he got into the one on one situations.
Fahey - 7 - Scored well but definitely isn't a natural wide man and perhaps not tenacious enough for a centre spot in Trap's midfield.
Keogh - 5 - Ran around well and wasted time nicely.