The Republic of Ireland lost 2-0 to France in a friendly on Monday night.
Martin O’Neill’s side had just 17 percent possession in the first half in Paris and were fortunate to go into the break just two goals down.
In the second-half, as France’s extremely talented team dropped off a level or two, Ireland pushed further up the pitch and put in an improved performance.
However, the same old problems were present in Paris. Ireland failed to string many passes together and there was no obvious pattern of play beyond hoofing the ball long.
Shane Duffy has become Ireland’s best defender, their main attacking outlet and their de-facto “playmaker” as the team’s only route forward seems to come from him kicking it long.
Who was your man of the match? https://t.co/qvgylQWyS8
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 28, 2018
On RTE following the match, Richie Sadlier and Damien Duff made some very good points about Ireland’s struggles when in possession.
Sadlier emphasised the positives from the performance – such as Graham Burke’s appearance and Ireland’s improvement after the break – but said Ireland’s inability to keep the ball will continue to hurt them.
“A lot of the talk has been, are we going to produce a goalscorer since Robbie (Keane) left. We could produce a goalscorer, but in this team, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be given many chances. We can’t create many opportunities, we don’t keep the ball and we’re very loose in possession of the ball. So the same frustrations are there.”
“I don’t think it’s just tonight because it’s France,” Duff said about how Ireland played.
“We can’t keep the ball, we don’t create a lot of chances, we haven’t had a goalscorer since Robbie.”
“Yeah, we’re compact and organised, but going forward I’d just like to see us keep the ball better, and have a bit more composure. If we are told to hit it long, as a midfielder you stop even making angles, you know it’s bypassing, wingers as well. I don’t know what we do going forward.”
Duff finished by claiming that Ireland “have the quality to keep the ball better.”
Sadlier then made a key point, stating that O’Neill either accepts that Ireland will hoof the ball away, or he is “powerless” to change it. Either way, Ireland’s inability to keep the ball will continue to cost them.
You can watch the discussion here:
Another uninspired Irish performance has the RTÉ studio panel wonder just where are the goals going to come from. #frairl #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/2Y1Gr70vo1
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) May 28, 2018
