HAVE IRELAND had a more memorable away victory than yesterday’s?
It’s certainly hard to think of many better international windows enjoyed by the Boys in Green.
Ireland went into these games knowing they would likely need to take at least four points from a possible six.
Hungary’s hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Armenia in the first Group F game of this window made an already tall order look almost impossible, as it virtually ensured Ireland would need back-to-back wins to progress.
Yet Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side defied the odds to pick up maximum points against the countries ranked fifth and 37th in the world (Ireland are 62nd).
It is only the second time the team have picked up back-to-back wins in an international window under the Icelandic coach — the other was the pair of Nations League 2-1 victories against Bulgaria last March.
Ireland only achieved that feat once under Stephen Kenny, beating Azerbaijan 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier and Qatar 4-0 in a friendly in October 2021.
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The last time the national team won back-to-back qualifiers in the same window was the start of Mick McCarthy’s second tenure as coach, as his side laboured to 1-0 wins over Gibraltar and Georgia.
Victories against higher-ranked teams have been notoriously hard to come by, but Ireland have now done it twice in the space of a few days.
The June 2022 victory over Scotland was another example, but it was an anomaly during the disappointing Kenny era.
It happened in Martin O’Neill’s tenure as well.
But the biggest qualifying wins under the Derry native, against sides like Germany and Bosnia, unlike Sunday, tended to be on home turf.
O’Neill’s men’s most notable away victories were the respective 1-0 triumphs versus Austria in Vienna and against Wales in Cardiff in the same campaign, although they were overshadowed by the 5-1 playoff defeat to Denmark that followed and Ireland’s failure to reach the 2018 World Cup.
That 2017 Wales victory, incidentally, was also the last time Ireland won back-to-back World Cup qualifiers in the same window, as it was preceded by a 2-0 defeat of Moldova — Ireland’s last World Cup qualifying win on home turf until Hallgrímsson’s men overcame Armenia last month.
Most people would agree that the 2011 4-0 playoff victory over Estonia in Tallinn was a more significant away win than Sunday.Even though they still had to play the return fixture in Dublin, that result effectively guaranteed Giovanni Trapattoni’s side’s place at the 2012 Euros.
But it was less dramatic and entertaining than Budapest.
It was against much weaker opposition (Ireland were favourites to prevail), with only 10,500 in attendance, and the hosts were reduced to nine men as the Republic recorded a straightforward win.
90+5mins: 🇭🇺 2-3 🇮🇪
Ireland holds its breath, on the last throw of the dice... Hat-trick for Parrott 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
Even in the heady days of the Jack Charlton era, it is hard to come across a similarly thrilling win to Budapest, unless you consider major tournament matches as ‘away’ games.
Probably the 1987 defeat over Scotland in Hampden Park was the English coach’s biggest win on the road — it was just Ireland’s third match in that campaign, but it paved the way for eventual Euro ’88 qualification.
Pre-Charlton, Ireland’s miserable record on their travels was also one of the main reasons they regularly failed to qualify for major tournaments, with the biggest victories over sides like France, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union taking place in Dublin.
A 1967 2-1 win against Czechoslovakia in Prague was notable, particularly with the team having lost the reverse Euro ’68 qualifier, though it mattered little from an Irish perspective, as the side’s qualification hopes had ended before then.
It was the same scenario when Ireland beat Denmark in Copenhagen in a 1958 World Cup qualifier, with England having already guaranteed their place in Sweden at Ireland’s expense, thanks in part to a last-minute equaliser that earned a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd of 47,600 at Dalymount Park.
Before then, the standout away performance was probably the 2-0 win over the Three Lions at Goodison Park in 1949, while wins over Spain (1946), France (1937), Netherlands (1932) and Belgium (1930 and 1928) were not to be sniffed at, albeit all of the matches in question were friendlies.
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Whether Hungary 2-3 Ireland will be considered the latter’s most thrilling and memorable away win, though, is perhaps a question that cannot be answered yet.
Much will depend on whether it leads to World Cup qualification or the type of anti-climactic failure that Irish fans have become accustomed to over the last decade.
In addition, if Ireland reach the tournament to be co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, they will likely (although not definitely) have to play at least one of their play-off matches on the road. So an away Irish triumph in March could top Budapest in terms of significance, if not entertainment value.
And if the Boys in Green qualify, there is no doubt people will start to mention Troy Parrott’s 96th-minute winner in the same breath as Robbie Brady v Italy, Shane Long v Germany, Ray Houghton v England and Italy, Jason McAteer v Netherlands, Alan McLoughlin v Northern Ireland, Robbie Keane v Germany (an eerily similar-looking goal) and David O’Leary v Romania among other iconic Irish footballing moments.
