Yea he did play a part in the first goal, he does look crap at time but he is involved in so much stuff not all of it will work out.Originally Posted by TheOneWhoKnocks
Houghton saying MON is remonstrating with Hoolahan over giving the ball away and that we can't afford to do that. FFS Whelan is guilty as anyone of doing this. If he's not outright giving it away, he gives the short pass to someone with bodies all over him in our half who ends up clearing it to a Moldovan.
Whatever my qualms with Walters, he is probably the last person I would pick a fight with on a football pitch.
This Hoolahan crap from RTÉ is a joke. McClean gets 2 but they give him MOTM for a performance that was fair to middling. Ridiculous
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O'Neill did well to drag him away from that
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
I would never fault his effort but he's soooo limited.
Coleman MOTM for me
Good stuff.
There was what...15 minutes...in the 2nd half when they had their tails up, but once we sorted ourselves out, we were easily the better team again.
Randolph - 6 (Few dodgy moments)
Coleman - 8 (Probably one of his best games for us; goal against Georgia has hopefully spurred him on; great cross for third goal)
Duffy - 6 (Few hasty clearances; inexcusable for their goal)
Clark - 7
Ward - 7 (Doesn't deserve his reputation; solid and trustworthy)
McClean - 8 (Involved in all three goals; always looking to make things happen)
Whelan - 6 (Whelan-esque)
McCarthy - 7
Walters - 6 (Improved in second half)
Hoolahan - 7 (A game of contrasting halves)
Long - 7 (Took his goal well; everything we did right in first half revolved around him and Coleman)
O'Dowda - 6 (Willing)
Meyler - 6 (As good a performance as you will see in ten minutes)
O'Kane - N/A
MON - 7 (Improved performance; worrying how similar Moldova goal was to Duffy sending off in France in terms of high line at unnecessary time)
Especially with McClean ready to pile in!!
Dont think Walters would hit a man wearing glasses
I can see where you're coming from. He had another good performance. McClean was so-so until he started scoring.
Hoolahan did a few good things, lovely through ball for Longs goal, but he was generally brutal in the 2nd half.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Love Hoolahan but Christ he gives the ball away in possession very cheaply.
How was #10 for Moldova on the pitch by the end of the match? His mission seemed to be to foul Coleman every single time he got the ball.
Our striker options are worryingly thin. Should Long and Murphy be out for the Austria match, Scott Hogan could walk into the side or perhaps there is one more cap in it for Robbie?
Quoting myself. Not a good sign.
In retrospect it was all obviously a ruse to get him out of the dressing room so Tony O'Donoghue could stick him with the "Do you think you proved a point" question.
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I don't think Keane would touch the ball if he plays in Austria.
Walters looked better playing centrally and McClean scored x2. Even so, Murphy and Long should both be back by next month. And hopefully, Stokes will be back in the Blackburn side and pushing his case by then too.
A lot of concern from people after Keane's retirement but 6 goals from 5 players in 3 games is not a bad return.
I think it's only a matter of time before a defender scores from a setpiece too.
Last edited by TheOneWhoKnocks; 09/10/2016 at 9:07 PM.
This.
Best performance by far. Which is not a high bar. We played football tonight.
Whelan was far better than McCarthy tonight.
I'm not anti-Mon or anything but he needs to cop on. He's like a child who can't take a joke.
Tony is just doing his job and he gets snarled at in response for in any way saying something that could be perceived as negative.
You've got no fans.
I can get the annoyance about Hoolahan's performance in the 2nd half when offensive attempted passes didn't come off, or possession was surrendered, but his bigger picture involvement was so much better. Simply put the reason the ball stayed on the deck so often, and why Stephen Ward looks like he has a role to play going forward for this team, is because of what Hoolahan brings to the pitch. The two killer passes (one long, one short) for the goals were beautiful, but it's the consistent moving and showing, receiving the ball from the full-back, egging him on and then switching play. That for me is what is beautiful about Wes' game. Because it brings so much more out of everyone else, by creating space for himself, and as a consequence, for everyone else - esppecially in our current system where we get our two wingers to tuck in centrally with and without the ball. Bare in mind that it was Hoolahan that teed up McCarthy for the shot for the 2nd goal.
I do it regularly, and have done for a few campaigns now, but it is well-worth having a look-back at the full match again in a day or two.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
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