O'Shea just missed great chance at back post
O'Shea just missed great chance at back post
Doing well in keeping the tempo up, quick recycling of the ball. Struggling to break them down conidering the amount of possession. Hopefully the perststance with the high tempo will reap it rewards as they tire toward the end. Conditions look damn awful and dont suit us though we do keep the ball in the deck. Looks like we are not sure at all on how to weight the pass between the pitch and wind. Maybe a few high balls in the the box and pressing under could be way to keep them guessing otherwise its just playing a lot of nice stuff in front of them with little penetration. Pop a couple of long efforts in too as we have that guile to nick some space. Frustrating stuff and bar the early penalty very few decent chances either way. They dont look like creating much - long throw in to the box had us scampering a bit is all really.
Last edited by Nesta99; 15/10/2019 at 4:49 PM.
I lost connection to the stream, looks like Masterson missed a good chance
Stream back. Lee O Connor just sent off for 2nd yellow
I know Obafemi has played a bit of Premier League but from what I've seen of him he strikes me as the kind of guy who could end up playing non league or be out of the game altogether by his mid 20s.
Very little attacking talent in this team with Connolly, Parrott and Afolabi missing. Conditions weren't great but still a very poor display against a physical but crap Iceland team.
O'Connor sent off now as well
Hard to disagree about Obafemi, especially if his hamstrings continue to be a problem for him.
Coventry on the other hand looks a gem, always looking for the ball and trying to move it forward. The right loan move in January could see him pushing the first team soon.
Poor result in extremely difficult conditions, will dent chances of qualifying big time but I still think there are 4 or 5 from that team that will make the step up
Missed the red card but a bit of impetulance at the end that we can put down to inexperience and frustration. Some afters at the ft whistle, never seen players smuggled off the pitch like some of those Iceland players with the ref scampering round with his card out looking to book someone. SK doing plenty of 'calm down' to the ref. Not to sound bitter but the Icelandic lads are not so gracious in victory! Pressure on now to win in Italy to have real hope of qualifying - unless the Italians get a similar set of conditions playing away in Iceland which they wouldnt enjoy at all. It's spot on though, we lacked a bit of quality in the final third. It's hard to remember that this is about building for the senior squad and not necessarily about making waves as a country at U21. The general increase in interest in this age group is something of a success in itself for SK and co!
Last edited by Nesta99; 15/10/2019 at 5:10 PM.
Two red cards in successive games, must be a while since that happened?
Such a load of moaning not least from Kenny himself sounding like the archetypal moany dub. It's Iceland in mid october, a nincompoop could tell you that weather matters. The outdoor football season ended over 4 weeks ago. I presume Kenny would have stuck his head out of the hotel at some stage, is acquainted with the vagaries of the plastic pitch, would have had a nr of practice sessions on the pitch beforehand in the inclement weather and spent time in deep preparation for the encounter against a team who were out to prove something to themselves. Kenny had an extra 2 days to prepare with that squad.
Eidur said afterwards that Ireland proved to be a better team than Sweden, but beforehand they (the coaching staff) had studied the Irish play "to bits", had plans to meet the threats and that they were prepared to battle from the opening minutes onward. Iceland had what Ireland did not, a centre midfielder, the 19 years old nr. 6 Alex with 2 seasons top local league experience, he gave an intelligent workmanlike display, motm imo. Obafemi should have been pulled after 20 minutes, Adam Idah impressed.
There were about 450 in attendance, not the 40 that Kenny disparagingly mentioned.
A strange sight, throughout the game the 4 corner flags were flying outstretched in 4 different directions.
International under 21 players deserved better than the pitch Iceland offered today. 3 open sides on a narrow astro surface with a gale force wind. Disgraceful. No defending that.
I only saw second half, from what I saw Ireland were poor, lacked cutting edge in the final third, something they’ve struggled with. Lost discipline in the end, Molumby in the thick of it. No real standout from Iceland team from that I saw
I noticed that - the large UEFA flags were looking very much like there was a gael blowing in our direction so was wondering why there wasnt a few long shots tried or balls up at the keeper, but then at a corner the corner flags were blowing against us. Strange especially in such an open ground. The narrow pitch seemed to be the main problem of the venue that we didnt adjust to rather than the surface or general surroundings. When it comes to the weather well as they say its the same for both sides and we wouldnt be exactly lacking experience of playing in wet blustery conditions. If the season is over 4 weeks then wouldnt there have been more suitable club grounds available or were Iceland playing to every advantage they could muster?! They were very much in the face of the Irish lads celebrating the FT whistle. There will be plenty of niggle in the return fixture (assuming there is home and away games at this age group?), not that SK will be in the job to see out qualifying.
Feels like a serious setback for the squad. Not the easiest, playing away to Iceland any time apart from summer.
There was a bunch of factors: the plastic pitch, dunno whether it was wet and heavy or dry and slow but the ball was holding up plenty when players were trying to play – and other times the wind would carry it past players. There was a ball out to Elbouzedi in the first half which literally accelerated out of his path like it was going down a hill. I'd be fairly sure it wouldn't pass the FIFA or UEFA tests in its current condition (Gibraltar's didn't but they were given dispensation). The small size of the pitch probably accentuates the difficulties and if you go behind, makes it easier for a team to get men behind the ball and crowd the space.
Saying all that, it was a pretty poor performance. There's very few if any that I would single out for praise. Overall a totally disjointed display and much less than everyone would have expected. Not being able to call on Connolly, Parrott, Afolabi, Clarke, Leahy and Farrugia made a big difference in that respect.
I thought Ronan would have been brought on at some point. The stream went down for probably our 3 best chances apparently, along with the penalty and the sending off, so i guess we all have a somewhat limited perspective on the game.
You might get more from Obafemi playing him up top. He's got more pace than Connolly, so if you can just get the ball in behind, he'll burn centre-halves.
Anyway, a day and night to forget for Irish football
We didn't adapt to the pitch and the conditions. Quick feet, fast and short passing, and keeping the ball on the surface were needed and we didn't do that. Kenny and the FAI twitter feed mention dominating the second half - not from what I saw, we perhaps shaded it but didn't do enough to be aggrieved. But evident again from the Italy game that we're lacking width and a threat wide in the absence of Connolly. And from this game, we're lacking invention and guile to play through a compact team.
Last edited by ifk101; 16/10/2019 at 7:07 AM.
I think something we'll have to get used to under Kenny at this and senior level, is the we’ll lose some games that we’d have normally drawn, the flip side being we’ll also win more of the games we used to draw. The way his teams play means there’s a chance for teams to do to us what we traditionally did to them, crowd players behind the ball, make it an ugly game and nick a goal and hold on.
It’s a totally different philosophy to what we’ve seen for decades. It’ll take down getting used to, and there’s the potential for it to go badly wrong, but on the positive side, there’s a talented generation coming through and the potential for it to go brilliantly.
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