when we were ahead it was like what are we doing here
something sickening about being beaten by a long ball.. by a team that shouldn't even be playing them!
when we were ahead it was like what are we doing here
Great effort from the lads, up against the French, the bent ref the bent linesman and the bent third official.
14 v 10 is tough.
Last edited by tricky_colour; 26/06/2016 at 3:09 PM.
Stop gloating doc.
How the f did McClean not pick out Murphy that time? Gilt edged chance for a second.
Ward is so ****e he kept getting pulled in and they knew that. They exposed it and got it for the first goal.
Duffy as I've always said has those moments in him and it costs dearly in international football not in championship so much.
We really could have beaten them.fresher legs and I think we would have. That's the disappointing thing.
Dixon being charitable and saying tiredness causes bad decisions.
I think you heavily criticised Duffy once Paul! He was at fault but he's young and inexperienced. He's got a good head on him and has a good future ahead of him if he pushes on.
They gave it everything they had. Not a lot can be said. I think we can feel a bit hard done by by some of the misses by the referee before both goals. That **** up by McClean was the chance though.
Duffy did the right thing but we were exhausted in the last 20-30 mins. Dead on our feet. France had an extra three days of rest which definitely will have helped them and to our detriment. We couldn't even muster a real final assault there in the last 10 we were so exhausted.
I think we can be proud of our tournament. Just 90 minutes of bad performance. Compared to 270 under Trap in 2012. What a *****.
There's hope for this Irish team (don't confuse with "the Irish system" which has huge issues) in the next few years. A changing of the guard though. Keane, Given and O'Shea need to step down and Walters and Wessi are really getting on too.
I don't know - I'm disappointed but I'm proud.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
I know you're on the wind-up, but there's actually something badly wrong with you if you think that.
Trap's team in 2012 was designed to lose games. He was found out in that tournament, it was awful, gutless and tactically appalling compared to this time around. It was a lesson on how not to play in an international tournament. In your imaginary scenario, France would have toyed with Whelan and Andrews for the whole game and had the win sown up long before half-time.
We can actually be proud of this Irish team, how competitive we were against more fancied opposition, and the football we played at times.
How would they have won it so? What would the key have been? Seriously?
Just a reminder - we lost 3-1 to Croatia; 4-0 to Spain and 2-0 to Italy in 2012.
So how would we have beaten France under Trap? Please indulge the forum.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Not a time for post-mortems, but some feelings bubble up to the surface…
Proud. Of each and every man in the squad. I was a s**t footballer, but I lived out my childhood dreams alongside players like these.
Disappointed. It feels weird to be disappointed over what might have been instead of what was. Especially against a team with the talent France has.
Thrilled. Some of our play was a joy. We can play long if we need to, but we’ve learned we don’t always need to. If you were a neutral, today was a good game of football. How often do you get to say that about us?
Hopeful. Randolph, Brady, Hendrick, McCarthy, Coleman, Westwood, Clarke, Duffy. OK, so the last two had poor moments, but there are three more campaigns at least in each of those players – and they’ll learn from this big game experience.
Relief. Knowing we can go head to toe with the big boys. Not giving a toss about reputations. Playing our way because other teams don’t like it. Welcome back that old ‘eff-you, but we can play too’ attitude – we’ve missed you. The players missed you.
Roll on Russia. Our campaign has started.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
That corner we never go - criminal.
Germany going home next.
This tournament, following that qualification campaign, has been the final nail in the coffin of Trap's reputation. I now truly believe he was one of the worst things to ever happen to Irish football, a man who who went out of his way to limit a team capable of more, and I've decided that's the very last time I'm ever going to mention that fraud on here.
Tough game today, very tough. You could see how tired they were after 70 or so minutes, and I agree with Stu that ET would have seen Ireland ship a lot of goals, so maybe, in a bizarre kind of way, it was just as well it ended at 2-1. One great half where Ireland were very much worth their lead, and plenty of chances/half chances to score more. But five awful minutes at the back and just no way to rectify it.
Randolph, solid, one great save and plenty of shots straight at him. Maybe could have got to the second goal? Has made his case fr more first team football at club level.
Coleman, decent enough, probably has the best endurance of any back. Duffy was fine, but caught badly by Greizmann's pace for the red card. He had to take him down, and stopped probably a certain goal, but should have done better beforehand. Both Duffy and Keogh at fault for the second, and Keogh just faded so badly as the game went on. That partnership needs more gametime. Ward had a good game overall, probably the best defender of the second half.
Brady, strong effort again, great penalty, made himself useful. Hendrick less so, another brainless yellow and tired quickly. McCarthy has struggled through most of the tournament, and has to be singled out for the first French goal, would Whelan have done better? McClean, his energy and commitment are obvious benefits, but France were able to isolate him whenever he got forward, and the crosses he did get off were poor.
Murphy, not up to all that much throughout the game one moment in the second when he could have taken a shot on but fatally hesitated, which drove me mad. Long, he ran and ran and got fouled off the pitch throughout, but maybe should have done a bit better.
Hoolahan wasn't capable of making an impact. O'Shea steadied the ship at the back, but that was all he was capable of doing. Walters didn't get up to much.
I won't say I'm not disappointed. The fitness levels were lacking and Ireland have proven themselves incapable of a steady, confident performance through a whole 90 minutes, bar the Italy game. France weren't great. We could have won that game. We could have beaten France.
But we didn't disgrace ourselves. We fought hard and we prevented a total collapse as happened against Belgium. We made the host nation look desperate and sloppy in large stretches, and I'll be stunned if France win this tournament. I think this is a successful tournament, and I have renewed hope for the coming WC qualification campaign.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
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