Ireland-Serbia

AARRRGH

Listening on the radio... sounds like an exciting game...!

Sherifu

Disaster! McShane ball watching.

AARRRGH

Ireland 0 - 1 Serbia

Paul McShambles screwed up.

Duff

Goal!
1-0 Serbia.. Pantelic

Unearthly

Nice finish there for Keogh

AARRRGH

1 - 1

Andy Keogh!

Duff

Nice finish by Keough

Sherifu

Sexual.

Bounty Hunter

going only one form showed for Ireland recently Keogh has to be pushing to start ahead of either Keane or Doyle vs Columbia. prob wont but seems far more lively anytime he's given a chance.

FT 1-1

Sherifu

Ft: 1-1

IRISHSPORTSGUY

I support Sunderland (life-long BTW) and McShane is one of the worst players we have bought in recent years. Constently caught out of position, too slow and simply not good enough. He has a good attitude and determination but he simply ****e.

For future Ireland matches I would like to see a back 4 of...

Finnan- Dunne - O'Shea - Delaney

Kilbane, Andy O'Brien and Stephen Kelly would provide competant back-up.

Bounty Hunter

So based on today:

Is Delaney good enough to regularily fill Irelands LB void?

not Irelands A team but did the players play a better brand of football?

Who will get into this team that wasnt there? Reidx2, Finnan (retired?) or whisper it Stephen Ireland

will the same lineup face Columbia?

Delighted for Keogh, great finish. I knew the lad in school and always wish him well. Apparently Trap likes him anyway.

Paul mcShane is brutal, thankfully now Trap has had a look at him he can realise this also!


Not the worst performance in the world. Wasnt embarrassing to watch a la the Stan era but Serbia didnt have their strongest team out so theres a lot of work to be done.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

So based on today:

Is Delaney good enough to regularily fill Irelands LB void?

not Irelands A team but did the players play a better brand of football?

Who will get into this team that wasnt there? Reidx2, Finnan (retired?) or whisper it Stephen Ireland

will the same lineup face Columbia?

IMO yes, unless we put Andy O'Brien in as centre-half and John O'Shea to left back.

estebancambias

First of all I am delighted for Trap that Keogh got that goal. Also

Also lets get one thing straight that was our second/third choice central midfield.
I think against a very good footballing side like Serbia they did ok.


Poor old McShane. He was decent except for two massive occassions in the game. First his awful backpass to Kiely in the goal, and then I don't know what he was doing for their goal. I think Trap needs to keep with Dunne and McShane. Did anyone actually see McShane's wonderful clearence header in the first half? He was competant but sadly for him made that damn error. I still have faith.

Hunt showed tonight he's not someone who can be taken seriously to start, and is more of an impact last 10 minutes player.

Duff was very solid.....I would give him 7/10. He underlined his importance for Ireland. What I noticed is the players rely too heavily on him. With McGeady in the team hopefully they can utilise him as well and free up room for Duff.

Keogh is really endearing himself to Trap.

Oh and Kiely and Kelly looked solid.


BTW, was anyone in Hill 16 here? I was the guy wearing the yankees hat backwards....

poor atmosphere tonight, but in fairness it was good when the players did something to ignite the crowd.

dc69

Now that Kevin Doyle is in the championship,the excuse cant be made that he is playing at a higher level.

My future striking pair is Keane,Keogh.

Mr.Nice Guy

Watched the game (although admittedly I flicked over a few times to hear Sir Terry) and I felt 1-1 was a fair result. I thought it was a pretty dull game but looking at the line-ups there wasn't going to be much creativity from the centre of the park. I felt Duff put in a solid disaply and one that should reassure those of us who have worried about his form. I also feel McShane has been exposed as not being good enough for this level. If I was to rate the players I'd give them the following...

Dean Kiely - 6

Decent return. Didn't have much to do. Can't be faulted for the goal.

Stephen Kelly - 6

Looked quite shaky in the first-half but got better as the game went on.

Richard Dunne - 7

As usual he looked the most assured member of the defence.

Paul McShane - 5

At fault for the goal with a worrying lapse in concentration. Doesn't look up to this level based on recent club and country performances.

Damien Delaney - 6

Didn't seem to be on the same page as the rest of the team at times but was solid enough on the ball.

