THE USUAL CAVEATS apply.
Last night’s Ireland game was only a friendly against a severely weakened Belgium team.
Players either missing or left on the bench for the visitors included Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Jan Vertonghen, Yannick Carrasco, Thibaut Courtois, Arthur Theate and Orel Mangala.
Few of the starting XI could be considered first choice and two who are — Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans — were brought off at half-time.
Some of their other stronger squad members, like Jeremy Doku, Amadou Onana and Dodi Lukebakio, were also given 45 minutes or less to impress.
Yet even a largely second-string Belgium side are a force to be reckoned with. A team without squad depth could not climb as high as fourth in the Fifa rankings or go unbeaten since a November 2022 defeat to eventual semi-finalists Morocco at the World Cup.
So without getting too carried away, John O’Shea and his staff can be reasonably pleased with how Saturday evening unfolded at the Aviva Stadium.
It was not drastically different to Stephen Kenny’s time in charge.
There were still some familiar issues such as the failure to score, a lack of midfield control at times and passages of the game that drifted by without much happening.
There were small differences though.
The team were perhaps slightly more direct than usual — a passage where Evan Ferguson nodded on a long ball to set up an opportunity for Sammie Szmodics springs to mind — though they were also not afraid to patiently and effectively play the ball out from defence, as can be seen in the clip below.
Ireland threaten again!
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 23, 2024
A well worked move from back to front but Szmodics' shot was blocked! Good play though!#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/TrroLPxKFq
Except for debutant Szmodics, it would be tough to make the case that Kenny had unfairly overlooked anyone from the starting XI that faced the Belgians.
Interestingly though, of the seven most-used players by the former boss, only one started. However, just three were available out of Matt Doherty, James McClean, Josh Cullen, John Egan, Shane Duffy, Alan Browne and Jason Knight.
There were some less-than-straightforward calls to make. Two of the big ones encompassed preferring Seamus Coleman to Matt Doherty at ring wing-back and opting for Caoimhin Kelleher rather than Gavin Bazunu in goal. And both decisions paid dividends with the players selected delivering solid performances.
As was often the case with Kenny, O’Shea will come away thinking Ireland could have and perhaps should have achieved a better result.
Evan Ferguson’s penalty miss was the most obviously regrettable moment, but Chiedozie Ogbene and Szmodics will feel they should have done better with decent chances.
Yet the most satisfying and distinctive factor about Saturday’s game was how solid Ireland invariably looked.
“The shape of the team was absolutely brilliant, especially without the ball,” former boss Mick McCarthy commented afterwards on Virgin Media.
It was Ireland’s best performance from a defensive perspective in quite some time.
Of the 10 matches they played in 2023, the only two clean sheets the team picked up were in games against Gibraltar.
The hosts’ being so well-organised should come as little surprise. In addition to John O’Shea, key members of the coaching staff like Glenn Whelan and Paddy McCarthy were renowned for their defensive nous during their playing careers. Similarly, Brian Kerr has built a football career based on meticulous pre-match preparation and also had a reputation for being somewhat conservative during his time as Ireland manager — the team only conceded five goals from 10 matches in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Kenny era was Ireland were cut open too regularly and tended to be easy to play against.
In 40 games under the previous boss, they picked up just 13 clean sheets overall and a fair proportion of those came against weak international teams like Malta, Lithuania, Qatar and Azerbaijan.
Ireland under Kenny were punished for being too open at times. The gaps between the defence and the rest of the team were glaring, a problem that partly explains the remarkable regularity with which opposition teams scored spectacular long-range goals.
What was so impressive on Saturday was not only that Ireland kept a clean sheet but how rarely they looked in danger of conceding.
Even on the sporadic occasions where it all went right for Kenny — the 3-0 Nations League win over Scotland is the prime example — there were some very nervy moments where Ireland were nearly punished owing to defensive mishaps.
By contrast, there was only one instance last night when Ireland had a bit of a let-off and were opened up.
Dodi Lukebakio showed an impressive turn of pace to escape Dara O’Shea down the right wing. He pulled it back for fellow substitute Thomas Meunier, whose low shot forced a good save from Caoimhin Kelleher.
Otherwise, it was an easy enough night for the Liverpool goalkeeper thanks to a disciplined performance from the players in front of him.
Much was made in the build-up to the game that of all the midfielders selected in the squad, only one — Josh Cullen — is renowned for specialising in the defensive aspect of the game.
Consequently, O’Shea’s options were limited enough.
Will Smallbone is a technically excellent player who is generally regarded to do his best work in the opposition’s final third.
However, primarily due to Flynn Downes’ injury, Smallbone has been required to play more of a sitting role with Southampton of late, and he operated in a similar position for Ireland last night.
It was only Smallbone’s sixth cap — he is a player O’Shea knows very well, with the former Man United star having worked with him both at Stoke City and in the Ireland U21 setup.
Kenny often favoured players like Alan Browne and Jayson Molumby to slot in alongside Cullen.
On the few occasions that Smallbone featured previously, it has invariably been in his favoured attacking role, such as in the losses to Greece in Athens and Dublin when he started the game as an advanced midfielder closer to the attackers than the defence.
And the 24-year-old acquitted himself well protecting the back four alongside Cullen, doing enough to suggest the potential for a fruitful partnership going forward.
It was another not-entirely-expected call last night from O’Shea and once again, it proved correct.
