The Faroes won't want to drop 2 points here.
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The Faroes won't want to drop 2 points here.
1-1 lafferty. NI have missed some unbelievable chances. Chris Brunt is possibly one of the worst footballers I have ever seen.
I know that having an close-season isn't a bad thing for starters. The Faroese underage set-up in particular is very impressive; I was at an U-14 league final (I think; was on before a league game) which technically was the match of the LoI. So they're clearly not that inhibited by their current set-up. What probably hits them more than training in wind is not being used to playing on grass.
looks like he caught him? He nearly took the guys head clean off with that elbow!!!
Gutted for Norn Iron and all their posters on here. I know they'll all be wishing us the best for tonight.
Kerr looked so delighted after that, fist-pumping and everything.
Hilarious. They will be on suicide watch over at the Wee Chaps. Kerr was delighted.
Despite the handshakes/hugs/high fives, the Faroes will surely be well p'issed dropping those 2 points :)
well done to the British manager.
I'm pleased for Brian Kerr, who is undergoing something of a Steve McClaren - lite career resurrection up in the cold bleak north of the Faroes, but after drawing with Italy and more importantly winning in Slovenia it is impossible not to be disappointed with that. Still, it beats drawing in Slovenia and winning in the Faroes, given the net difference over the Slovenes.
The Faroe Islands were ranked 166th in the world when Kerr took over in April 2009. They were up to 117th in Dec 2009 and were back up to that position in July of this year. This is the highest they've been in 8 years (The highest they have ever been is 104th). Admittedly they have dropped back down to 138th at the moment but they have been really unlucky in recent games. This excellent result against Northern Ireland will do no harm at all to their ranking. Credit is certainly due to Kerr who appears to be doing an impressive job with the Islanders.
http://www.fifa.com/associations/ass...r=m/index.html
I think Kerr will for sure want to win one, NI slithered way with a draw,
Estonia perhaps?
It was fun watching Jim Magilton and Sammy McIllroy after the match, lauding Lafferty for his fantastical skill and endeavour for NI's goal (he did very well to be fair) and then refusing to credit the Faroese striker for doing exactly the same thing on his goal.
But you might have said the theatre or cinema, or in Sligo/galway the beach and bringing home the turf
Excuses, excuses, excuses - we are just not a football nation
(not having a dig at you, its the gah i hate)
well done Kerr, watched the last 2o minutes or so, hoof ball, but well done
well, if they drew with slovenia and they both beat the faroes they would have 4 points, slovenia would have 4 and the faroes 0. However, if they beat slovenia and drew with the faroes and slovenia beat the faroes, norn would have 4, slovenia would have 3 and the faroes 1.
In short, doing it the other way around would have left slovenia with a point more, the faroes with a point less and norn with the same. So Northern Ireland's result in Slovenia isn't all wasted, assuming of course Norn Iron want to finish above both Slovenia and the Faroes.
One important thing about games against direct rivals is that it isn't necessarily about taking points, it's about preventing them taking points. Much like if we win or draw tonight, the fact we have prevented Slovakia from taking two or three points is important.
I wasn't really serious.
'We were always going to be under pressure, with some of the class players they have,' Kerr told Sky Sports.
'It was a brave performance, I think we at least deserved a point.
'It's a very, very good day. I had a couple of good days last year, when we beat Lithuania it was a great day.
'Being from Ireland and having so many relations in Ireland - my parents are from Belfast, it was a good day. Many people in Ireland will have watched the game.'
Great hard earned away point for Team 18.75%!
So Kerr is actually British by way of the granny rule. This changes everything.
Well done BK, the guy should still be involved in the Irish set up in some shape or form imo.
What are NI like??! I raised the point in one of the nordies thread not that long ago how NI are a strange bunch and must be very frustrating to follow. They have an incredible record against top teams but then turn around and put in terrible performances against weaker nations. I was rubbished by one of the nordies at the time but this is case in point. They did something similar a while back when after some great results against Spain and Sweden I think it was, they were genuinely in contention in the run in and went and were well beaten by Iceland.
They get humped so often by Iceland, it hurts my ribs.
Here ya go. This is it:
http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/soc...280732262.html
You guys are way off the scent.
Look on your own doorstep
It was hardly a surprising result for the North. They play the same brand of football as the Faroes. NI is capable of getting results against stronger teams because of this. But when the onus is of them to play the football, they struggle. That's why good results against stronger teams will be followed up by defeats to teams like Iceland, Latvia and draws to the likes of the Faroe Islands. It's extremely difficult to switch from an ultra-defensive mentality as was the case against Italy to a more, positive attacking mentality as was required against the Faroes.
The Faroes actually looked a little off-colour yesterday :)
What an almighty cóck-up by a couple of NI players for the Faroe goal.
It was a defensive mix-up for the North's goal as well. You can't be allowing lads to dribble across the defensive line like that.
The goals
The Faroese nr7 was very sluggish and should have been closer to Lafferty when he received the pass.
Afternoon all. The best thing about that farce was that I missed the TV coverage thanks to a power cut. Small mercies etc. :rolleyes:
You're broadly right about the defensive mentality, although of the games mentioned above we defended in Iceland and Latvia because in practice they were at least as good technically, and physically prepared to get stuck. Because we had to, basically.
It's a surprise if not a major shock, because I imagine our guys were looking to get a goal ahead as early as possible- like in recent games against San Marino and Liechtenstein- then play out the rest of the game at walking pace.
