Yeah, yeah, the other team scored more than us. But why?
1. One moment of class won the game
In a scrappy, dogged, ugly affair, Scotland were the better team. They had better players on show, more personality in their play and, with the game’s only moment of pure quality, Shaun Maloney curled in a cracking finish after neat intricate play and a head-spinning flick from Scott Brown. Class like that always wins ugly games like this.
2. The shape. Or lack of
The way Ireland were set-up, it allowed for a stand-in centre back to become our best player. Take nothing away from Richard Keogh, he was whole-hearted and took his chance brilliantly but we sank that deep, crowded our own box and invited a bombardment from the Scots. Only Keogh or O’Shea could’ve really impressed for us.
3. Our best player didn’t get into the game
Who’s a better right back in world football than Seamus Coleman right now? Lahm? Zabaleta? Maybe Ivanovic? There wouldn’t be more than a handful anyway but, yet again, we couldn’t utilise his very real threat. Coleman is world class but time and again he was penned in with the rest of the eight or nine outfield players and we never once saw him open up on the flank like he does week in, week out. The way Andy Robertson was doing all night for Scotland. Play to your strengths. Coleman is a hell of a strength.
4. The central midfield problem
In fairness, it’s difficult to grab control of a game when your midfield isn’t dictating the play. Darron Gibson’s comeback is ongoing but he’s still not sharp yet – it’s easy to see – and the injuries of James McCarthy and Wes Hoolahan proved more and more costly as the game went on. Without that foothold in the middle, McClean and McGeady were never allowed to get forward on the flanks and we were under pressure for the majority.
5. Long balls. So many long balls
We’ve no problem with a long ball or two, none at all. And, yes, Shane Long and Jon Walters are as good as any when it comes to a good, old-fashioned aerial battle. But what’s the point in pumping balls forward when you’re operating with three across the middle and two wingers like we were for most of it? We were hitting aimlessly forward, handing Scotland back possession, and bracing ourselves for the next onslaught.
6. Lack of discipline when we went behind
Okay, the crossbar denied Ireland another stoppage time equaliser but we never saw the same response to Scotland’s goal than what we did when we went behind in Germany. What proved to be the winner instead was met with frustration from O’Neill’s men as a plethora of late challenges, yellow cards and bickering at the ref slowed the game right down and wasted time to Scotland’s great pleasure.
7. The referee
Milorad Mazic could’ve sent Grant Hanley off… twice. For all the negatives and gloom, the Scotsman had two moments of real controversy in the first period. The first chop down of Shane Long was ugly, the elbow on David Forde was worse. Both could arguably have been reds, they were both definitely yellows. But the defender escaped with just one booking.
8. Scotland are actually good
It might not sit well to suggest that the Scottish are that much better than us, but tonight, at least, they had a far superior side. Brown and Mulgrew got on the ball, they slowed the game when they had to, and they fed into positions in the final third constantly – positions that we seemed to be huffing with. In there, Shaun Maloney and Steven Naismith were running riot. The Scots put together some good passages of play, plenty to merit their victory and enough that Steven Fletcher wasn’t even the omnipresent threat that we thought he was going to be. They had more dimensions. More quality.
