Ive seen them outside Charlie Darwins bathroom window from time to time.
Just going to fire off a quick overview before bed, but I'm absolutely buzzing off the result. I had butterflies all day and I nearly jumped through the roof when we scored. It's great to feel that again. F*cking get in! What a great position to be in going to Celtic Park where we could really deal Scotland a fatal blow.
O'Shea definitely meant it; great finish, great placement, letting it skim off the outside of the boot like that. Hendrick's salvaging of Hoolahan's "perfectly" wayward cross was exquisite. Running away from the action with his back to the ball, looking at it over his right shoulder only to have to turn his head to get a better view of it over his left; the ball was completely out of his line of vision for a split second, yet his awareness allowed him to make a complete 180 degree turn of body and connect perfectly with the ball upon turning to bring it back into the danger area at just the right height and pace for O'Shea to do it sweet, sweet justice. The pressure was on and Hendrick delivered with perfect precision. It was like out of a computer game, or out of this world even.
It was a brave performance all-round and we showed great spirit to fight until the death. Certainly, we were creatively limited for most of the duration of the game, but Whelan coming off seemed to improve us. The players looked like they really enjoyed that and it will do wonders for squad morale. It'll be a great boost of confidence. Why can't we think about topping the group now? We thought we'd all be playing second fiddle to Germany, but if we can manage at least a draw again in the return game at home and can out-point Scotland and Poland, as we were soberly hoping to do anyway, there's no reason to think top spot is a distant pipe-dream.
We were certainly shaky at times, true, but we frustrated Germany and largely kept them at bay. That requires immense concentration. They ended up bereft of ideas and their media will be livid. The goal was a disappointing one to give away; we could have closed Kroos down better as had a few spare men hovering around. Besides that, I thought Quinn was keen and sprightly; he certainly looked more mobile than Whelan next to him.
Just on Hoolahan, I didn't think he was great when he came on. Things didn't really work out for him. He was slipping, falling over and was easily dispossessed/gave the ball away. So, maybe not the Wessiah, after all, although I was inspired by how we finished the game generally and his introduction certainly played a factor in the more ambitious change of tone. Gibson also helped in that. On McClean, I thought he showed great endeavour throughout. He was tireless and fearless; what a great work ethic.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 15/10/2014 at 12:58 AM.
Been offline for a few days (at a wedding). The 2 games went largely to script, but as we should know, scripts sometimes have a twist at the end. Delighted with the ending, and if I were MON now I would use the possitive feeling in the camp for the Scotland game. I didn't see the full Gibraltar game but from what I've heard there is very little to be learned.
We were outplayed for 74% of the game today but let's give credit to Ward, Meyler, especially O'Shea and Wilson today. It's very easy to switch off once or twice over 90 minutes but they did really well. Forde was great, really happy with him. Looking at the that back 5 before the game, I couldn't imagine them keeping the World Champions to 1 goal.
Let's be honest, Germany were, well they were well below par for World Champions. In general play they can pass it as good as the Spanish team of 4 years ago. But they had no end product.
I agree with McClean as MOTM, yes he overhit a cross in a great position, but he pinged in a couple of crosses low and hard that Robbie was more likely to score from than a curler at head height. He also wasn't afraid to be positive when he got the ball, whether it was deep in his own half or at the endline. They gave him specific instructions and he followed them. What I liked was when he gave a ball back to Ward or a midfielder, he immediately tried to get behind the fullback. McGeady for example on the opposite side late on, gave the ball to Hoolahan but didn't make the deep run.
In hindsight, I would still have played Long ahead of Keane, kept Wes and Keane until the end. Wes had a great chance, imagine it was a fresh Keane who had that chance.
O'Neill still hasn't hasn't given a concrete indication of what his style is. All 3 competitive games have been different.
It's infuriated watching Ireland knock it back to Forde continuosly and McGeady not fulfil his potential but that's not the managements fault. Well maybe it is but which management? Arguably it's all the Irish management, from U15 up.
I'd love to see us play football like Germany, Neuer to the fullback, back to Neuer, switch play, full back, midfieder, into Kroos, picking out 30 yard passes. That might happen, but not today or next week.