Damien Duff - 8

Ireland's MOTM for me. Put his poor club form behind him with a good display where he made life diffficult for the full backs and carved up some chances. Reminscent of the old Duffer.

Liam Miller - 6

Didn't bring much to the team and struggled to impose himself on the game.

Glenn Whelan - 7

A decent debut. I thought he broke up play well and kept things nice and simple. Solid if unspectacular. I'd like to see him get a few more starts and see how he does.

Stephen Hunt - 5

Probably his poorest performance yet in a green shirt. Didn't cause the problems he's tended to in the past and he looked uncomfortable on either wing.

Kevin Doyle - 7
Battled hard although he had little to work on. One of the few who seemed fired up for the game. Held the ball up well. Similar to his performances for Reading I thought.

Robbie Keane - 6

Had the best chance of the game in the first-half but wasn't involved in much else. Wouldn't lay the blame on him for that however. Needed better support.

Substitutes:

Daryl Murphy - 6

Plenty of effort although he didn't worry the Serbs too much.

Andy Keogh - 7

Took his goal brilliantly to earn Ireland a draw that they deserved. Looks set to feature quite a bit in future games.

Shane Long - N/A

Don't feel I can really rate Long as he wasn't on the field all that 'long' (forgive the pun) but what I saw I liked. Seemed really fired up for the game and I would have liked to see him get a longer run out.

Overall I felt it was a decent start for Trap but I think McShane is a liability and we should look to others instead of him. Perhaps O'Shea. I would like to see O'Shea and Dunne against Colombia and a debut for Garvan. We'll see what happens.

Decent enough start by my reckoning.

delija_sever029

I was watching eurovision coz there wasnt broadcast of the game,i expect full review of you who watched it,our team was crapy i supose

estebancambias

delija_sever029 wrote: »

I was watching eurovision coz there wasnt broadcast of the game,i expect full review of you who watched it,our team was crapy i supose

Well not exactly. In truth it was what you said...a dull game.:D but Serbia were quite good in the first half. Like you could see their level of technical ability.

Although like Ireland they lacked any penetration.

It was primarly both teams second/third team wich some exceptions so it wouldn't be right to come to any quick conclusion.


I don't think there is much to report to be honest. I don't think either goalkeeper made a save.


BTW, Mr.Nice Guy your ratings are near enough spot on.

thusspakeblixa

I was at the match. It really was dire. Neither team were particularly good, but Serbia seemed to have a bit more composure on the ball and more control when in possession. I thought our defence played well (aside from the error by McShane which cost us the goal) with Damien Delaney having a good debut in my eyes.
...But ZERO entertainment. Our goal was scrappy and theirs came from an error.
Oh and I thought Keane had a terrible game, and Duff only really came to life in the 2nd half. Watching Robbie Keane constantly roll around on the pitch after every hint of a tackle gets quite frustrating.

delija_sever029

Anyone founded Vidic in hotel for a photo?:D

zAbbo

I was only half watching the game in the pub, and it looked like we were actually passing the ball around which was nice.

Regarding the Serbian goal, was our left full not the one at fault? he was behind his two centre halfs which should never happen.

I think people are too quick to blame McShane...

Maybe I missed something

estebancambias

McShane was very good. Sadly he is prone to these errors, unless he can erradicate this from his game I really don't think we can afford to start him come September.

Zabbo, we passed it around in some ways, but there was no inent.

Liam Miller has tunnel vision, although he is neat and tidy on the ball and I think Whelan looked quite limited. But hey as long as they are backup come September thats fine with me.

thusspakeblixa

zAbbo wrote: »

I was only half watching the game in the pub, and it looked like we were actually passing the ball around which was nice.

Regarding the Serbian goal, was our left full not the one at fault? he was behind his two centre halfs which should never happen.

I think people are too quick to blame McShane...

Maybe I missed something

There were some nice passes made in the 2nd half, but it was mostly rushed. We'd string 1 or 2 together and then some fool would hoof it out or give it away. And it looked to me like McShane could've marked the man that scored rather than watch the ball.

Mr.Nice Guy

The gaffer's happy enough...

Trapattoni was happy with the result and the performance in a tough first game.

He said: "We have started, we have begun. We certainly took a step forward this evening.

"It was a good match. It was for me - and two or three players - the first international game, and an opportunity to give our supporters a good result.

