Predictions for Saturday

**Green Tribe** · 02/06/2005, 2:29 PM

Originally Posted by Dublin12

I heard Beniyoun was suffering from flu this week,any truth in that?

Hope he's riddled with it, no harm to him, I am nervous about this game, however I am relying on home support to get behind the team, and seek revenge

for that late equaliser in Tel aviv! Clinty said he'd score twice for me in this game

but i think we will also get a third goal from an unlikely source, israelis will of course get a sneaky one at the end

3-1 to the boys in green!

Woo-hoo............. Bring it on!!

**TerryPhelan** · 02/06/2005, 2:32 PM

Originally Posted by elroy

have a bad feeling about this one, have a feeling it could be similar to Albania at home in the last campaign.

I am admittedly nervous and consumed by pessimism before every Ireland game - probably because I feel that predicting a win will only jinx it and I will be haunted by the sick feeling that any bad result is my fault. The football fan'scondition, I suppose...

I know we can beat Israel. We played very good possession football against them in Tel Aviv and that completely took the sting out of them. They couldn't get near us for most of the game. It was our lack of invention from midfield and drive up front that cost us. Hopefully Kavanagh and Andy Reid will remedy this.

However, I think people are underestimating Israel too: they can well beat us. I keep having premonitions of Robbie going close in the first few minutes before they zip down the pitch (they will probably set out to play counter attack football, something we've never been comfortable with) and crack in a stunner. They'll be 2-0 up by half time. Mark my words. Shades of Spain '93, with George Hamilton producing the 'no, your eyes do not deceive you, it's Ireland 0, Israel 2'.

Somebody has to temper all the jinx-inducing optimism on this thread. So I'm going with 2-1 to Israel. World Cup hopes in the dustbin. Bracing myself for another edge-of-seat nerve-shattering 90 minutes. Fingers and all other opposable digits are crossed (not easy to type, mind)...

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 2:32 PM

0-1 / 0-0

sadly you guys will not have any reason to be happy come saturday.
this thread explains exactly why - all of you are sure you are going to win, and i think that your players (even though they don't say it) think the same.
israel is a strong and stubbern team that doesn't have any stars (except for yossi, but it seems that you guys don't think he is something, even that 2 weeks ago he scored 3 goals in a game at the spanish premiership,so that will be even better for us...).
israel didn't lose any game yet and she played france twice, you guys and the swiss. so i don't think that a win for you guys is so obvious.
anyway i have gone to all of israels away games in this campign (and i am also coming tomorow for this one), and israel plays better away then at home. ben haim not playing isn't that important there are enogh good defenders from the israeli league (where ben haim played last year).
another important thing is that israel knows that a win in dublin almost for sure secures a place in the top 2 - since we have only 1 swiss game and 2 faros left after this. while ireland still have to play swiss and france (and cyprus away which isn't an obvius win - i know bcause we lost there twice in previous campigns. and in those campgns we won and drew france and spain).
one more important thing is that israel is playing with no presure since not qualfying will not be considerd as a failure.

so to sumerize - an early goal for israel and then 80 minutes of bunker defence.

see you saturday at landsdown road ( i hope i wrote it right...)

**Green Tribe** · 02/06/2005, 2:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy

I just want to see an aggressive, attacking Irish performance. And if and when we go 1-0 up, we push on and make it 2-0, not sit back like morons and wait.

Hear hear!
Nothing more frustrating !

**Colm55** · 02/06/2005, 2:42 PM

I'm going for 3-1, i'm confident that were strong enough to win comfortably but lapses in concentration or sitting back for the final ten mins will allow the isrealis a goal, but the work will have been done at that stage !

**davey** · 02/06/2005, 2:42 PM

2-0 Ireland. One in each half. Robbie and Zilbane with the goals. I'm not that nervous actually - always confident at home and with good reason to be.

**eirebhoy** · 02/06/2005, 2:53 PM

Originally Posted by kerr's tribe

Hear hear!
Nothing more frustrating !

I'm the opposite. There's nothing more frustrating for me than listening to people saying Israel are crap. Kerr and the players know how strong or weak Israel are. The players will be happy if we give Israel the respect they deserve while the Israeli players will be more than happy if our fans and media write them off.

Tuff Paddy - There's not a lot of Irish midfielders that would score a hattrick against anyone, never mind Andrade and co from Deportivo. Lets give him the respect he deserves. I hate foreigners not giving Duffer the credit he deserves.

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 2:59 PM

[QUOTE=Tuff Paddy

Just to put you right about your beloved Yossi: he was laughed out of Ajax. They even ran an interview on Dutch TV with his mother bemoaning the "ugliness of the tomatoes" at an Amsterdam market. He couldn't cut it then and he's only playing for Racing Santander in Spain. He's hardly Maradona.[/QUOTE]

you are right about ajax - but he was 15 years old, and he comes from a very small city in israel and being in a diffrent country and a diffrent language wasn't easy for him.
from then he grew and he plays in spain for the last years.
you are also right about racing being a small club in spain, but coming from israel you don't go straight to the big clubs, you have to play in the mid level clubs before. next year he will move to a better club (maybe newcastle). if he was coming from ireland he was in a bigger club now. another thing is that scoring 3 goals in one game in the spanish leauge (against deportivo) isn't something you see a lot of players do, also scoring 3 goals in his last 4 matches against real madrid, and also his 2 goals in the game against the swiss (if you have seen them). so scoring agains ireland won't be "the top of his carear".
as i said it also helps that you guys don't think much about us and him. the newspapers here are full today with articels saying that you see us as the faroes "biggest sister". and that is excellent for us. the last team that didn't take us serious were austria and they lost 5-0 in the game in tel aviv...

