Republic of Ireland V Georgia - Wednesday, 11th February 2009 - World Cup 2010 Q

**geysir** · 13/02/2009, 11:43 AM

Judging by the comments on Gazzetta there is some humourous respect for Trap in Italy.

"If Trap it had had the same fortune with Italy, for sure we would have won in 2002."

"With Trap it is always the same… advantage and catenaccio"

"mythical trap"

**shakermaker1982** · 13/02/2009, 12:20 PM

Still recovering from a marathon session around Dublin - will try and read through all the posts this evening.

I'm happy enough with the result and having got the chance to watch the second half on tv yesterday we played pretty well and kept the pressure up for the whole of the second half. First half was a shambles - getting caught cold again within minutes of kicking off needs to be eradicated.

McGeady played well in the second half but was dreadful in the first half. Good recovery but I wish the Trap would play him on the right and leave Duffer on the left. Duff is not as effective on the right and it's a waste of his talents. Doyle worked hard and Keane took his goals so no complaints for the front two.

MOM was the ref. We haven't had a bit of luck for ages and were due something. Please let this continue all the way to Africa!

**geysir** · 13/02/2009, 1:00 PM

Contrary to belief, McGeady was not dreadfull in the first half.
3 out of 9 crosses were poorly dispatched, apart from that he was well involved, accurate with his passes and never let up in the first half with his determination to make an impact.
The team were poor enough in the first half.

**Tipp Townie** · 13/02/2009, 1:22 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

I had them backed after seeing how strong they were in the friendlies running up to the WC and I thought the were excellent in the WC for the most part. They were absoulely brilliant against Ghana, Czechs and Ukraine while the Germany match was one of the games of the tournament. End to end. I loved that Italy team.

I'd agree with that. And as for games of the tournament, the match v USA was pretty mental aswell! They were lucky to get through that one, despite being a man up for most of the 2nd half? But i prefer it that way in a World Cup; its boring when one team coasts through all the way. Better that the eventual winners have a few fights along the way.
Basically, i thought that althought they didnt stand head and shoulders about the rest, they deserved to win it.

Sorry, bit off-topic but just thought i'd add that..

**Tipp Townie** · 13/02/2009, 1:28 PM

Originally Posted by Docboy

http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/68...nd-vs-georgia/

Only very short highlights if you happened to miss the goals...

Thanks for that Doc. I can't get any of that other torrent stuff to work (on work computer) so at least now i've seen the "penalty" incident!

Would love to see a full version of Robbie's celebration though!

**shakermaker1982** · 13/02/2009, 1:39 PM

Originally Posted by geysir

Contrary to belief, McGeady was not dreadfull in the first half.
3 out of 9 crosses were poorly dispatched, apart from that he was well involved, accurate with his passes and never let up in the first half with his determination to make an impact.
The team were poor enough in the first half.

I didn't rate his first half efforts. I'll have to watch the first half again on dvd but would be very surprised if it changed my viewpoint.

**geysir** · 13/02/2009, 1:49 PM

Whatever opinions you have about his efforts in the first half there is no way he deserves to be singled out, above the 9 other players, to be labelled dreadful.

**Stuttgart88** · 13/02/2009, 1:51 PM

and certainly not labelled as bad as Kelly who actually lost his nerve and wanted to be somewhere else for much of the first half.

**shakermaker1982** · 13/02/2009, 3:32 PM

Originally Posted by geysir

Whatever opinions you have about his efforts in the first half there is no way he deserves to be singled out, above the 9 other players, to be labelled dreadful.

He was only singled out by me because of how well he played in the second half. A complete transformation and it reflects well on him that he was confident enough to take on his man after a bad first half. Everybody improved in the second half but McGeady's contribution was the standout second half performance.

**Torn-Ado** · 13/02/2009, 3:38 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

So, you're saying his consistently taking on and beating his man in the first half - including beating 4 players and having a great shot on goal after receiving the ball 60 yards from goal, and as you say " keeping us attacking, keping the momrentum and inspiring the others to up their tempo and get about the pitch and look for ball" he didn't do a geat deal. Jaysus H. What more do you want him to do?

The thing with McGeady is his errors are more glaringly obvious than other players. You could here groans from a few over hit crosses or if he got dispossessed while tryinng to beat his man.

I thought McGeady had a good first half despite a few mistakes. He always tried his utmost to be positive and looked dangerous. Him and Duff will be very important in this campaign.

**DeLorean** · 13/02/2009, 4:05 PM

I enojoyed McGeady's performance above all else on Wednesday. He showed glimpses of it against Cyprus but really stepped it up the other night, and to his credit he did it at a stage where Ireland were looking for someone to stand up and be counted in a creative sense. I would disagree that he should be played on the right with Duff on the left cos he undoubtedly does his best work on the left cutting in. I know it's restricting Duff a bit but I think McGeady is the player we need to facilitate at this stage as he could be something huge for us. His ability to beat players is something I haven't seen in a long time in a green shirt. I would be tempted to play him on the right in Bari if Dossena is left back and tell him to run at him all night long!!

As for the comments about Italy's WC winning team I'd also like to add that they gave me huge enjoyment when watching that tournament. They have a fantastic resiliance about them which was evident again in the Euros but they always seem to be up against it with no real top class forward, much like Portugal.

**geysir** · 13/02/2009, 4:34 PM

Originally Posted by Torn-Ado

The thing with McGeady is his errors are more glaringly obvious than other players. You could here groans from a few over hit crosses or if he got dispossessed while tryinng to beat his man.

I thought McGeady had a good first half despite a few mistakes. He always tried his utmost to be positive and looked dangerous. Him and Duff will be very important in this campaign.

I didn't notice through my blinkers that McGeady got dispossessed even once in the 1st half.

Does someone want to actually list all the dreadful things McGeady did in the first half apart from the 3 poor crosses.
I don't count the one that was a good attempt to catch the goalie off his line as being a poor effort.

**irishultra** · 13/02/2009, 4:40 PM

McGeady was above average in first half, his crossing though was shocking.

**stojkovic** · 13/02/2009, 6:59 PM

I suppose if Stephen Kelly played for Celtic then he would not have been at fault for the goal.

I still do not know what all the fuss is about McGeady, average player. Another Mark Kennedy.

Obviously I hope that he proves me wrong.

**eirebhoy** · 13/02/2009, 7:03 PM

Originally Posted by stojkovic

I suppose if Stephen Kelly played for Celtic then he would not have been at fault for the goal.

haha

**The Fly** · 13/02/2009, 7:12 PM

Originally Posted by stojkovic

I still do not know what all the fuss is about McGeady, average player. Another Mark Kennedy.

Christ Almighty!!!

**John83** · 13/02/2009, 7:17 PM

Originally Posted by dr_peepee

I pity those fools...

Never a Harps fan when you need one.

**The Legend** · 13/02/2009, 7:39 PM

[QUOTE=stojkovic;1104518] Another Mark Kennedy.

QUOTE]

wow, thats below the belt there man!

**Kingdom** · 13/02/2009, 8:17 PM

I was looking through previous results, as an after thought, and thats the first time we've won a (competitive) game after conceding first since 2001 against Andorra.
Hopefully the end result is the same.