"In the first half, we deserved to be ahead. We had a very good opportunity with Robbie (Keane) when the defender saved the ball on the goal-line.

"But in the second half, Serbia played better than we did. We knew their qualities before the match, but we knew our own qualities and style of play, and we deserved that result.

"I don't think we deserved to lose and the result for me and the players was good."

Keane would indeed have given the home side a 22nd-minute lead had Serbia defender Slobodan Rajkovic not recovered quickly to block the Tottenham striker's shot on the line after his own header inadvertently set him up at the far post.

However, that was one of few chances created by either side as the technically-gifted Serbs stretched Ireland on the counter but managed to cope well with their opponents' more combative approach.

The game looked to be heading for a draw until 15 minutes from time when substitute Marko Pantelic pounced as Paul McShane allowed Ivica Dragutinovic's long ball to sail over his head and the forward fired past 37-year-old keeper Dean Kiely.

But Kiely, making his first appearance for his country in five years, did not end up on the losing side, thanks to Keogh's first senior international goal.

The 22-year-old, who had replaced Stephen Hunt with nine minutes remaining, latched on to Daryl Murphy's flick-on from Damien Delaney's throw-in to smash the ball past keeper Vladimir Stojkovic to ensure the game ended all-square.

Trapattoni has developed something of a reputation during his 35-year coaching career for defensive resilience, and while he insists he will iron out the kind of error which allowed Serbia their goal, he was not too concerned by the lack of chances at the other end.

He said: "The opponents, how many did they create? Did you see the Champions League final? How many chances?

"Every game when two teams play the same, there are very few opportunities. It is difficult to have more than two or three.

"They had one opportunity on the counter-attack."

The 69-year-old Italian was questioned after the game about claims some of his players broke a curfew after a meal with sponsors Eircom during last week's trip to Portugal.

However, he insisted he had given them time off and had no problem with what had gone on.

He said: "I gave them free time. After eight days of training morning, afternoon, morning, afternoon, morning, afternoon, they deserved some time off.

"It's not a problem. You saw we were running until the last minute with four minutes of added time."

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/international/republic/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/05/24/SOCCER_Republic_Quotes.html

armour87

My 2cents.

Delaney at left back impressed me and a full 90 minutes against decent opposition done him very well.

McShane definetly can't start in defence anymore, not based simply on his mistake but on his overall performance and for most games I've seen him in. Keep him in the squad as 4th choice CB. Dunne and O'Shea for me.

Id stick with Kelly RB.

Miller isn't good enough. No way.

I don't care what people may say about Stephen Ireland but he's exactly what the team missed tonight. Bit of creativity and guile.

Nobody ever seemed to want the ball, with the exception of Duff occasionally.

Doyle is not a target man.

Whelan done himself no harm, but is obviosuly still maturing at this high new level for him. Id keep him in for the short term at least.

Delighted for Keogh. Great goal.

thusspakeblixa

armour87 wrote: »

My 2cents.

Delaney at left back impressed me and a full 90 minutes against decent opposition done him very well.

McShane definetly can't start in defence anymore, not based simply on his mistake but on his overall performance and for most games I've seen him in. Keep him in the squad as 4th choice CB. Dunne and O'Shea for me.

Id stick with Kelly RB.

Miller isn't good enough. No way.

I don't care what people may say about Stephen Ireland but he's exactly what the team missed tonight. Bit of creativity and guile.

Nobody ever seemed to want the ball, with the exception of Duff occasionally.

Doyle is not a target man.

Whelan done himself no harm, but is obviosuly still maturing at this high new level for him. Id keep him in for the short term at least.

Delighted for Keogh. Great goal.

+1. Summed it all up nicely,

kmart6

Trap got a bit carried away with the aul celebrating IMO...only a bllody friendly...and no need for the first match ect ect stuff from everyone now...cause technically it was the third!

shane86

Clip of the goals anywhere? Youtube are being copywright loving tossers this morning.

Saw the chopped down highlights in the pub last night, seemed to be a decent display I thought.

delija_sever029

Yeah i would like to see goals too,anyway i think Serbia didnt show anything different than usuall,boring playing,where are those photos runners,Vidic catched?:D

estebancambias

kmart6 wrote: »

Trap got a bit carried away with the aul celebrating IMO...only a bllody friendly...and no need for the first match ect ect stuff from everyone now...cause technically it was the third!

