Cyprus vs. Republic of Ireland - 05/09/09 [mod warning post #293]

Dave!

Racing Flat wrote: »

Souness a bit harsh on Dunne saying he's 16 stone :eek:

All muscle !

Hank Scorpio

anyone got a link to the webcast they just announced?

Max Power1

sign of a competent team- we played terribly, esp in midfield, but managed to stick it out for the win.

Still not likely to go through though, unless we manage to beat the Italians in croker!

Mr. Presentable

http://www.rte.ie/live/

Hank Scorpio

nipplenuts wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/live/

cheers.. Does it just hang on world cup extra for ages??

Nalz

Chucky the tree wrote: »

lol, dunphy shows his knowledge. Claiming mcgeady is definsively frail because he got two yellow cards at hibs last week and got sent off.

He said he wasn't defensively frail because he got two yellow cards at Hibs. I know I know one of them was for diving but just said I'd clear that up

kenco

Blessed+!

Good result bad performance.

Second place pretty much confirmed but top of group possible if Bul take a point off Italy and we beat them in Croker

This will not happen with Whelan and Andrews in midfied. S Reid will be back

woodyg

awful performance, lack of centre midfield BUT great result.
Trap knows we got lucky tonight and he has a lot of work to do before the crunch games at home in Croker.

It was defo a case of got the result now get the hell out of here.
Keane is dragging us through this group with some very important goals, he hasn't been playing well but he's doing what you want your striker/captain to do and score the goals to get you the points.
That's 40 goals in 92 caps with 5 in 8 in this qualifying group quality record no matter what way you look at it.

We need a draw on Wednesday to have a chance of winning the group and to also put Bulgaria out of the runing for 2nd spot
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/soccer_tables_worldcup2010.html

Bring on the Italians at Croker where with the usual rising to the under dog status we can get the win i believe to put us in with that chance of going to the party next June

IRISHSPORTSGUY

LOL I love Dunphy. Articulates himself so much better than the other two.

Delighted with the result but not the performance. Whelan was terrible (yet again) and Andrews only slightly better. Agree with the RTE boys in that we looked better with McGeady instead of Hunt. Kilbane didn't **** up - Huzzah!

Mind if we hadn't won I'd be on here unleashing 6 paragraphs of venom on Whelan and Andrews.

Unearthly

Gotta hand it to Trap. He has produced the most dull team ever thanks to the hoofball. But we are getting the results and are in a much better position than I thought we would be in.

If Bulgaria get a draw against Italy - top position will be in our own hands.

Cock out time.

Mr.Nice Guy

Diabolical performance. I'm actually astonished we won the game as I really couldn't see a goal coming. There's no Plan B whatsoever. Whelan showed how rubbish he is once again and Andrews wasn't much better. We got out of jail big time.

Italy match:

Also, Kaladze scores two OGs to help Italy win? Have the Mafia been on to him or something? Very fishy.

Headshot

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Diabolical performance. I'm actually astonished we won the game as I really couldn't see a goal coming. There's no Plan B whatsoever. Whelan showed how rubbish he is once again and Andrews wasn't much better. We got out of jail big time.

actually I think theres a plan B

folan on for doyle

Kirby

Appears Souness is going to go strictly come dancing...and Giles is going to sing. Bloody hell.

Hank Scorpio

LOl at the end of the webcast, legends

Tyranax

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Diabolical performance. I'm actually astonished we won the game as I really couldn't see a goal coming. There's no Plan B whatsoever. Whelan showed how rubbish he is once again and Andrews wasn't much better. We got out of jail big time.

Italy match:

Also, Kaladze scores two OGs to help Italy win? Have the Mafia been on to him or something? Very fishy.

Italy match:

I wouldn't necesscarily say that. One of the Italian defenders nearly hooked a ball into his own net, and going by the highlights that were shown, they looked purely accidental. A teamate helped him up too, I doubt that he would have if there was something improper going on.

You have to love the panel, especially Dunphy. Classic messing there at the end. That's the stuff.

Bounty Hunter

yep the webcast was funny at the end

Dunphey: Graeme would be good on strictley come dancing
Souness: ask my wife, I cant dance
Giles: Your wife... that might be a good idea
Dunphy: I can sing!

hahah legends

KerranJast

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

yep the webcast was funny at the end

Dunphey: Graeme would be good on strictley come dancing
Souness: ask my wife, I cant dance
Giles: Your wife... that might be a good idea
Dunphy: I can sing!

hahah legends

:eek: Gilesy you old dog

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Trapatonni deserves credit but is a very f***ing lucky general as opposed to a tactical genius some on here are protraying him.