**Eh Weh** · 02/06/2005, 3:00 PM

Its been said before and ill say it again, if we cant beat ISRAEL at HOME we dont deserve to go to the Finals, simple as that. We have 2 players suspended so do they, and both teams have injury concerns, lets be honest we played absolute cap over there and they were lucky to scrape a draw. The Irish team in my opinion needs to start delivering, we have a good team with the two Keanes, Duff, Given and Finnan ect. This rubbish that Kerr goes on with we dont have to win it, no we dont but who wants another bloody play off when we are easily capable of topping the group... its time to take control of the group!

**Tired&Emotional** · 02/06/2005, 3:00 PM

"Go Israel", what is the Israeli equivalent of Foot.ie? Wouldn't mind startin a thread there.....

**Donal81** · 02/06/2005, 3:01 PM

Israel aren't crap but they're not excellent either and I'm sick of the hype. We're a better team, we've home advantage, let's do them. 2-0.

**Eh Weh** · 02/06/2005, 3:04 PM

Originally Posted by Donal81

Israel aren't crap but they're not excellent either and I'm sick of the hype. We're a better team, we've home advantage, let's do them. 2-0.

What Donal says! The hype is ridiculous youd think we were playing France!

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 3:05 PM

Originally Posted by Tired&Emotional

"Go Israel", what is the Israeli equivalent of Foot.ie? Wouldn't mind startin a thread there.....

it's www.tapuz.co.il and then you go to the soccer section. but i don't think it will help you a lot unless you control fluent hebrew...

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 3:09 PM

Originally Posted by Eh Weh

What Donal says! The hype is ridiculous youd think we were playing France!

excatly what your players are thinking also...
and grant, yossi and the guys know that...

as i said before, a quick early goal from israel, and then locking down the gate...

**Tired&Emotional** · 02/06/2005, 3:14 PM

Originally Posted by go israel

it's www.tapuz.co.il and then you go to the soccer section. but i don't think it will help you a lot unless you control fluent hebrew...

Cheers. I was hoping that's where you'd come in.......now, what's the Hebrew for "any goodlookin' Israeli girls travelling to Dublin this weekend?!!"

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 3:21 PM

Originally Posted by Tired&Emotional

Cheers. I was hoping that's where you'd come in.......now, what's the Hebrew for "any goodlookin' Israeli girls travelling to Dublin this weekend?!!"

goodlookin israeli girls don't go on sport's trips specially not soccer one's but i guess you would run across some israeli's trying to sell tickets, since where i bought my tickets they were surpriced that i didn't want to buy more than 2 (for me and my partner).

**Tired&Emotional** · 02/06/2005, 3:25 PM

Originally Posted by go israel

goodlookin israeli girls don't go on sport's trips specially not soccer one's but i guess you would run across some israeli's trying to sell tickets, since where i bought my tickets they were surpriced that i didn't want to buy more than 2 (for me and my partner).

It's cool, only havin' a laugh...

**Donal81** · 02/06/2005, 3:30 PM

Originally Posted by go israel

excatly what your players are thinking also...
and grant, yossi and the guys know that...

as i said before, a quick early goal from israel, and then locking down the gate...

Mate, if you're so good, I don't know why it took a last minute goal to draw with us on your home ground and nor do I understand how you struggled to beat Cyprus twice. Best of luck to you, you're not a bad team and certainly better than I originally thought but you've been riding your luck so far.

**go israel** · 02/06/2005, 3:32 PM

Originally Posted by Tired&Emotional

"Go Israel", what is the Israeli equivalent of Foot.ie? Wouldn't mind startin a thread there.....

you can go to the leading sportsite: www.one.co.il, and see the hype around the game here. most of the sport news are about the game (the team landed in dublin, yossi sneazed, grant blinked etc.)

**elroy** · 02/06/2005, 3:42 PM

Originally Posted by go israel

you can go to the leading sportsite: www.one.co.il, and see the hype around the game here. most of the sport news are about the game (the team landed in dublin, yossi sneazed, grant blinked etc.)

are you the same guy who came on here gloating after the draw in tel aviv?
maybe just maybe we would underestimate ye if we have played out a draw under normal circumstances in tel aviv. but the fact ye scored with a last min goal ensures we intend nothing but revenge.
Im sorry you can go on about this guy in the spanish league as much as you want but i tell you playing Ireland in front of a packed lansdowne road is a millions times tougher than your average spanish league game.
Im glad Israel are doing well and i hope it continues after sat but ye will be stopped in your track by the boys in green on sat-trust me.