As long as Kenny doesn't come the other way......Originally Posted by Nesta99
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Im too heartbroken to be coherent at the moment, all I can say right now is anyone who wants to be negative after than can fcuk off.
Not a night for knocking Kenny, but one puzzling decision he made was to bring Idah on 20 minutes before Obafemi.
I'll be negative but not about the performance because it was really good. Looking ahead to Athens in a few months, we'll be beaten by the heat that night and it'll be back to gloom and doom again with tonight's performance a distant memory
I love the way they kept the heads up, gathered themselves, and kept playing after going a goal down against a team that just lashed the Dutch out of it 4-0. That shows real character and belief. And they kept playing decent football too - not the turgid stuff we got for years.
Ogbene put in an epic performance. They all did. As noted elsewhere, we could do with some luck. 1-1 would have been fair. Collins will be scratching his head for a month by the looks of the footage at the end of the match. The younger players should take a huge amount of confidence from tonight.
I might have brought Smallbone on instead of Idah/Browne. Cullen was below his usual high standard, a bit flat compared to his usual Ireland performances. But those are minor quibbles.
The niggling thought is whether this is a turning point or a false dawn, of course.
Greece will be the measure of all things in a few months. Until then, I'm going with turning point!
That was heartbreaking. Such a sickener to concede the way they did. Just seen the highlights when I got in and we certainly had the chances to at least get the draw. Couple of outstanding saves from their keeper.
I’d agree that knight shares the blame a bit for the goal. He makes the cardinal error of waiting for the ball to come to him. But he was possibly caught a little off guard by the pass. Cullen is so important to the team in general so it’s a real pity it was his mistake that cost the goal.
Definitely plenty to build on. But as has been said, it’s the results against the weaker teams that will really make or break this team once again.
Paging BOOMers to the thread
Paging BOOMers
Kudos to Kenny for going after Mikey Johnston and having the faith to put him in against France. Wish he'd have introduced him earlier but a very good find nonetheless
Well don't watch the analysis on Virgin......
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Kerr is a miserable bitter man
Just back in from the game, and have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable to be at.
France were better, no question. A little slicker, better first touch, and simply had better quality on the pitch, and bench.
But boy did we give them a game. And boy how close was Collins to giving us a result.
But we're not supposed to beat France. We're not even supposed to beat Holland. But we might.
We have to beat Greece and Gibraltar, and prove performances like tonight are an upward trend, not a brave one off.
France and Holland are higher level than Ireland at the moment.. but if we keep progressing, and get lucky enough to get a play off, then we should be a match for any team we face there
He wasn't always which is a bit sad. The bit of wry wit and the joy he had for the game seems to have dried up and been replaced by the bitterness.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Just home.
France looked shaky in full back positions during the World Cup and Kenny obviously had us set up to try to exploit that. He deserves credit for that. I was aghast that he took off Ferguson when he did though. I didn't understand that at all.
I have to re-access my opinion on Molumby though. I thought he was superb tonight.
Cullen must be gutted. He was having a good game up to that point. But it has to be stated that it's yet another goal that's been conceded from a shot from outside the box. That's not a criticism of him at all. It's a collective problem that we've had for a while now.
But it's hard to be too critical. That was a terrific performance, and one which probably deserved a point, but it wasn't to be. It feels like we're gradually ending towards something, but my concern would be that we've been here before with Kenny and it's usually been followed up by some really underwhelming displays, but that's for another day. Tonight we forced their keeper into making a worldie of a save to deny us a point and had one of the best sides in football doing everything that could to run down the clock in injury time. Overall it was a positive night for Irish football, in spite of the result.
Edit: As a total aside, the young woman the FAI have brought in to sing Amhrán na bhFiann in the last 2 games was fabulous and should be a permanent fixture. Lansdowne Road was special tonight and she was an important part of that. The Dutch and Greeks won't be looking forward to visiting Dublin.
Last edited by backstothewall; 28/03/2023 at 12:27 AM.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Maybe it was harder to see in the stadium but Ferguson was ******ed. His head was down at times as he tried to keep up the pressing. He'd put in a good shift but I don't think he had anything left in the tank. Idah did well I thought, particularly when he played McClean in.
That said it might have been nice to have Ferguson sniffing about in the six yard box when we had those corners. Nobody else quite has that strikers instinct and maybe one of those balls would have fallen his way.
You must have thought Collins header was in for a second? Still can't believe that save. I've watched it back a few times. Brutal.
Agree on Molumby. Didn't think he had it in him. He wasn't just pure grafting either, he was smart with the ball.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Best substition he made. Idah caused all sorts of bother, held the ball up, linked the midfielders, was key to how we played thereafter. Ferguson had run out of gas 10mins before he was replaced.
As Irishmen we dilute our sense of nation by depending on the English to bring us our balls
Yeah as other lads said Ferguson was knackered, it was a good sub. I would have loved to have had Ferguson in the last 15 mins but he had run himself into the ground. There's also no way he couldn't have started to keep him fresh for end of game. The great thing is he will only get better and be out main man for years to come, and we are also getting a good supporting cast for him
Knight was out on his feet the same as Ferguson and probably should have been taken off at the same time,really hope this is his last season in League 1 ,better for us and himself if he’s playing at a higher level…..
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Yep, Ferguson was goosed and Idah did well. Kenny had no choice. Ferguson had a slight limp post match. Not sure if he was dragging himself around because of tiredness or whether it was an injury - could have been the bang to the foot he took v Latvia.
Hope so. There is something very effective about him. And coaching somewhere other than Rotherham might also improve certain of the rougher aspects to his game. Although he has improved at Rotherham so maybe that is unfair by me.
But there is definitely more to come from him and I would love to see him take a punt outside of the Championship because I think if he has a decent agent there is a body of work for Ireland and some good performances, as well as a versatile, game player and great lad, that could have an impact in a lot of places
Gutted. That was almost close to perfect from team and management.
Kept it tight and didnt allow France the space to play in front of us or the space in behind.
They had a lot of ball in first half, but once we saw that we would have some of it ourselves they used it well and took the sting out of the game properly. Tactics were en point all game, especially when we went 1 down. Substitutions all worked, but ev couldnhave been hooked 10 mins earlier. Knight and Jay went at the right time. Knight has an amazing capacity to cover ground- it is inspiring to watch
. Object was to stay in the game long enough to get something . It took a world class save, from an excellent header (and keeper had.made a great save too just before) to prevent us getting what i thought would have been a justified point.
No point analysing any further, we all saw the game.
Molumby was my man of the match. Lad was amazing and hes a mainstay of the team now.
Genuinely have a squad that amount to.more than the sum of their parts. Johnston, Browne, Idah all offered something when they came on,and when you add ODowda, Andy, Smallbone, Obafemi who will all only get better its exciting.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
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