Advertisement
James Crombie/INPHO
7 Up

'It’s like your whole world is caving in' - Forde's sympathy for Gibraltar stopper

David Forde delighted with his latest international clean sheet but it was a rough night for his opposite number.

IT WAS A night to forget for Jordan Perez.

The Gibraltar goalkeeper shipped seven goals in 56 minutes as Ireland thrashed the Group D minnows in Dublin.

To make matters worse Perez was credited with Ireland’s fifth, a comedy own goal going in off his foot as he scrambled to retreat. For a man who fights fires for a living, it must have felt like business as usual.

Manager Allen Bula substituted him on the hour mark to put him out of his misery, and the Aviva Stadium crowd showed their sympathy with a standing ovation.

“I felt for him because they are not nice nights,” Ireland stopper David Forde said after keeping a clean sheet himself at the other end.

All of a sudden it’s like your whole world is caving in. The focus you feel is thoroughly on the keeper.

“He was disappointed afterwards, but we’ve all been there on the back of heavy defeats and not having good nights, but that makes you stronger.”

Jordan Perez applauds the crowd as he is taken off after conceding seven goals Perez applauds the crowd as he is taken off after conceding seven goals. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

It was a quiet night as expected for Forde although he made one important save in the second half — with his head — to deny Joseph Chipolina.

It’s difficult sometimes in those games because it’s difficult to concentrate in any walk of life for 90 minutes so you gotta keep tuned in.

“You have your little drills, switching on and off when it’s up their end. But once it comes into your end or your final third that’s like a traffic light.”

“Clean sheets at international level are hard to come by,” he added, “so I’m absolutely delighted we kept a clean sheet and scored some goals.

“I think we probably stepped off the gas a bit in the second half with an eye on Tuesday [against Germany]. Hopefully it will give us a lot of confidence.”

Robbie makes history with treble but admits: I don’t look at record books

O’Neill praises Hoolahan’s ability to ‘unlock defences’ at home following Gibraltar win

Your Voice
Readers Comments
6
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.