A lovely point to get, but I don't thing we are much closer to qualification. It'll still boil down to our games v Poland and Scotland and if we play like that against either, we'll be getting a draw at the most.
Hoolahan has a big goal in him. It's time, I feel he deserves a chance and also it is time for him to deliver upon getting said chance.
We can handle Scotland in Celtic Park. You all have to get the positive vibe going on the mainland and travel to the dreary Trainspotting.....place.
Ireland 4 Scotties 2
I hope that result is the spark that kicks us on for the rest of the group.
I really hope it is the final nail in the coffin for Trapattonis mantra that little Ireland cant compete with the major powers in World football.
We looked fantastically orgainised for most of the game but I still have the gripe that we had Robbie up front on his own again, he hasnt the legs to do it and was probably never suited to that role.
Again, like in Paris when we needed something we looked dangerous when we played a bit of ball. I hope that for the rest of the games in the group now MON trusts us to get on the ball and play a bit.
Buzzing tonight though for the first time in a very long time about where we go from here
Its really not that complicated!!!
Feck, were we lucky or what...
In reality probably didn't deserve that but credit where it's due.
Timing is everything...
You could say he delivered on the relentless hype that surrounds himOriginally Posted by DannyInvincible
Hendrick's salvaging of Hoolahan's "perfectly" wayward cross was exquisite. Running away from the action with his back to the ball, looking at it over his right shoulder only to have to turn his head to get a better view of it over his left; the ball was completely out of his line of vision for a split second, yet his awareness allowed him to make a complete 180 degree turn of body and connect perfectly with the ball upon turning to bring it back into the danger area at just the right height and pace for O'Shea to do it sweet, sweet justice. The pressure was on and Hendrick delivered with perfect precision. It was like out of a computer game, or out of this world even.
I thought Forde was outstanding and the proper MOTM. came off his line well on about 4 occasions to claim the ball at nervey times and pulled off about 3 / 4 top saves. deserves more credit than he gets
In Dusseldorf airport with time to kill.
Delighted with how things panned out. For large parts of the game I thought Trap was still in the dugout but only late on did subtle differences emerge. I thought Hendrick, although he gave the ball away a bit, was far more accretive than Whelan. He tried to drive forward and play purposeful passes and was somewhat successful. We need more of that.
I think Wes realised he had very little time to make an impact so was trying too hard. Despite his slips, falls and rubbish throw in, I still think he made a difference. He took up space in the middle to last third that nobody else did and patrolled the line well. McGeady is more effective on the flanks.
McClean has got his mojo back and has secured his place I think. I thought Forde was very solid, one panicky clearance aside. Exactly what you want in nets on a night like that.
I really really hope now that MON sees that we can cause teams bother by attacking and Trap like cagey nonsense doesnt suit us. We can win in Glasgow if we play to win it.
I said in August that the Scots had momentum but we had 3 upcoming games to gain our own momentum. The friendlies were history. Now we have momentum, and I think its clear we can get better. Can Scotland?
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 15/10/2014 at 8:47 AM.
Yeah he did well and is always commanding under the high ball, that's never an area I worry about. I can only remember him having one (semi) decent save to make so I don't think it was worthy of a goalkeeping motm performance. That was the one that he tipped over from Kroos and he even seemed to get a strange connection on it from the replay, anyway, he kept it out! He got very lucky in the first half also when O'Shea bailed him out. On another night that settles the match and he's hanging his head in shame. They're the margins I guess. On reflection, O'Shea has to be a strong candidate as well.
he made a couple more at his near post particularly one on one against Gotze late on from memory. also, although he nearly mucked it up he came off his line Nueresque in the first half to clear a dangerous through ball. very solid performance
Forde had a good night alright, but is his positioning suspect? did anyone else think he was to far off his line when the germans hit the bar in the first half?? I don't know, i never feel fully safe with him like i did with Given or Bonner say.
Yeah, he had one late save at the feet of Götze, as you say, which was top drawer. 2-0 would have been game over.
The tip over from the edge of the box was good, if he did go at a little bit unorthodoxly.
There were a couple of good near-post saves as well.