Fair dos to the Faroes and Brian Kerr, they deserved that.
PS I take my hat off to your prediction that Montenegro would do well this time, made before the series started. Hopefully your bookie gave good odds?
Just like to say that as a Irish supporter I would like to congratulate one of our own Brian Kerr and the Faroe Islands for putting one over on our local pesty neighbours up the road!
About time they were taken down a peg or two.
Brian obviously made an extra special effort for this one!
Just watched the highlights on SKY. NI missed a hatful of decent chances. Hard to tell how well they played in general play but even if it wasn't good there were enough clear chances to win. Football's mad. I don't like it much at the moment. Ballet or art sound like much more appealing interests. I don't think you ever go to a gallery and come home not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Ireland, Arsenal, Shamrock Rovers. What a rubbish month. Why wasn't I born in Argentina? Good at footy and rugby, hot birds, cool colours and you don't get riduculed for having long hair (which I had once).
That was good fix.
I am really enjoying the Rovers wobble. Iceland u21s win through to the last 8 in Europe, a real triumph for exciting skillful football, nourished indoors in the winter:). Ireland at the crossroads - reading the map - not yet that lost but could go a number of ways.
I must say, I admire your ability to keep so up-to-date with both the NI and Faroes teams, in order to be able to make a statement like that (bold).
You see, I have only been watching the NI team live, so do not pretend to know too much about the Faroes. May we take it that with the NI team having generally transformed its style of play from pressing/territory under Sanchez, to a more passing/possession game under Worthington, that the Faroes are afficionados of the latter under Kerr?
Or might it be that you're just spouting garbage, from an ill-informed, even prejudiced standpoint?
You see, NI did not adopt an "ultra-defensive mentality" versus Italy. Rather NW picked a clear 4-4-2 formation, including two out-and-out striikers (Healy and Feeney) to start versus Italy. Further, when he made changes midway in the second half, it was to bring on a 6'4" target man (Lafferty) and a flying winger (McGinn), in place of a striker and a midfielder. Considering we were still at 0-0, these are hardly the actions of an "ultra-defensive" manager (imo).
Of course, as it turned out, Italy had more of the game and more chances. However, that was essentially because in Pirlo, they had the games outstanding player pulling the strings in midfield. Nonetheless, the reason it finished 0-0 was both because Italy came to Belfast with a cautious (though not especially defensive) approach, out of respect for NI's home record and also because NI's finishing was (typically) wayward. We were also denied at least one clear penalty.
Indeed, from an Italian perspective, it is telling (imo) that the opening sentence of La Gazetto Della Sport's
match report was as follows:
"Although this time around Prandelli's side didn't win, the goalless draw in Belfast against Northern Ireland was not a write-off, because the Italian team minimised their risks on a pitch where teams like England and Spain have recently lost".
And the final sentence was:
"In any case we should be satisfied"
http://english.gazzetta.it/Football/...03542664.shtml
As for the Faroes debacle, the reason we only drew was absolutely nothing to do with respective playing styles. Rather, if looked at from a "narrow" perspective, a neutral might argue that NI were very unlucky. For instance, the Faroes had 5 goal attempts in the entire game, whilst NI had 22 (12 on target). Faroes had one corner, NI had 8. Faroes had 3 bookings, NI had one. And Faroes committed 17 fouls, whereas NI committed 12.
As a fan who has been watching the team for nearly 40 years before, however, I prefer to take a "wider" perspective. In other words, regardless of how well or badly the team was performing, who the manager was or what style of play we were adopting etc, the explanation is actually quite simple: we are never comfortable psychologically in games against "minnows" whom we are expected to beat easily.
This is common throughout sport, where it is invariably easier eg to enter the last bend of a race on the shoulder of the leader than in the lead, or to pick up a couple of shots on the final day of a golf major, than hold a lead right through from the first or second day.
In NI's case, we frequently "fall between two stools" against this type of opposition. The first approach is to grant them no respect and just pile in on them. Of course, this makes the opposition's task straightforward i.e. just defend and try to hit them on the break.
Alternatively, you may accord them equal respect to any other opponent and just play your normal game. Of course, the danger there is that the opposition is first comfortable, then becomes confident, so long as they don't concede an early goal. Then, should the opposition get the first goal, perhaps following an NI error (as happened on Tuesday), NI risk panicking that there won't be enough time left to turn it around.
That is my take on what happened versus the Faroes - after all, it has happened before and no doubt it will happen again. However, the more important lesson (imo) is that an occasional blip such as that need not derail the team's chances of qualifying etc, since it is so rare that we face teams whom we might term "minnows". Indeed the way other results are turning out in the Group, I certainly see that being the case this time around.
Indeed, if when the Draw was made, we had been offered 5 points from our first three games - two away and the home against the best team - 90% of NI fans would have accepted in a heartbeat. And that is what we have now got, with Italy likely to run away with 1st place, Serbia in severe danger of imploding, Slovenia proving curiously inconsistent and Estonia taking points from our other contenders. In that context, i do not greatly begrudge the Faroes their point against us and who knows, maybe they'll take another one off someone before the Group is over?
Onwards and Upwards!
Indeed.
It was ever thus.
For instance, I came away from the Italy game feeling slightly disappointed we didn't win, despite Italy being the better side, with more possession, territory and chances etc
Yet for the Faroes, despite our having overwhelmingly more possession, territory and chances, i didn't feel "robbed" that we only came away with a draw.
All in all, it's one of the things which makes football the greatest game in the world.