Ireland-v-Brazil(scores)

MisterAnarchy

A good result for Ireland in the end.
However it isnt 'A new dawn for Irish football' as proclaimed by the clowns on Sky.
Ireland have always been difficult to beat at home and will always raise their game against highly rated opposition.
Brazil play too many matches each year and you never know what mood they are in.
Ireland did well and created some nice chances none better than Keane's header which was a terrible miss.
The real test for us will come in the away games where we continually produce very little .
If we can play better in these games we have a good chance of making Germany 06.

jonno

Given 8
Carr 8
O`brien 8
Cunningham 9
O` Shea 6
Holland 5
Kavangh 7
kilbane 6
Reid 7
Keane 7
Morrisson 9

Very good performance tonight. Was well impressed. Imagine what we could have done with Duff playing

eirebhoy

Originally posted by VinnyL
morrisson should never have got the mom award, sighs went around landsdown when it was announced!

Sighs, What sighs ? I have never been a fan of Morrison but today's performance changed my mind completely. He was marked by 2 defenders for the whole match and managed to make something out of nothing. I honestly can't believe that was Clinton Morrison out on that pitch today and that was definitely his best performance in an Ireland shirt.

Well no he probably wasn't but he still played great,far far better then keano.I'm getting very disillusioned with Keane for Ireland,just so so greedy and inneffective.We seem to keep saying we need to find someone to partner him but why don't we just keep one of the current strikers up front and just tell Keano to pull his finger out and start partnering.How do you expect someone to partner someone who won't pass you the ball?

Keane is notorious (sp?) for being a little bit selfish on the ball but if you thought Keane was being selfish today you obviously haven't seen much of Ireland.

James R

Yeah Morrison was superb I thought. Great tackle from O'Shea at the end by the way. Good result, and something to build on for the qualifiers!

SheroN

I told ye it was gonna be a draw...although i did say a score draw..none the less:)

Lafortezza

I must have seen a different match than the rest of ye!
I thought Kilbane played fairly well, Given was MoM, Keane played well but didn't get the service from midfield, and I don't know how the hell Morrison got Man of the Match! That one cross to Keane was amazing but apart from that he kept trying to back into Roque Junior (and Lucio) to try to win headers, he should have been trying to turn the slower defenders or get balls played from midfield to run on to. He's not Niall Quinn.

I though Kavanagh played very well, his free kicks were terrible, I thought Carr could take decent frees? But he was busy, held up the ball well and closed down Ronaldinho and Kaka very well.

Ronaldo was a waste of space, he had one or 2 runs and shots but seemed as if he just wanted time to run out so he could get a plane back to Spain.

cournioni

I was at the game yesterday and I thought Kavanagh deserved Ireland's Man of the Match, and to be honest so did everyone else around me. From where we were I also thought Morrison was poor... He didn't look confident at all with his shot in the first half and his movement was poor. Maybe it looks alot different on TV.

To be honest, I think Ireland should be disappointed with a nil all. As I said before the game, the Brazilians are good, but so are we. I don't think anyone realises just how good Ireland are. We should have won it but I think nerves were a big factor in us missing all of our chances. The players were reading the headlines before they were printed IMO.

Ronaldo was desperate shooting wise, but his movement was out of this world. Kids really can learn alot from him.

Ronaldinho was the best player on the pitch without a doubt.

ErinGoBrath

Originally posted by PORNAPSTER
I was at the game yesterday and I thought Kavanagh deserved Ireland's Man of the Match, and to be honest so did everyone else around me. From where we were I also thought Morrison was poor... He didn't look confident at all with his shot in the first half and his movement was poor. Maybe it looks alot different on TV.

Thanks God someone else said this. I was beginning to think everyone was watching a different match from me.

I was in the South terrace and I thought Morrison had a horrific game. The entire terrace laughed when they announced the Man of the Match. Kavanagh should have got it as he had the best Irish performance by far.

Ronaldo movement was superb and a joy to watch. He really is the worlds best out and out striker.

Was very impressed with Kaka. He sprayed the ball from side to side and caused the Irish defence a lot of hassle.

Great game to watch. Ireland did excellent !

rocco

It wasnt a great game to watch on TV . I think Morrison is lacking alot he is defiantley not up to it on an intefnational stage he hasnt even proven himself with Birmingham yet . Kavanagh done really well . I think the Brazilians could have pushed it alot more if they wanted to .

Dustaz

That was the most entertaining nil all draw ive seen in a while

Ireland played very well all around the pitch apart from the strikers. Morrison, apart from that cross which was fantastic, wasnt great - MoM? wtf? Keane was underwhelming as usual.

I thought Kavanagh was great, as was the back 4 and kilbane was his usual workmanlike self.

I thought it was blatantly obvious that Brazil could have won it if they were REALLY pushed though. They always looked more dangerous in their buildup to me (although i concede that could be national inferiority complex showing). It really did feel like there was an extra gear there if it was needed. Their defense is rotten though, "one of the best centre backs in the world" rofl.

