David Forde: One of the few players who was more or less blameless for the result, Forde made one or two good saves and could do little about the goal. He looked solid for the most part, though did flap at one cross and his kicking wasn’t always up to scratch. 6
Marc Wilson: Didn’t do much, and the little that he did do was not impressive. His habit of giving the ball away cheaply was as evident as it was against Sweden, and he really should have done better for the goal. 4
Richard Dunne: Made one or two good interceptions but also reacted slowly to danger on a few occasions. He was very unlucky to be booked and will surely be missed against Germany. 5
John O’Shea: Looked relatively solid while he was on the field, and produced a particularly good defensive header at one point, though got himself needlessly booked and will miss the Germany game as a result. 6
Seamus Coleman: Probably Ireland’s best player. He looked more adept on the ball than most and defended well too, particularly in one extraordinary sequence where he made not one but two goal-saving blocks in succession. 7
Jon Walters: Occasionally provided some aerial threat, but is patently not a winger and was one of the worst offenders for giving the ball away, including in the build-up to the goal. 4
Paul Green: An improvement on Whelan, though that’s not saying much. He worked extremely hard and put in some good tackles, but it’s hard to argue against the suspicion that he’s out of his depth at this level. 6
James McCarthy: It’s obvious he’s a class above every other Irish midfielder on the pitch tonight, and showed some nice touches, but needs to be impose himself on games and demand the ball more. 6
Anthony Pilkington: Contributed little and it was no surprise when he was taken off for McClean. His lack of pace and ball-carrying ability suggests he may not be the long-term solution that Ireland were hoping for on the wing. 5
Robbie Keane: Failed to score, and as usual when he doesn’t score, his contribution seemed minimal, save one or two clever passes. 5
Shane Long: Ireland’s most disappointing performer, Long was ineffectual throughout the night and rarely held the ball up as he was supposed to do. 4
Giovanni Trapattoni: Stubbornly refused to alter his tactics as expected, even when things weren’t going well. He neglected to bring on Wes Hoolahan when the game was crying out for him. 4
James McClean: Looked extremely eager and worked hard when he came on, but his final product was invariably woeful. 5
Ciaran Clark: Didn’t do much wrong on the short time he was on the pitch. 6
Conor Sammon: Not on long enough to be rated.
