New thread as the last thread seems to be broken.
A good performance in many ways but we dont create chances and we dont score, be it v Armenia or Portugal. We were always holding out for 0-0 tonight.
I didn't think much of them.
Not much better than us.
Hungary are a good side who should quite easily get second place (unless Ireland can pull off an upset, which won’t happen imo)
I think we'll get a result against Portugal.
Home crowd, Thursday night fixture, should be good atmosphere.
The few pints after work crowd normally are up for it.
It's why "European nights" are the best.
Personally wouldn’t call it a brilliant performance. However it was a pretty good defensive display. Managed to limit their chances and they didn’t have many clear cut ones. One of the worst penalty decisions ever seen aside.
I think you have to consider the context. Us coming off the back of being beaten by Armenia.. We’re ranked 61st in the world, Portugal 5th and seen as a genuine contender to win the World Cup! Even with referee giving them everything we defended well enough to almost get a draw. Obviously we had pretty much no threat. But away against a very good team it was a much improved performance. You can be positive about it. I’m by no means delighted with it but it’s better. Something to build on.
There’s no reality where we were going there tonight with this team and playing them off the park scoring a few goals. Many thought we’d be getting a hiding tonight.
Pay peanuts and you get monkeys. For decades the whole “Don’t give FAI money” excuse was used to under fund youth football. Most children see half their games cancelled every other week. Few all weather facilities available to most children. No access to top coaches for most. Even access to the very best in Ireland isn’t a patch on anything you can get in other countries.
Sh*te infrastructure to help Irish kids flourish and this is what you end up with. I knew when my child had a dream to play at a decent level he had more chance of running for president.
What are you waffling about??
I said that's the style of football I enjoyed the most from an Irish team. There was a conversation with a poster before that. Read before jumping in.
Defensive resilience my backside. Any team can play with 11 behind the ball. They did their best, but limited. We deservedly lost the game on every metric.
What are you waffling on about?
You do realize the 02 World Cup was nearly a Quarter of a century ago, right? Not very relevant to this campaign.
Everyone realizes Tuesday night is a must win game. There will be no excuses.
Until then, we showed a lot of defensive resilience tonight which is long overdue. We can take that much from tonight’s performance.
How can anyone call that a performance from an Irish team? We were as bad as it's possible to be, defended for almost the entire 90 mins, could have been obliterated, should have been in all fairness and then I hear and read of ex internationals calling it a great performance. We never were, never will be a soccer team of any stature, but it's difficult for some to see it. There should be different grades on International football, maybe about 4. Ireland would do well to survive in that 4th grade and that's being kind. No wonder couples have taken to replacing kids with dogs, puppies instead of babies, coz they're always chasing their tails and couldn't be bothered with taking responsibility for anything. Always me me me me me
You get a lot of club football followers who get terribly excited when they win 7 min into injury time. For example if it's Liverpool a few years back they'd be called Mentality Monsters.
However, when it happens to their team, club or country, and the shoe is on the other foot, some throw their toys out of the pram. From experience most of these 'fans' are complete anoraks who played sport at no level.
You're afraid to reply to me now🤣
I've played a lot of sports, hurling gaelic, rugby, football, boxing, cycling.
Kinda babyish crying when a team loses in added on time. Have you played any sport? Seriously?
Inter county gaelic football doesn't last an hour either. You seem to be a bit of a novice at all sports.
By scoring early, if it’s 0-0 coming up to HT then they’ll grow in confidence and we’ll get panicky. Their keeper looks dodgy so I think put ‘em under pressure Big Jack tactics will be required on the night.
He sees it, in a split second he sees there's no one close to it so has to go to it - low odds of getting to it, will look poor if he doesn't get to it but has to go - that's the millisecond decision. Try it some time.
Yeah, for sure. We absolutely have to beat Armenia and Hungary, and just hope we catch the breaks we need elsewhere. After tonight, and knowing Portugal might be in relaxation mode for the return leg in Dublin, I'm still holding out some feint hope we could nick a draw there. As everyone says, it really is the hope that kills ya, but I'd rather keep that sliver of hope alive as long as possible.