GuanYin

I thought Kavanagh did well but his delivery from set pieces wasn't up to his usual standards.

O'Brien and Cunnigham had a very impressive partnership, and for me it was the best central defensive pairing in a long time. Hopefully Kerr will stick with them for the time being.

Brazil probably had a gear or two in reserve but they did look quite frustrated in the second half, Ronaldo especially. It wasn't exactly as if they weren't trying.

bizmark

Will give the guys an ego boost anyway after the disappointment of a few weeks ago.

Good draw and most of the team played well A.reid is really turning out to be a decent player and the defence looked top they shouldn’t let Kavanagh near a dead ball for a while though

Fair enough Brazil is a better team.... But for most of that match it didn’t seem it, which is a testament to the Irish team on the night

Good job ireland

The Muppet

Originally posted by syke

Brazil probably had a gear or two in reserve but they did look quite frustrated in the second half, Ronaldo especially. It wasn't exactly as if they weren't trying.

Its not that they were not trying , but if the game meant anything to them they could have tried a lot harder. As I and many others said Yesterday they would have won the game if they were up for it, they were not and if Ireland had finished their chances they could have won.

L5

By the way for anyone who was at the game, did you see the young lads before the game doing the skills. Some of them were unbelievable, one lad flicked the ball onto his head and did a lap of the pitch walking, and occasionaly running, did a dance at one stage, the ball never even looked like falling!

cournioni

Originally posted by L5
By the way for anyone who was at the game, did you see the young lads before the game doing the skills. Some of them were unbelievable, one lad flicked the ball onto his head and did a lap of the pitch walking, and occasionaly running, did a dance at one stage, the ball never even looked like falling!

Are they Irish though?!

ErinGoBrath

Originally posted by L5
By the way for anyone who was at the game, did you see the young lads before the game doing the skills. Some of them were unbelievable, one lad flicked the ball onto his head and did a lap of the pitch walking, and occasionaly running, did a dance at one stage, the ball never even looked like falling!

I seen this lad. Truly unbelievable skill!

Did a Saturday night fever style dance in front of us in the South Terrance at half time. Legend!

gavnolan

Is it just me or is kevine (Zinedine) Kilbane playing some great footie ever since joining Everton,

he wasnt afraid to take on the Brazilians...

respect.........

StickyMcGinty

Originally posted by PORNAPSTER
I was at the game yesterday and I thought Kavanagh deserved Ireland's Man of the Match, and to be honest so did everyone else around me. From where we were I also thought Morrison was poor... He didn't look confident at all with his shot in the first half and his movement was poor. Maybe it looks alot different on TV.

To be honest, I think Ireland should be disappointed with a nil all. As I said before the game, the Brazilians are good, but so are we. I don't think anyone realises just how good Ireland are. We should have won it but I think nerves were a big factor in us missing all of our chances. The players were reading the headlines before they were printed IMO.

Ronaldo was desperate shooting wise, but his movement was out of this world. Kids really can learn alot from him.

Ronaldinho was the best player on the pitch without a doubt.

true true!!

was it only people who were AT the game that thought this? i idint think the perception was so different??

Is it just me or is kevine (Zinedine) Kilbane playing some great footie ever since joining Everton,

He was superb for bout 70 mins, then he looked his same old self. the brazilians knew by then that he just boots the ball ahead of his and runs on to it.

what did you think of andy reid?? i know he's only cover for duff, but he looked alright!

eirebhoy

I was actually delighted to see the Brazilian's shouting at the ref and Dida shouting at his players, at least they showed a little emotion. I wasn't expecting them to be up for it at all but tried just as much as us IMO.

There is definitely different views from the people watching the game on TV and those who were at the match. Kavanagh worked very hard of the ball (which the camera didn't catch) while Morrison only did well when he was on the ball.

Israel who are in our group beat Azerbaijan 6-0 last night and while Azerbaijan aren't the greates team in the world, Israel certainly know where the goal is. I can see them causing one or two upsets. Also, Azerbaijan are higher up the rankings then N.Ireland and if Israel beat N.Ireland 6-0 there would be a few worried faces south of the boarder.

Draupnir

Northern Ireland are terrible though, we would put 5 or 6 past them, sure Norway beat them easily and we beat Norway easy a few months back.

I was on the South Terrace and it wasnt that packed at all knobbles, however I would have Kavanagh man of the match and O'Brien second, roque junior fouled morrison all night off the ball so Morrison did well too, but definitely not man of the match. A bloke beside me nearly cried cos he had nil all and Kavanagh man of the match in some bookies or other!!!

gandalf

Good game, watched the delayed coverage on TV3. Ireland were excellent apart from the final third of the field where they wasted so many opportunities both from free kicks and actual scoring chances (how did Keane miss that goal!).

