“We have to go to those games thinking we can compete. Otherwise we might as well stay at home.”
Martin O’Neill was bullish about the European Championships in the immediate aftermath of the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.
While the Dutch did not qualify for Euro 2016, having finished a barely comprehensible fourth in their qualifying group, Danny Blind was still able to field a young team packed with brio, speed and potential.
However Kevin Strootman, Georginio Wijnaldum, Memphis Depay and Co had to rely on an unfortunate Shane Duffy-Darren Randolph comedy of errors to escape Dublin with a 1-1 draw, having been largely outplayed in the first half before a raft of substitutions stole the home side’s fluency.
Here is the Dutch goal. Duffy in no man's land, but Randolph does hesitate #IRLNEDhttps://t.co/tAojqnu8nH
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
Still, O’Neill will have seen plenty, particularly in the first hour, to encourage him ahead of the Fota Island training camp and the naming of his squad on Tuesday, following the final friendly against Belarus.
O’Neill confirmed the entire squad will go to Cork as he resists whittling down the squad ahead of the Uefa-imposed deadline. Some performances against Holand will have made his decisions easier, others may have muddied the waters.
In Shane Long Ireland have finally found the sharp end of the stick
Strikers are lone wolves in modern football. Two out-and-out forwards are a luxury most teams cannot afford as they struggle to compete in the ever more crowded midfield area.
Robbie Keane, for all his goals, has never been the frontman to run the channels unassisted. The Ireland captain is a second striker in the number 10 mould that no longer suits the Irish style of play.
The LA Galaxy man will go to France as an “in emergency break glass” super sub, goal poacher, extraordinaire.
Shane Long's importance to Ireland became clear when he went down injured, writes @dionfanning https://t.co/28biBwUEAo
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
But Shane Long will lead the line form minute one against Sweden.
He shares many of the qualities of the Scandinavians’ talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic – he is good in the air, he is powerful and he is very effective at holding the ball up.
What he has that Zlatan does not is a frightening turn of pace. As he displayed against Germany, he can terrorise a high defence, but against Holland he played more with his back to goal and running selflessly into bling alleys and hostile territories.
His goal – his fifth in eight games for club and country – was a poacher’s effort that Keane would have been proud of, but his industry, his speed and his athleticism were what had the fans purring and they were the reason the crowd had their hearts in their mouths when he went down in the first half.
David McGoldrick brings something different
Not my words, Martin O’Neill’s. You don’t want to second guess the gaffer, but he dropped a major hint that McGoldrick would make the final 23.
“I think that David can offer us something that we don’t have in the side at the moment,” said O’Neill of the Ipswich forward with a nice balance of silk and steel.
The 28 year old only played his first game of 2016 in April, but has found form in the final weeks of the Championship season – scoring goals in the Tractor Boys’ last two matches.
I want to marry that David McGoldrick crossfield pass and have its children #IRLNED
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
In a strong first half showing, he displayed a tasty range of passing, endeavour with the ball at his feet and awareness of what is going on around him.
In the second half he showed a bit more of the steel. Battling hard deep in Ireland’s half to dispossess Jetro Willems in the 73rd minute.
This is what he offers that no one else does – the craftiness of Wes Hoolahan, the combativeness of Jon Walters, all packaged into a single attacking midfielder who can also do a job up front.
He is the Swiss Army knife of players and it would be foolish to go camping in France without a Swiss Army knife.
Hallelujah, Robbie Brady is beating the first defender
The possibilities this opens up. Free-kicks and corners not being intercepted by the first defender. Hell, we even scored a goal from one.
When the Norwich lefty first came into the squad, all the talk was about his ability from dead balls. He was the rightful heir to Denis Irwin, Steve Staunton and Steve Finnan. He was our new full-back who could deliver.
Here is that Shane Long goal again. If you want to admire O'Shea's thumping header of Robbie Brady's corner #IRLNEDhttps://t.co/6L7dhFHOxB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
Then he kept peppering walls and near post defenders with everything. This left foot, so cultured from open play, was firing blanks.
Against the Dutch he showed his full repertoire. The lovely floated corner that was just begging for John O’Shea to nut it, while in the second half he delivered a couple of whipped free kicks and corners that caused consternation in the visitors’ defence.
Ireland don’t offer so many threats that they can afford not to make the most of every dead ball situation. Brady now looks like the man to provide those chances.
Brought to you by Three. #MakeHistory