*rolls eyes*

kmart6

Thats a great post!:rolleyes:

estebancambias

I'm sorry but maby you come from a planet where emotion is a bad thing, but from where I'm from doing what Il Trap did last night when Keogh scored is a sign of passion, and just shows he really really is up for this challenge as Irish manager completely dispelling the crap that some people on here talked about him only taking the job because of the money.

Let me ask, do you think he made a calculated choice to celebrate in the way he did last night?

kmart6

I am not one of those who has said anything about him taking the job for the money! It was only him and Tardelli that really got carried away,so it coulda been,at the end of the day it was still only a draw in a friendly!

shane86

Any links to any of the goals, this celebration etc etc etc.

estebancambias

Well it was more just a general thing, I'm not saying you said it.

I don't see how it was over the top, to me he is just someone who is passionate like the fans who celebrate when a goal is scored but hey theres no point getting into it, as its hardly something to dissect and analyse to any great detail.

estebancambias

I'm suprised RTE doesn't have it now. They normally put some the pundits opinions and goals after games.

kmart6

Exactly,we'll leave it at that...lol!

Mint Sauce

kmart6 wrote: »

Trap got a bit carried away with the aul celebrating IMO...only a bllody friendly...and no need for the first match ect ect stuff from everyone now...cause technically it was the third!

did notice that brady did seem a little unconfortable from the tardelli embrace, looking at it he didn't seem to know how to react

as for trap being happy with the result, it didn't seem that way when they were a goal down, he looked furious

Reganio 2

Something I noticed anyway yesterday is that we are dependent on Doyle to do something. Any time we got the ball or it went up front Doyle wasd chasing around trying to get while Keane stood there looking at him. For the people that say our strike partnership should be Keane - Keogh I laugh, Keane he does very little for the team I know people are going to say "Well he is our all time top goalscorer and captain" but he brings very little to the team, if he dosn't score he has a bad game because he has very little work ethic. He has changed a bit since he was made captain at Spurs while King was out but now King's back he seems to have gone back to his old self.

Anyway I can't see Keogh getting a starting position for any of the qualifiers
I reckon its going to be/ what I think it should be
...................Given.......................
Finnan...Dunne....McShane....O'Shea
McGeady...A.Reid...Ireland...Duff
..........Doyle.....Keane........

Subs: Kiely, S. Kelly, O'Brien, Hunt, Keogh

thusspakeblixa

estebancambias wrote: »

I'm sorry but maby you come from a planet where emotion is a bad thing, but from where I'm from doing what Il Trap did last night when Keogh scored is a sign of passion, and just shows he really really is up for this challenge as Irish manager completely dispelling the crap that some people on here talked about him only taking the job because of the money.

Let me ask, do you think he made a calculated choice to celebrate in the way he did last night?

In Croker they showed Tardelli dancing and hugging Trappa after the goal on the screen, it was hilarious

estebancambias

I was there it was once of the best scenes ever, well for a friendly anyway. Imagine we won the world cup or hell even qualified?

kmart6

Lets stick with the qualified bit firstly

ronbyrne2005

Who was the colored young lad with dreads on Irish bench?

thusspakeblixa

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Who was the colored young lad with dreads on Irish bench?

Sean Scannell. He's my new hero

_blank_

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

colored

Welcome to the 1950s.

ronbyrne2005

DesF wrote: »

Welcome to the 1950s.

What should I have described him as? It's uncommon for Irish players to be black/mixed race so I only used the term as I knew many would know who I was talking about.

Bounty Hunter

thusspakeblixa wrote: »

Sean Scannell. He's my new hero

he's still 17 playing for Palace where he has attracted attension from such clubs as Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and Blackburn Rovers (according to Wiki anywho). Seems a real prospect for the future plus he looks like a character from S4 of Whe Wire:).

_blank_

The lad with the dreds maybe.

thusspakeblixa

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

he's still 17 playing for Palace where he has attracted attension from such clubs as Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and Blackburn Rovers (according to Wiki anywho). Seems a real prospect for the future plus he looks like a character from S4 of Whe Wire:).

Yeah I saw him play for palace a few weeks ago. He's very quick, a real hope for us.
...and he's been linked with Stuttgart in German papers, (me being the VfB fan)