From my perspective I think Morrison is a waste up front. There is no way he should have gotten man of the match. Kavanagh was brilliant in midfield apart from his erratic dead ball attempts he had a top game and didn't put a foot wrong (well apart from Gilberto!!). Kavanagh was robbed of the honour.

Now hopefully they can play like that in the WC qualifiers, it would be interesting to see what kind of game they can give France!!

Gandalf.

hoolio

Keane is notorious (sp?) for being a little bit selfish on the ball but if you thought Keane was being selfish today you obviously haven't seen much of Ireland.

Trust me i've seen as much or Ireland as anyone else for a start.And yes i know he does it every match and i know he's well known for it - thats my whole point.Its the biggest weakness in his game and its a weakness that effects the whole team,I just wish Kerr/Hughton/Cunningham would tell him to cop the hell on and stop being a schoolboy.He doesn't do it as much at Tottenham either - becuase he knows that he could actually get dropped from the club side.It's not like he's a raw 18 year old either - he's meant to be a leading member of the squad FFS - time for him to start acting like it.If just wish someone would tell him to sort it.

smemon

Originally posted by ErinGoBrath
I seen this lad. Truly unbelievable skill!

Did a Saturday night fever style dance in front of us in the South Terrance at half time. Legend!

was class, but some of the fella's in the centre circle were atrocious, dropping the ball every few solo's! by the way, whats the deal with this not opening parts of the terrace until near kick off?? whats the point? it just means we're packed like sardines then just before kickoff the stewards open it up. doesnt achieve anything imo.

2nd half was poor from ireland, hardly any chances. keane should get a right rollocking for missing that header, where was the bravery?? took his eye of the ball and pulled out at the last minute.

ref was stupid too, 3 yellow cards in a friendly, all for pretty weak offences too. our set pieces were poor, against a very poor defence we should have been getting headers on goal every corner, free-kick.

atmosphere wasnt great either imo for 44,000. too quiet 2nd half. and no mexican wave, that would have been nice.

Agent Smith

they did us proud.......




that is all

cournioni

Originally posted by VinnyL
what did you think of andy reid?? i know he's only cover for duff, but he looked alright!

I thought he was good alright, he didn't really get much of a chance to shine, but you could see that the ability was there. I think he should be given an attacking midfield role with Duff on the left, Miller on the right, and Roy Keane as the anchor man.

Reid can fairly pass the ball though.

eirebhoy

Originally posted by smemon
ref was stupid too, 3 yellow cards in a friendly, all for pretty weak offences too.

You ever disrespect Anders Frisk again and you will be hanged! He gave us two penalties against Spain.;)

smemon

Originally posted by eirebhoy
You ever disrespect Anders Frisk again and you will be hanged! He gave us two penalties against Spain.;)

a third would have been nice! he was very harsh on brazil though i must say. some of the freekicks were uncalled for. we need that kind of ref for france at home.

which brings us to the next question.... if we can hold the best team in the world to a 0-0 draw, could we possibly sneak a victory against the french?

Guy:Incognito

Originally posted by smemon


which brings us to the next question.... if we can hold the best team in the world to a 0-0 draw, could we possibly sneak a victory against the french?

no chance, the attitude might change if it was a competitive draw. If were all honest with ourselves, a competitive game against brazil in , say a world cup quater final and you'd see a very different attitude from brazil as well as a different score. The France match will be competitive and they have a crap world cup to make up fpr, I dont think they can risk having to qualify through a playoff, or not qualifying.

bizmark

i say we can get at lest a draw from them at home

eirebhoy

Originally posted by Stekelly
no chance

You don't believe we have a chance of beating France? Of course we do. As we all know Ireland can beat anyone on their day.

knobbles

Originally posted by Draupnir

I was on the South Terrace and it wasnt that packed at all knobbles

Honestly Draupnir, it's the worst game i've ever been to for overcrowding.
For the first half i was at the first entrance on your right and was stuck in the corner with an obstructed view. About ten minutes into the game people started coming down and leaving that area while giving **** to the stewards for letting more people up. First Aid was called once for a women in the middle of that area.
I had a bad experience at a concert in the point 8 years ago so I'm a bit paranoid when these things begin to get out of control and they almost were.

In the second half, me and my mate moved to the middle entrance and it was much better but maybe because a lot had left that area because about 4 or 5 men came down to stewards saying people were sreaming during the first half in the middle/back area due to squashing. It was ridiculous.

If you say you were fine a possible explanation is that somewhere on the other side, or near the front, there was a comfortable amount of space. If that was the case, then that's what i'd call bad(almost disastrous) crowd control on the part of the stewards. As I said, a serious issue that must be sorted out before the next friendly which will have a similar attendance in the south terrace.

ether

It was a very entertaining game, end to end stuff. I'm still not convinced that Ireland

have the firepower upfront. Brazil looked eager to win of course, but it didn't mean

as much to them as it did us. If it had really mattered they would have delivered.