The exact same thing happened under Kenny though.
We played well away to Portugal, much better than tonight imo, could've beaten them but got sucker punched by Ronaldo in the last minute. And likewise, we would've beaten them in Dublin but the ref gave a free cos Will Keane dared to be in the same postcode as one of their defenders.
Failed to replicate those levels against Azerbaijan (I think it was) and Luxembourg. The players will rouse themselves for a "spirited" display against European royalty, but against teams that we fancy ourselves as better than, but who have a few technically useful players and are well drilled and organised, we screw it up.
The more things change…
Hungary aren't great.
I think they'll draw or lose in Armenia.
We'll still have to win in Hungary though I think.
Good point.
If Portugal beat Hungary. They're guaranteed top of the group.
So when they come to Dublin, they've nothing to play for.
We might snatch a result.
Goal difference might matter in the end. We have to hope Portugal beat Hungary by 2 or 3 goals.
I'd be happy enough even if we're still in it going in to the last game.
I think in the short term we have to improve our ranking and get 2nd seed in a group so it's a shame we didn't hold on for a draw.
I don't know how rankings work but coming second in our group would surely boost them.
WC 2000 qualification to 2002 WC. Those autumn 1999 lapses were tough.
But we were going in the right direction. We're so far off now.
Tonight was a good performance in its own right. But Tuesday is the litmus test now. The overall campaign is what really matters.
Being invested/interested in the mens senior team feels like a very niche interest these days. Which I'm delighted to maintain.
Goal difference will matter at the end of the group, which is why tonight was a good performance.
I feel like tonight was a closer representation of where we are when compared to Armenia away.
Looking forward to us building on tonight, and looking forward to Tuesday.
I wasn't jumping on them. I felt Caoimhin would save, he did. Around 80 min in I said I feel a goal would come for Portugal around 92min.
I approached the game with no emotion. We played reasonably well but the performance has been a bit exaggerated. We were terrible in possession.
Is it somehow not allowed to call a performance as you see it anymore, out of some sort of misplaced sentiment?
I think it was just one of those
If he doesn't come for it the guy has a free header from 6 yards with no defender challenging and it still goes in the top corner and we all complain he didn't come out and challenge for it.
Split second the other way and we're cheering his punch clearing the danger
Cracking ball in and happened so fast. On balance I think going for it when you see there's no defender in position to challenge is probably what I'd prefer him to do but I don't think either decision is outrageously bad, it was a quality goal.
Keeper couldn't win no matter what he did
Yeah he seems made for coaching.
He is spoken of so highly by everyone.
Frank Lampard was so effusive.
I'd prefer it to be their first team players coming over after qualifying with no interest in getting injured rather than a bunch of fringe players trying to impress and get into the WC squad
And the embarrassing situation we're in now is how do we beat Armenia?
Nothing wrong with being selective and remembering the good times but don’t forget that same Irish team were seconds away from automatic qualification for Euro 2000 but blew it by giving away a stupid goal in Macedonia. We struggled against minnows then as we do now.
Ha, tell that to my nerves and my heart rate half an hour ago! 😂
Kelleher should have done better for the goal
On the flip side it's hard to get emotionally invested in our current position.
You're not necessarily wrong… I just don't really understand the need for some people to jump in with this stuff minutes after a heartbreaking defeat from a really strong performance. Timing, like… it's nice to just sit with a result for five minutes before returning to "everything is awful" mode. It's just about a bit of basic emotional intelligence and understanding of emotional context around the evening…
I appreciate it.
But we're going nowhere as a football nation. We had a counter in the first half. The inability to finish it was sad to watch.
Whether it's the John Delaney legacy. I don't know. I want a team of the talents of Ireland 2000 to 2002.
We're desperately far behind. We can't beat Armenia and Hungary, who we need to beat to qualify.
Honest post from me. Some who were upset at the loss turned on me for expressing the opinion we're poor.
Anytime an Irish team, in any sport, takes the field I take 100% effort as a given.
