1. Great spirit but lack of quality as Ireland earn lucky draw
THE BEST AND worst aspects of Martin O’Neill’s Ireland were on display in Serbia last night.
Just as they did against Sweden, Bosnia (away) and France, Ireland took the lead, but seemed almost hampered by the early goal rather than being buoyed by it.
The Boys in Green were woeful in possession, with even players considered technically sound such as Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick and Seamus Coleman conceding possession far too cheaply on a regular basis.
Both Daryl Murphy and Martin O’Neill blamed the poor conditions on Ireland’s inadequacies on the ball, but Serbia still managed to string passes together much more competently, and this is by no means the first time that O’Neill’s side have resorted to negative football after starting so positively.
And while the team may be lacking technically, they make up for it to a degree with their spirit. Irish fans often balk at the term ‘spirit,’ as it is often perceived to be damning the team with faint praise, but there is no doubt that the Boys in Green have developed a unique level of resilience in the O’Neill era.
Crucial late goals have been a recurring theme of the 64-year-old coach’s tenure — in addition to last night, Ireland have managed game-changing goals in the last 10 minutes of big competitive matches against Italy, Germany, Georgia and Poland.
While the Irish won’t be the prettiest team to watch in Group D, they will certainly be among the hardest to beat if past evidence is anything to by.
2. Inspired substitutions help get Ireland out of jail
As was the case in the famous wins within the last 12 months over Italy and Germany, substitutions played a big part in Ireland’s hard-earned point yesterday evening.
Stephen Quinn’s introduction on 70 minutes was a brave call — many supporters would have been hoping to see fan favourite Wes Hoolahan come off the bench.
In addition, the Reading star has not had the best of seasons at club level so far — he has yet to start in any of his side’s five Championship games, and has featured for just half an hour in total in the league since the beginning of the campaign.
Yet Quinn brought wit and urgency to Ireland’s game, providing extra energy to a flagging midfield that had spent much of the game without the ball.
Similarly, Murphy made a big impact largely owing to his impressive physicality in attack, he was introduced for Jeff Hendrick on 76 minutes.
In fact, Ireland were so reliant on the long ball that perhaps it would have been wiser to start with the big Newcastle striker.
Nevertheless, the 33-year-old Waterford native certainly made his presence felt in the 14 minutes he was on the pitch, setting up Shane Long for a gilt-edged wasted chance, before his bullet header rescued a point for the visitors from Robbie Brady expertly delivered corner.
Consequently, while not everyone agreed with O’Neill’s starting XI last night, even the manager’s harshest critics must concede that his substitutions paid off handsomely.
3. Will Ireland look back on this game with regret?
Many people argued before the match that a point away to Serbia would be a good result and Martin O’Neill certainly felt that was the case.
Moreover, a draw certainly flattered Ireland more so than the Serbians, with the hosts dominating for long spells, even if the penalty that put them ahead probably should not have been given.
Yet if the Boys in Green don’t escape Group D ultimately, will they look back on this match with some regret?
They were playing against a team low on confidence after a disastrous Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, in front of an apathetic home crowd and with an inexperienced squad that were deprived of two of their best players (the suspended Nemanja Matic and Aleksandar Kolarov).
Granted, Serbia were seeded above Ireland when the draw was made, but the Boys in Green sit 16 places in front of them in the Fifa rankings, so recent form would suggest Ireland were favourites for this game.
But the visitors seemed intent on sitting back and holding onto their tenuous lead from the moment Jeff Hendrick’s deflected strike got Ireland off to the best possible start inside three minutes.
Yet wins are crucial in this campaign — even if Ireland finish second in what is a tight group, they will need to ensure they don’t get eliminated by being the worst runner-up (only eight of the nine second-place finishers will progress to the playoffs).
If the Irish team can’t beat ostensibly the fourth-best team in the group, you have to question where the multiple points needed are going to come from.
And with that factor in mind, if they weren’t already, next month’s matches home to Georgia and away to Moldova must certainly now been seen as must-win games. Ireland simply cannot afford to drop points against the two sides widely perceived as the weakest in Group D.
4. Where is Brady’s best position?
Robbie Brady started in central midfield last night, just as he did against France and Italy during the Euros, but the Norwich star has been deployed at left-back and left-wing almost as often for the Boys in Green.
In Serbia though, Brady, like Ireland in general, had an inconsistent game.
Granted, he had a hand in both the Irish goals, but he also conceded possession cheaply far too often.
In addition, the Serbians controlled much of the game, while Ireland largely by-passed midfield — the long-ball up to Shane Long was the instinctive response for nearly every Ireland player throughout the match.
A number of defensive errors both for Ireland and Norwich (his performances at the back have drawn criticism at club level of late) suggest Brady remains ill-equipped to play in defence.
However, his display on Monday evening indicates that he has plenty to work on as a central midfielder too, as he largely struggled in difficult conditions along with the rest of the Ireland team.
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