The Whelan and Andrews problem isn't going away - they're still not good enough and if we got rid of one of them for a player who can put a foot on the ball we'd be so much better. They aren't even very good at what they do - literally just marking space whether it's under instructions or what have you.

Richard Dunne remains a pivotal member of the team, however I think he's been showing one or two signs that he's peaked.

Overall so so relieved.

Hank Scorpio

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Trapatonni deserves credit but is a very f***ing lucky general as opposed to a tactical genius some on here are protraying him.

The Whelan and Andrews problem isn't going away - they're still not good enough and if we got rid of one of them for a player who can put a foot on the ball we'd be so much better. They aren't even very good at what they do - literally just marking space whether it's under instructions or what have you.

Richard Dunne remains a pivotal member of the team, however I think he's been showing one or two signs that he's peaked.

Overall so so relieved.

Hopefully stephen reid will come back fit, problem pretty much solved

KerranJast

I'd cut Dunne some slack for tonight. I think his head is still a bit messed up over the Villa move. I expect him to be much improved for the Italy game.

Hank Scorpio

KerranJast wrote: »

I'd cut Dunne some slack for tonight. I think his head is still a bit messed up over the Villa move. I expect him to be much improved for the Italy game.

Can`t agree more, poty for a few seasons then told to go

delspeed78

Dunne was off the boil last season as well though.

KerranJast

delspeed78 wrote: »

Dunne was off the boil last season as well though.

Not for Ireland though.

killwill

nuxxx wrote: »

Hopefully stephen reid will come back fit, problem pretty much solved

I believe S.Reid has played a few reserve games and is not far off match fitness. Just up to Trap and whether he will pick him. I believe he should start the Italy game myself. I thought we had Bulgaria in the last game at Croker but RTE say Montenegro. Is that right?

Mr.Nice Guy

killwill wrote: »

I believe S.Reid has played a few reserve games and is not far off match fitness. Just up to Trap and whether he will pick him. I believe he should start the Italy game myself. I thought we had Bulgaria in the last game at Croker but RTE say Montenegro. Is that right?

Yeah that's right. We're done with the Bulgarians now thankfully.

chupacabra

killwill wrote: »

I believe S.Reid has played a few reserve games and is not far off match fitness. Just up to Trap and whether he will pick him. I believe he should start the Italy game myself. I thought we had Bulgaria in the last game at Croker but RTE say Montenegro. Is that right?

We've already played both games against Bulgaria. Its Italy Montengro.

eoin99

killwill wrote: »

I believe S.Reid has played a few reserve games and is not far off match fitness. Just up to Trap and whether he will pick him. I believe he should start the Italy game myself. I thought we had Bulgaria in the last game at Croker but RTE say Montenegro. Is that right?

Yup, Italy and Montenegro in Croker are the two remaining fixtures. Don't you remember Zinedine Kilbane's fantastic equaliser against the Bulgarians at home?

Aidric

Well fcuk me lads, I don't know how we pulled that one out of the bag. Sweet cross from Duff for the goal and Keane glosses over another abject performance with a goal. I'll take it though and it's legs crossed for a draw wednesday night. Our central midfield is a shambles, nobody willing to get on the ball and spray it around.
If I see that mongchild Kilbane pull another smiley face after a clumsy challenge I'll fcukin smash someone.

rossie1977

40 goals, that truly is stunning, like him or not its doubtful robbie keanes goalscoring feats will ever be matched in irish colours again, there is every chance he will score 50+ and outscore the likes of bobby charlton at international level, wow

IRISHSPORTSGUY

rossie1977 wrote: »

40 goals, that truly is stunning, like him or not its doubtful robbie keanes goalscoring feats will ever be matched in irish colours again, there is every chance he will score 50+ and outscore the likes of bobby charlton at international level, wow

I applaud Robbie for that by all means. In perspective though when I think of David Healy's international record and correspond it to his club form it kinda takes the shine off.

eoin99

Aidric wrote: »

Well fcuk me lads, I don't know how we pulled that one out of the bag. Sweet cross from Duff for the goal and Keane glosses over another abject performance with a goal. I'll take it though and it's legs crossed for a draw wednesday night. Our central midfield is a shambles, nobody willing to get on the ball and spray it around.
If I see that mongchild Kilbane pull another smiley face after a clumsy challenge I'll fcukin smash someone.

