NOT FOR THE first time, the announcement of the official man-of-the-match award at the Aviva Stadium last night was a source of some consternation.
Caoimhin Kelleher has won MOTM accolades before, and he will likely claim plenty more in future.
But it felt a strange decision to reward the Brentford goalkeeper in a game that Ireland largely played on the front foot.
Kelleher produced a solid performance that hardly needed to be spectacular, as the hosts increasingly pinned Hungary back into their half.
Instead, the standout player was surely Ryan Manning.
Of the nine Ireland attacks RTÉ thought worthy of posting on social media last night, seven stemmed from either a cross or a shot by Manning.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that without the Galway native, Ireland would not have got back into the game.
He played a significant part in both second-half goals.
It was his free kick that had to be parried away, prompting Sammie Szmodics to head across goal for Evan Ferguson to finish with a little help from Nathan Collins’ formidable presence in the area.
And of course, Manning also produced a perfect cross for Adam Idah to head home the dramatic 93rd-minute equaliser that caused one of the most memorable explosions of joy at the Aviva in recent years.
However, it would not be unfair to suggest the 29-year-old has been a bit-part player for Ireland, at least before he found a new lease of life under Hallgrímsson.
Last night was Manning’s 18th cap, which is low for a player of his talent.
Over the years, Irish managers have invariably preferred the pace and energy of James McClean on the left, the skill and trickery of Robbie Brady or the technical ability of Callum O’Dowda.
Close to half of his Ireland caps (7) have been won under Heimir Hallgrímsson.
Stephen Kenny seemed less enthusiastic about the Galway native, although he did feature more prominently towards the end of the Dubliner’s doomed tenure. Manning played in the New Zealand friendly and the Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands (twice), Greece and Gibraltar, although only two of those were starts.
In 2022, Manning also started the 1-0 friendly win over Lithuania and had a late cameo in the 2-2 draw with Belgium days earlier.
He made his debut under Kenny in the forgettable Covid-hit 0-0 draw with Bulgaria in the 2020 Nations League game and had three more late substitute appearances the following year in friendlies with Qatar, Andorra and Hungary.
But perhaps part of the problem was that there was no obvious place for Manning within the style Stephen Kenny favoured.
Although Manning initially made a name for himself at Mervue and Galway United, often playing as an attacking midfielder or number 10, after moving to England, he became increasingly accustomed to operating in the left-back/left wing-back position.
These days, the Irish star continues to play normally as a wing-back for his club, Southampton.
But Hallgrímsson, ostensibly like his coaches back in Galway, believes Manning is better utilised further forward and doesn’t seem to fully trust him defensively.
It is why the Icelandic coach somewhat awkwardly shoehorned Matt Doherty to left-back last night, while selecting the more individualistic Manning as a left-sided attacker.
While Kenny usually prefers his left wingers to have pace and dynamism, Hallgrímsson feels that Manning’s creativity and dead-ball skills compensate for the qualities he lacks.
And on last night’s evidence, the gamble has paid off.
There was a familiarity about the trajectory of Ireland falling behind to technically superior opposition and madly chasing an equaliser amid an intense finale.
However, over the years, these comebacks have fallen short too often.
Fortunately, last night, in Manning, Ireland had a player with the guile and calmness under pressure to, if not get them the result they desired, at least salvage a point and not feel as if their qualification campaign had ended before it really began.
Under Kenny, their last World Cup run started with back-to-back defeats to Serbia and Luxembourg, with the added stress of two fixtures against Portugal to come.
On this occasion, a draw versus a team ranked 22 places above them by Fifa — although it came against 10 men and Ireland arguably deserved more — represents a degree of progress.
Manning was a big difference between one point and none, and if the ex-QPR player can maintain Saturday’s level, it already feels like he could become an indispensable part of Hallgrímsson’s increasingly distinguishable, set-piece-heavy game plan.
Tellingly, along with Evan Ferguson, the Saints star was the only Irish attacker to start and finish the game, suggesting the Irish boss has come to value a footballer who didn’t even make the 23-man panel for his first squad last year and was a belated call-up as recently as March when he did not make the initial cut for the Nations League play-off against Bulgaria.
