1. Draw which feels like a defeat
After Friday’s spirited performance in Stockholm, the onus was Ireland to go out and claim a win against Austria tonight.
However, it was the visitors who came out strongly in the opening minutes of the match and it looked ominous as they took the lead on 11 minutes with Ciaran Clark guilty of trying to play his way out of trouble when clearing his lines was the smart option.
Ireland regrouped and turned the game on its head thanks to Jon Walters’ double with Shane Long and James McCarthy also impressing.
At 2-1, you felt it was Ireland’s for the taking and those who turned up to a bitterly cold Aviva Stadium were evidently deflated when David Alaba’s deflected strike beat David Forde in injury time.
Victory would have put Ireland two points ahead of Sweden (albeit with a game more played) and in pole position to clinch runners-up spot but as it stands, both Austria (on goal difference) and the Swedes hold an advantage over Ireland, who don’t play again until June.
2. Decision not to change formation proves costly
With quarter of an hour on the clock, a tired Irish team were clearly in need of reinforcements. On came Sean St Ledger and Paul Green for the injured Ciaran Clark and Shane Long. When adding an extra man in midfield may have brought more protection to the backline, Trap opted instead to put Green wide right with Walters moving up front just ahead of Conor Sammon.
Trap’s counterpart Marcel Koller injected some much-needed life by introducing Marc Janko and Andreas Weimann and although they very nearly held out, Ireland were hit with a devastating blow.
3. Hoolahan overlooked yet again
With the exception of a brief warm-up along the touchline, the Norwich schemer didn’t leave the Irish dugout all evening and failing to call upon the 30-year-old was an oversight on the Italian’s part.
Not starting him is one thing, but Hoolahan would have brought experience in holding onto possession and running down the clock when it was needed most. Instead, naivety by a couple of players in the closing minutes allowed Austria to snatch the draw.
4. The players are still committed to the cause
Whatever your thoughts are on the current regime, there is little doubt that this group of players squad are still committed to playing under Trapattoni. Okay, the football wasn’t the prettiest but the team as a whole showed commendable spirit and work ethic throughout the 90 minutes – as they did on Friday.
5. Where do we go from here?
Having set a target of four points from this double-header, acquiring two won’t prompt the FAI to call time on Trapattoni’s tenure. The Ireland manager himself sounded as determined as ever to see out the campaign so, barring a dramatic change, it’s as you were for the next six months at least.
At the halfway point, Ireland are still in with a shout for second place in Group C but they could potentially find themselves three points adrift of Sweden by the time they welcome the Scandinavians to Dublin in September.
