1. Will Wes Hoolahan start?
IN THE TWO times Ireland have played Georgia at home in just over 12 months, the result (1-0) has been the same, but there has been a considerable discrepancy in the possession stats.
When the teams met in September 2015, Ireland had the marginally better possession of the two sides, completing 381 of 448 attempted passes, while Georgia succeeded in 376 out of 434 passes.
On the other hand, on Thursday, Georgia largely dominated the ball, enjoying 56% of the possession overall, Moreover, they completed 423 out of 478 attempted passes, in contrast with Ireland registering 276 out of 324 attempted passes.
It may have been a significant improvement on the 94 successful passes Ireland managed against Serbia, but Thursday’s stats still made for grim reading when you consider that Ireland were playing at home against the side ranked 137th in the world.
There were a number of reasons why Ireland’s possession stats were much poorer the second time round against Georgia — the hosts looked especially sluggish in the first half and allowed their opponents far too much time on the ball, a failing which Martin O’Neill lamented in the post-match press conference.
The personnel in the two games was not hugely different — six out of 10 outfield players started both games for Ireland, while the same number also figured for Georgia on each occasion.
However, one significant factor is surely the absence of Wes Hoolahan on the latter occasion. The Norwich man can inspire Ireland to play in a constructive manner better than anyone else in the Boys in Green’s squad, and the game on Thursday at times felt as if were crying out for the deft skills of the former Shelbourne footballer.
Hoolahan was intensively warming up at one point early in the second half, and probably would have been introduced sooner rather than later if Seamus Coleman’s somewhat freakish 56th-minute strike hadn’t given the Boys in Green something to hold onto.
At 34, O’Neill likely feels Hoolahan’s powers have diminished, as the fact that he has not started a game for his country since the 3-0 Euro 2016 loss to Belgium back in June suggests.
But while he may not be a prominent figure in this campaign for the most part, O’Neill must surely be tempted to bring Hoolahan back into the team to face Moldova this evening at the very least.
With Jeff Hendrick suspended and Robbie Brady ruled out, O’Neill’s midfield options are limited, so it is widely expected that the Dubliner will win his 36th cap in Chisinau.
Furthermore, against a side likely to drop deep and allow Ireland plenty of possession, a big performance from Hoolahan could be integral to the visitors emerging from this encounter with the necessary three points.
2. Could Moldova cause a shock?
Although they were ranked as fifth seeds ahead of Georgia when the draw for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers were made, Moldova are widely perceived as the weakest of the six teams in Group D.
A 4-0 loss in Wales and a 3-0 defeat at home to Serbia will have done little to reverse the suspicion that the Moldovans are ill-equipped to cope at this level.
In contrast with Thursday’s opponents Georgia, who Ireland have incredibly played eight times in the past 13 years, tonight’s match will be the first-ever encounter between the sides.
And while the two aforementioned results indicate Martin O’Neill’s men have little to fear ahead of this evening’s encounter, one result from the last qualifying campaign provides a reminder that Ireland cannot be overly complacent — Russia 1-1 Moldova.
Granted, it was a rare highlight from a Euro 2016 qualification attempt that also included a loss at home to Liechtenstein, and a sum total of two points, which saw them finish bottom of the group.
Nonetheless, Moldova also lost just 2-1 and 1-0 in their previous qualifiers with Austria, holding their more esteemed opponents at half-time in both matches, and Ireland can expect a similarly nervy affair if they don’t significantly improve on recent performances.
3. McClean becoming a key man
There weren’t too many positives during the week as Ireland stuttered to an unconvincing win over Georgia, but James McClean’s display was certainly one bright spot.
Like the team in general, McClean improved significantly after half-time, but even when the Irish side were struggling to put any sort of coherent attacking moves together, he was the one player always trying to be positive, frequently showing the responsibility to take on his man and playing with the type of intensity that was conspicuously absent from many of his teammates’ games in the first 45 minutes.
Along with Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick, McClean is the player who has developed most in a green jersey in recent months. Having been largely used by O’Neill as an impact sub initially during the 64-year-old coach’s tenure, the Derry native has started every competitive match for Ireland since making the first XI in the 1-0 win over Italy at Euro 2016.
A phenomenal athlete, McClean is perhaps seen by many as a player who is better off the ball, given his technical limitations, but on the basis of Thursday’s display, he now surely deserves to be regarded as an integral member of the team.
What was particularly encouraging was how despite not having the best of first halfs, McClean’s persistence meant that after the break, he recovered superbly and was at the heart of most of Ireland’s best moments in attack.
So, having been somewhat of a fringe player until recently, it now feels as if the 27-year-old West Brom winger is one of the first names on the teamsheet.
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