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Ireland's true man of the match comes of age
NOT FOR THE first time, the announcement of the official man-of-the-match award at the Aviva Stadium last night was a source of some consternation.
Caoimhin Kelleher has won MOTM accolades before, and he will likely claim plenty more in future.
But it felt a strange decision to reward the Brentford goalkeeper in a game that Ireland largely played on the front foot.
Kelleher produced a solid performance that hardly needed to be spectacular, as the hosts increasingly pinned Hungary back into their half.
Instead, the standout player was surely Ryan Manning.
Of the nine Ireland attacks RTÉ thought worthy of posting on social media last night, seven stemmed from either a cross or a shot by Manning.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that without the Galway native, Ireland would not have got back into the game.
He played a significant part in both second-half goals.
It was his free kick that had to be parried away, prompting Sammie Szmodics to head across goal for Evan Ferguson to finish with a little help from Nathan Collins’ formidable presence in the area.
And of course, Manning also produced a perfect cross for Adam Idah to head home the dramatic 93rd-minute equaliser that caused one of the most memorable explosions of joy at the Aviva in recent years.
However, it would not be unfair to suggest the 29-year-old has been a bit-part player for Ireland, at least before he found a new lease of life under Hallgrímsson.
Last night was Manning’s 18th cap, which is low for a player of his talent.
Over the years, Irish managers have invariably preferred the pace and energy of James McClean on the left, the skill and trickery of Robbie Brady or the technical ability of Callum O’Dowda.
Close to half of his Ireland caps (7) have been won under Heimir Hallgrímsson.
Stephen Kenny seemed less enthusiastic about the Galway native, although he did feature more prominently towards the end of the Dubliner’s doomed tenure. Manning played in the New Zealand friendly and the Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands (twice), Greece and Gibraltar, although only two of those were starts.
In 2022, Manning also started the 1-0 friendly win over Lithuania and had a late cameo in the 2-2 draw with Belgium days earlier.
He made his debut under Kenny in the forgettable Covid-hit 0-0 draw with Bulgaria in the 2020 Nations League game and had three more late substitute appearances the following year in friendlies with Qatar, Andorra and Hungary.
But perhaps part of the problem was that there was no obvious place for Manning within the style Stephen Kenny favoured.
Although Manning initially made a name for himself at Mervue and Galway United, often playing as an attacking midfielder or number 10, after moving to England, he became increasingly accustomed to operating in the left-back/left wing-back position.
These days, the Irish star continues to play normally as a wing-back for his club, Southampton.
But Hallgrímsson, ostensibly like his coaches back in Galway, believes Manning is better utilised further forward and doesn’t seem to fully trust him defensively.
It is why the Icelandic coach somewhat awkwardly shoehorned Matt Doherty to left-back last night, while selecting the more individualistic Manning as a left-sided attacker.
While Kenny usually prefers his left wingers to have pace and dynamism, Hallgrímsson feels that Manning’s creativity and dead-ball skills compensate for the qualities he lacks.
And on last night’s evidence, the gamble has paid off.
There was a familiarity about the trajectory of Ireland falling behind to technically superior opposition and madly chasing an equaliser amid an intense finale.
However, over the years, these comebacks have fallen short too often.
Fortunately, last night, in Manning, Ireland had a player with the guile and calmness under pressure to, if not get them the result they desired, at least salvage a point and not feel as if their qualification campaign had ended before it really began.
Under Kenny, their last World Cup run started with back-to-back defeats to Serbia and Luxembourg, with the added stress of two fixtures against Portugal to come.
On this occasion, a draw versus a team ranked 22 places above them by Fifa — although it came against 10 men and Ireland arguably deserved more — represents a degree of progress.
Manning was a big difference between one point and none, and if the ex-QPR player can maintain Saturday’s level, it already feels like he could become an indispensable part of Hallgrímsson’s increasingly distinguishable, set-piece-heavy game plan.
Tellingly, along with Evan Ferguson, the Saints star was the only Irish attacker to start and finish the game, suggesting the Irish boss has come to value a footballer who didn’t even make the 23-man panel for his first squad last year and was a belated call-up as recently as March when he did not make the initial cut for the Nations League play-off against Bulgaria.
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Caoimhin Kelleher Impact Ryan Manning Soccer Hungary Ireland Republic World Cup Qualification