Couldn't agree more. I thought he was really poor tonight, constantly giving away needless fouls and just don't trust him as a full back. Id be tempted to slot Kelly in right back and shift JOS over to left full just to get him out. Whatever happened to Damien Delaney?? he played a few friendlies at the start of the Trap era, didn't do too badly iirc and now he's not in the squad.

Mr.Nice Guy

Here's my ratings:

Given: Made a good save. Could do little about the goal. 7

O'Shea: Had a tough time against Cypriot left flank attacks. Was sluggish and below-par. 5

St. Ledger: Was a doubt before the game but seemed the most reliable of the defenders. 7

Dunne: Not one of his best games. Made some clumsy tackles and was caught out once or twice. 6

Kilbane: Thought he should have done more to close down the goalscorer Ilia. Great servant but now looks a liability. 5

Hunt: Good workrate though not much creativity. Had a half-chance in first half. 6

Whelan: Still seems a weak link. No presence and no vision. Did have a good strike on goal but was anonymous otherwise. 5

Andrews: Tried his best but still looks a limited player. Had a decent chance in the first half. 6

Duff: Pace is gone but still has that touch of class. Good cross for the goal and some neat touches overall. 7

Keane: Tough for him tonight with little service but got the crucial goal when it came. Showed he's still a big game player. 7

Doyle: A good shift as you'd expect and took his goal well. Very good considering he's still not 100%. 7

Subs:

McGeady: Gave the ball away a few times but got better. 6

Folan: Did as required and got on the end of a few long balls. 6

Manager:

Trapattoni: Lack of creative options in the squad almost came back to haunt him. No Plan B. The luck has got to run out at some stage. 6

vestanpance

Anyone know how Reid (Stephen) is doing with his hamstring injury, is it just a tweak or something that'll put him out of the Italy game?

rossie1977

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

I applaud Robbie for that by all means. In perspective though when I think of David Healy's international record and correspond it to his club form it kinda takes the shine off.

what are you saying?? does healys international record also take the shine off other international goalscoring feats too??

Thierry Henrys 48 goals for his country is magnificent, david villas record too

Dave!

Duffer looked great today, very pleased with his performance !

mink_man

eoin99 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more. I thought he was really poor tonight, constantly giving away needless fouls and just don't trust him as a full back. Id be tempted to slot Kelly in right back and shift JOS over to left full just to get him out. Whatever happened to Damien Delaney?? he played a few friendlies at the start of the Trap era, didn't do too badly iirc and now he's not in the squad.

id say his record of playing in consecutive matches has a thing to do with it!

IRISHSPORTSGUY

McGeady was worth a 7 IMO.

Can't say I noticed St Ledger too much and he didn't seem at fault for anything, which are only positives really.

That Roy Curtis in the Sunday World pissed me off over his ceaseless negative Robbie Keane articles. He can't do much complaining now.

dannydiamond

Dave! wrote: »

Duffer looked great today, very pleased with his performance !

Agreed,I thought Doyle made the very best of a bad situation too, considering he was getting no service but Wtf was Duff at with the big gymnastics display down the touchline claiming he was fouled? It was quite bizzare.

ctrl-alt-delete

vestanpance wrote: »

Check his sig.

Anyone know how Reid (Stephen) is doing with his hamstring injury, is it just a tweak or something that'll put him out of the Italy game?

It is just a tweak, most players get them after coming back from being out for such long periods....

Don't worry though i'm sure he will add another injury to his glorious list,

I don't expect to see him playing for Ireland in this qualification period.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

rossie1977 wrote: »

what are you saying?? does healys international record also take the shine off other international goalscoring feats too??

Thierry Henrys 48 goals for his country is magnificent, david villas record too

Firstly Robbie, David Healy, Henry, Villa etc are obviously legends for their countries. In the wider picture though international records arent all they're cracked up to be when you consider all the minnows in international football nowadays (San Marino, Andorra, Luxembourg etc) it belittles the achievement somewhat.

The Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica record goalscorers probably have impressive records too if you see what I'm getting at.

