David Forde — 6: A lonely night for the Ireland number one. Hardly involved bar a few backpasses and couldn’t be faulted for Shomko’s thumping opener.
Seamus Coleman — 6: More adventurous than Wilson on the opposite flank and for long stretches, the only wide outlet in a desperately narrow side. Has to take blame for panicked fresh air that led to Kazakh goal though.
John O’Shea — 8: At the heart of what was a solid defensive performance from the Irish back four. Capped the night with only his second international goal in 93 caps.
Richard Dunne — 7: Kept Kazakh chances to a minimum as Ireland controlled the game. A nuisance at corners, forcing Kislitsyn into soft penalty and then winning header that led to O’Shea goal.
Marc Wilson — 6: Lack of communication with Stokes in build-up to Kazakh goal and not his busiest night in defence otherwise. Very conservative in the first half but got forward more as game wore on.
Darron Gibson — 6: Commanded the game with McCarthy before bad knee injury forced him off in the 36th minute.
James McCarthy — 8: One of Ireland’s best. Wanted to be on the ball directing forward advances, and was just as determined with his pressing and defensive duties when needed.
Andy Reid — 8: Made the most of his first Irish cap since 2008. Easily the biggest threat in the Irish attack with clever link play but could have done with better support for most of the evening. Set piece deliveries led to first two goals. Substituted to standing ovation.
Anthony Stokes — 6: Asked to play out wide again. Was most involved after the break but seemed to lose vital momentum each time he turned back to his favoured right foot, much to the frustration of team-mates. Deserves credit for chasing lost cause in build-up to Ireland’s third.
Kevin Doyle — 6: Same tireless shift that he always puts in but didn’t contribute much otherwise. Kept drifting into middle which made Ireland’s lack of width more obvious.
Robbie Keane — 6: One of his quieter nights but seemed to enjoy playing with Reid in behind him. Scored international goal 61 with cool penalty and was in position to tap in 62 before Shomko robbed him.
Substitutes:
Glenn Whelan (for Gibson, 36’) — 6: Introduced much earlier than expected. Unspectacular but helped keep midfield platform solid.
Aiden McGeady (for Reid, 75’): Lively threat for the final 15 minutes, creating Ireland’s third and nearly a fourth. Could have done with his wide threat earlier.
Wes Hoolahan (for Stokes, 86’): Not on long enough to rate.
I really don’t understand why Cork and super value park don’t step in here and offer to take the games in its place. Problem solved
@Michael Corkery: 100%
@Michael Corkery: not really, it doesn’t have the requisite capacity, only 29k covered seats….
@Sea Point: 20k covered seats, rest is standing and uncovered….
Being honest they should try redevelop Windsor Park. It’s a football tournament all games should be to the benefit of football not GAA. Gaa have the money and Casement Park will get done but won’t be completed on time. As for the money from Apple open up sport centres around the country like the 1 up in Blanch. There should be regional centres around Munster Leinster , Connaught and Ulster we all seen how great the Olympics was more facilities all over Ireland greater chance we get double figures in medals.
@Leighton Cullen: Windsor got money and was redeveloped, but making it any bigger would be a white elephant. Casement was earmarked £70m back in 2013, but hasnt got that yet as it will now need more.
@Leighton Cullen: Windsor Park and RavenHill were redeveloped for the soccer and rugby fraternity. The NI Executive stalled on developing Casement then collapsed over BREXIT, handily enough for the Unionists not being seen to fund Gaelic games. The costs since have spiralled.
Never trust a word from the UK Government.
The rationale for NI to continue to remain as part of the UK continues to crumble. There has been scant investment in Northern Ireland since 2010 and now another hammer blow to the local economy. This is the same Govt that will spend 80bn on defense this year and frankly doesnt care about infrastructure outside of London.
They will of course happily continue to turn NI, Scotland and Norther England into welfare dependent areas and not look to give its own people a chance
@Owen ODonoghue: I wouldnt begrudge the 80b on defense. Was an intresting report on Irish defence being wholly underfunded esp when it is to protect important transatlantic cabling. Relying of fishermen to deter the Russian navy, the RAF to intercept planes and not even having rader capable of tracking jets when then turn their civilian transponders off, something Russian jets do quite often to test air defences. Current Irish airforce planes would struggle against a spitfire.Irish defence spending should increase to at least 2% of GDP.
@Kingshu: i 100% agree with you, its more the allocation of budget, they could take 0.5% of defense and cover this or 0.1% of social welfare and cover it. Think of the jobs etc etc
And 1000% on Ireland and defense, we need radar, a functional navy and fighter jets
@Owen ODonoghue: UK as a NATO country is obliged to spend 2% of GDP on defence, it spends 2.3% increasing to 2.5% but even then the UK defence forces aren’t in great shape, I dont think they are overspending on defence. But 100% they can afford Casement, and have been embrassed that the Irish Government has contributed. £400m is an exaggeration to make them look better for not assisting, think their plan was to wait untill it was too late for Euros so they could pull out. Bit money could be found all NI somehow found £350m for the new Grand Central station that wasnt even needed. Would love Irish goverment to step in with the Money from Apple tax and build it for less than £400m and in time for Euros.
We can build it with some loose change from the 13 billion.
We are funding the roads may aswell build a stadium
@Bryan Mc Mahon: in essentially another country?
@Michael Corkery:
@Michael Corkery: for now
@Bryan Mc Mahon: lots of dilapidated stadiums in the state to fix first.
@Michael Corkery: I don’t see Belfast as being in another country
@Michael Corkery: Shame on you.
@Kingshu: don’t get me wrong , I’m for reunification but as things stand, Dublin should not be making up for shortfalls in British exchequer funding. As others have said, there are huge infrastructure needs that are not being met south of the border – sporting and otherwise. We may be rich in comparison to our nearest neighbor but compare us to continental Europe and we’re still miles behind where they are
What about Fitzgerald Stadium in Kerry- Great scenery