| Date | Content |
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16.11.2009
(Cashman) | Luck Deserts The Irish
So much for the luck of the Irish then. For 70 minutes Ireland, while rarely threatening themselves, had been holding France to a scoreless draw relatively comfortably. Then catastrophe struck. Anelka received the ball to feet on the edge of the box, spun, and shot. Sean St Ledger, who had a fine game, was a fraction slow in closing him down, resulting in a deflection off him rather than the effort being blocked entirely. France had the away goal they craved, and in truth their composed, possession dominating performance probably deserved. Just about.
Ireland have rode their luck throughout this campaign, with poor perfomances masked by the results that were ground out. That luck seems to have deserted them from the minute the final whistle blew in the group. Enter seedings, the worst outcome from the draw possible, and now an unfortunate deflected goal (there is an argument that their luck was in when Patrice Evra possibly should have earned his team a second half penalty).
So is there a way back? Of course there is. But it requires a mammoth effort. Not only do Ireland have to defend every bit as well as they did Saturday night, they now know that they also have to score. Which means the Andy Reid issue may well be a hot topic of conversation again this week.
It is simply ridiculous that he isn't in this squad. It is understandable that he wouldn't start given the managers preference to play with two holding midfielders, and while he has been frequently playing on the left for Sunderland, this is one area where the Irish team is served well. However, to not even have him on the bench in case, god forbid, we might have to change the system or need a goal, is simply wrong.
Traps plan will probably be to play much as we did in Croke Park, get to 70 minutes at 0-0, and then look for the goal. Reid would have been a potent weapon to call upon.
As it is we'll be relying on a bit of magic from our attacking quartet, or a set piece.....or in all likelihood, luck. |
| Date | Comments | |
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17.11.2009
(FootballJourno team) | Yes I agree that luck deserted Ireland to a certain extent but I don't think they did enough to get anything from the game. They were at home and although theres an obvious golf in class between the two sides, they never looked like scoring and were camped in their half for the whole of the second period. How Andy Ried doesn't even get on the bench at least is beyond me! |