NaiveMelodies

Am i missing something or what?

If bulgaria win 2 of their next 3 matches- italy, cyprus, georgia
and we only gain one point from our next 2, bulgaria take 2nd spot???
Have i missed something?

eoin99

only1stevo wrote: »

Am i missing something or what?

If bulgaria win 2 of their next 3 matches- italy, cyprus, georgia
and we only gain one point from our next 2, bulgaria take 2nd spot???
Have i missed something?

Both ending on 17pts, it would go down to goal difference I think

JerryHandbag

Dave! wrote: »

Duffer looked great today, very pleased with his performance !

Agreed....was crying out for him to be on the ball more when Cyprus started bossing the game. I think the Fulham move was brilliant for him.

Looking back now, I would have bitten your arm off for this position a couple of years ago...qualification, or at least a play off, in our own hands. Its a welcome change after the Staunton era. Looking at the table now, it will probably need a almighty balls up from our part for Bulgaria to deny us the runner up spot. We will likely go through the group unbeaten, and when you look at the group of players we have, the gaping lack of creativity in midfield, you really have to be thankful.

But there has been a large slice of luck in this group, the Georgia match in a neutral venue when everyone else has had to play them in Tbilisi, the outrageous penalty decision in the return game that turned the game our way, playing Italy with a man extra for 80 mins....so if Trap is a lucky manager, then I'll take that thank you very much in favour of the last campaign when we were dead and buried with 3 games still to play.

But I would be sitting a lot easier if Stephen Reid was finally fit for once and could oust Whelan/Andrews from the team....its like we are playing games with 9 men. It really is

NaiveMelodies

eoin99 wrote: »

Both ending on 17pts, it would go down to goal difference I think

ye and bulgaria would beat us on goal difference...

All of a sudden im less confident, if italy can string a few passes together they will beat us, and Bulgaria will have some confidence now...

Please give me a reason to be optimistic??

Tyranax

only1stevo wrote: »

ye and bulgaria would beat us on goal difference...

All of a sudden im less confident, if italy can string a few passes together they will beat us, and Bulgaria will have some confidence now...

Please give me a reason to be optimistic??

Italy will probably beat Bulgaria on Wednesday, giving us a wee cushion on them. We have Montenegro at home as our last game and dire as we have played during this campaign, I'd assume that we'll beat them. That'll make the Italy result at home immaterial in terms of second place. So don't worry, it's still in our hands. We can do it! Believe!!!

JerryHandbag

Tyranax wrote: »

Italy will probably beat Bulgaria on Wednesday, giving us a wee cushion on them. We have Montenegro at home as our last game and dire as we have played during this campaign, I'd assume that we'll beat them. That'll make the Italy result at home immaterial in terms of second place. So don't worry, it's still in our hands. We can do it! Believe!!!

Yeah, as long as Bulgaria don't beat Italy on Weds, then we can breathe a bit more easily. I can see us getting 4 pts from last 2 games, leaving Bulgarias results in other games meaningless.

But, IF Bulgaria win in Italy.....Oh Jesus! :rolleyes:

NaiveMelodies

Tyranax wrote: »

Italy will probably beat Bulgaria on Wednesday, giving us a wee cushion on them. We have Montenegro at home as our last game and dire as we have played during this campaign, I'd assume that we'll beat them. That'll make the Italy result at home immaterial in terms of second place. So don't worry, it's still in our hands. We can do it! Believe!!!

If we do lose to italy and bulgaria win their final two, we will be going into montenegro gaming NEEDING a win... will be cacking it myself.

eoin99

You would have to think that we would be able to beat Montenegro at home, they won't have anything to play for in terms of qualification whereas we'll be going into the game needing some sort of result. A someway fit Steven Reid at this stage wouldn't hurt either.

adamski8

only1stevo wrote: »

If we do lose to italy and bulgaria win their final two, we will be going into montenegro gaming NEEDING a win... will be cacking it myself.

neeeding a win to possibly get a play off place, which we wont even be guaranteed if we finish second, and i doubt we go through in the play-off anyway!

Tyranax

If we do make it to second place, some of the teams we could get are scary. France, Croatia, Sweden, Portugal, Russia, they could all be drawn. I wouldn't fancy us to get any result home or away against any of them better than a draw. At home. Maybe a win against Sweden.