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The most memorable and thrilling Irish away win ever?
HAVE IRELAND had a more memorable away victory than yesterday’s?
It’s certainly hard to think of many better international windows enjoyed by the Boys in Green.
Ireland went into these games knowing they would likely need to take at least four points from a possible six.
Hungary’s hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Armenia in the first Group F game of this window made an already tall order look almost impossible, as it virtually ensured Ireland would need back-to-back wins to progress.
Yet Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side defied the odds to pick up maximum points against the countries ranked fifth and 37th in the world (Ireland are 62nd).
It is only the second time the team have picked up back-to-back wins in an international window under the Icelandic coach — the other was the pair of Nations League 2-1 victories against Bulgaria last March.
Ireland only achieved that feat once under Stephen Kenny, beating Azerbaijan 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier and Qatar 4-0 in a friendly in October 2021.
The last time the national team won back-to-back qualifiers in the same window was the start of Mick McCarthy’s second tenure as coach, as his side laboured to 1-0 wins over Gibraltar and Georgia.
Victories against higher-ranked teams have been notoriously hard to come by, but Ireland have now done it twice in the space of a few days.
The June 2022 victory over Scotland was another example, but it was an anomaly during the disappointing Kenny era.
It happened in Martin O’Neill’s tenure as well.
But the biggest qualifying wins under the Derry native, against sides like Germany and Bosnia, unlike Sunday, tended to be on home turf.
O’Neill’s men’s most notable away victories were the respective 1-0 triumphs versus Austria in Vienna and against Wales in Cardiff in the same campaign, although they were overshadowed by the 5-1 playoff defeat to Denmark that followed and Ireland’s failure to reach the 2018 World Cup.
That 2017 Wales victory, incidentally, was also the last time Ireland won back-to-back World Cup qualifiers in the same window, as it was preceded by a 2-0 defeat of Moldova — Ireland’s last World Cup qualifying win on home turf until Hallgrímsson’s men overcame Armenia last month.
Most people would agree that the 2011 4-0 playoff victory over Estonia in Tallinn was a more significant away win than Sunday.Even though they still had to play the return fixture in Dublin, that result effectively guaranteed Giovanni Trapattoni’s side’s place at the 2012 Euros.
But it was less dramatic and entertaining than Budapest.
It was against much weaker opposition (Ireland were favourites to prevail), with only 10,500 in attendance, and the hosts were reduced to nine men as the Republic recorded a straightforward win.
Even in the heady days of the Jack Charlton era, it is hard to come across a similarly thrilling win to Budapest, unless you consider major tournament matches as ‘away’ games.
Probably the 1987 defeat over Scotland in Hampden Park was the English coach’s biggest win on the road — it was just Ireland’s third match in that campaign, but it paved the way for eventual Euro ’88 qualification.
Pre-Charlton, Ireland’s miserable record on their travels was also one of the main reasons they regularly failed to qualify for major tournaments, with the biggest victories over sides like France, the Netherlands and the Soviet Union taking place in Dublin.
A 1967 2-1 win against Czechoslovakia in Prague was notable, particularly with the team having lost the reverse Euro ’68 qualifier, though it mattered little from an Irish perspective, as the side’s qualification hopes had ended before then.
It was the same scenario when Ireland beat Denmark in Copenhagen in a 1958 World Cup qualifier, with England having already guaranteed their place in Sweden at Ireland’s expense, thanks in part to a last-minute equaliser that earned a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd of 47,600 at Dalymount Park.
Before then, the standout away performance was probably the 2-0 win over the Three Lions at Goodison Park in 1949, while wins over Spain (1946), France (1937), Netherlands (1932) and Belgium (1930 and 1928) were not to be sniffed at, albeit all of the matches in question were friendlies.
Whether Hungary 2-3 Ireland will be considered the latter’s most thrilling and memorable away win, though, is perhaps a question that cannot be answered yet.
Much will depend on whether it leads to World Cup qualification or the type of anti-climactic failure that Irish fans have become accustomed to over the last decade.
In addition, if Ireland reach the tournament to be co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, they will likely (although not definitely) have to play at least one of their play-off matches on the road. So an away Irish triumph in March could top Budapest in terms of significance, if not entertainment value.
And if the Boys in Green qualify, there is no doubt people will start to mention Troy Parrott’s 96th-minute winner in the same breath as Robbie Brady v Italy, Shane Long v Germany, Ray Houghton v England and Italy, Jason McAteer v Netherlands, Alan McLoughlin v Northern Ireland, Robbie Keane v Germany (an eerily similar-looking goal) and David O’Leary v Romania among other iconic Irish footballing moments.
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