He probably played better and pulled off better saves in the 3-0 defeat in Köln, granted. But overall, a very solid performance from Forde.
And while Germany were very sluggish (was it Boateng who couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo on more than one occasion in the first half?), it was a huge improvement on the games against Germany in the last campaign.
Just see now if we can build on that in Scotland next month.
our best two goalkeepers ever? give the lad a break. since he has come into the team he hasn't let us down one bit and excelled many times
Yeah I don't want to come across as if I'm knocking him but I don't think he really saved anything that wouldn't have been poor had it gone in. I agree it was a solid performance, just not a motm performance, for which I think a goalkeeper would need to be fairly spectacular or incredibly busy to be in the running in the first place.
I think he's a perfectly decent keeper but I would rate Westwood higher from what I have seen. It would be going too far to say I'm nervous with Forde in goal but I would feel safer with Westwood, never mind Given or Bonner. It's not really a case of giving him a break, it's just an opinion. Nobody's slating the fella.
Last edited by DeLorean; 15/10/2014 at 9:56 AM.
I think Hoolahan was forcing it a bit but, as has been pointed out, but he was the only man who was going to pick up those positions. All the midfield replacements ended up doing well, even though they struggled initially.
I recall Hendrick running down two blind alleys shortly after he came on to give the ball away cheaply. In the end, he plays a beautiful cut back for an assist.
Gibson looked a bit sluggish initially I thought, but he was really composed on the ball. Helped getting us playing more direct when we were chasing the game.
Do we slam O'Neill for not starting these guys or give him credit for making changes that, minus Long, maybe looked a bit suspect? All the subs contributed to us having a real go in the final five to eight minutes.
Point taken.
I think the real bonus from Forde's performance was how quick he was off his line. He isn't a quick guy. But his positioning and sharpness behind the back four snuffed out four or five tricky through balls.
Likewise it helped in making that good stop against Gotze.
It sounds simple, but it makes the defence's job so much easier when a keeper is proactive and commanding. Plus it's a strange contrast from when the ball is at his feet and he gives the impression of a confused giraffe.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
This. He was absolutely miles away from where he should have been only minutes into the game when concentration should have been at it's highest.
Forde isn't the worst we've ever had, but I feel it's an area that certainly needs to be looked at with high priority. While he made one top save, he almost cost dearly with decision making. The run out of his box was fantastic to sweep up the ball, but didn't decide what to do with it and lost possession when the ball should have been hoofed high into the stand with his first touch.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
watched the game last night with a friend of mine who's a big rugby fan. He'd watch the odd game of football, but would struggle to name more than five or six Ireland players. Still, he has time for Ireland games.
Anyway, I had to explain the goal to him, so I've watched it a few times. McGeady and Hoolahan were really clever on the right (shades of Duff and Reid VS France under Kerr). After a few short passes, between the two that ended McGeady in possession, he took two Germany players with him to make space for Hoolahan to get the cross in.
Hendrick is actually facing the goal when the ball comes across, but has turned through 270 degrees to face the left sideline when he receives the ball. He actually lost sight of it for a second, and you can see him looking back to find in the air again before he jumps to make the pass.
My initial reaction was that it was too far ahead of Hendrick, and I suspect the German defence might have thought the same because they stopped approaching the ball. The standard procedure for that sort of ball is to take it down, move towards the corner flag/sideline and try to turn and cross, which is why the defence was caught so flat footed when he jumped, turned and flicked the ball back into the box. It wasn't too dissimilar to McClean's crosses for Keane and Hoolahan earlier in the game, in that it was a low, hard cross aimed at the edge of the six yard area. O'Shea just had a half yard on the defender behind him, allowing him to make deft contact with the ball and direct it into the net, queue jumping and screaming in my flat, and my apologies to the lad who lives in the flat downstairs and his kids who I hope I didn't wake up!
Maybe his style is fluidity and adaptability then?
I think his positioning can be suspect and he sometimes looks a bit flat-footed. He was really caught off-guard by the early effort that cracked off the cross-bar. Whilst he did make quite a few good stops last night, I'd still be more confident with Westwood in goals. It'd be difficult for Martin to drop Forde though without him committing an absolute clanger or two.
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