Euro 2012 playoff Ireland v Estonia.

4zn76tysfajdxp

phasers wrote: »

Don't be such a negative Nancy Frayda.

Oh you men and your football. I'll never understand it.

stovelid

Thank god the national team are cool again. I can cheer them on now. All that not qualifying and losing was like such a downer so I was following the rugby instead.
Go Ireland!!

I hope Roy Keane comes home from LA Bulls to play.

4zn76tysfajdxp

stovelid wrote: »

I hope Roy Keane comes home from LA Bulls to play.

You're lucky it was his boyhood dream to play in Poland next year.

Balmed Out

I have to go to Poland / Ukraine.

Diabhal Beag

You all know ye're jinxing us losing 5-0 next Tuesday? Arseholes :pac:

Looking forward to my holliers in Poland next year!

Dotrel

Look people, there's only one conceivable way that Ireland are going to lose 5-0 in the 2nd game.

headmaster

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

Micky Dolenz

headmaster wrote: »

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

Them be the breaks. Them lads are owed a bit of luck after that Frenchie guy handed them the exit door last time.

Kasabian

headmaster wrote: »

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

But what you fail to grasp is football is about results.
This squad are hard to beat and going into a tournament they will be difficult for anyone to beat.

ballsacky

Some result. A good bit of luck throughout the campaign but we deserved it after all the heartbreak. Hopefully it'll raise spirits around the place a bit!

hmmm

Wahoo, time for some Tyskie from the Polish sklep.

God we've become so cosmopolitan loik.

Dotrel

headmaster wrote: »

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

A well researched post. I look forward to more.

orourkeda

Congratulations to all concerned.

A well deserved victory and ful credit to the players and management team.

A professional performance on Tuesday will most likely seal the deal

amacca

Dotrel wrote: »

Look people, there's only one conceivable way that Ireland are going to lose 5-0 in the 2nd game.

jaysus...mcshane looks like a young ginger johnny giles there

or a weird ginger fusion of ronnie whelan, liam brady and eamonn dunphy sans eyebrows (what a heady soccer panel related genetic cocktail)

orourkeda

headmaster wrote: »

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

Is it only irish people that can find fault with a 4-0 away victory? There is no arguing against results

amacca

orourkeda wrote: »

Is it only irish people that can find fault with a 4-0 away victory? There is no arguing against results

true.....but you have to admit we were v.lucky at times

imo estonia were playing well for large parts of that first half (more accurate passing...better ball retention...better in posession...with a little more experience on their side or indeed luck it could have been tight enough

I think the scoreline suggests a dominance that in reality wasn't there

J. Marston

headmaster wrote: »

If that's the best they can do against 9 men, with the two sent off for zilch, then god help yere senses. If this game happened to end the other way around, the Irish would be complaining like the useless lunatics they are. Verdict= terrible match, with the skill level at -1. Qualification= probably, but only to find out that you're not qualified for the real game of soccer. If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

They were clear red cards. One for hacking a man while on a yellow and also the last man. The ref was kind not to give him a straight red.
The second was a deliberate handball, again while on a yellow and also the last man. Completely legitimate red cards.

If this game happened to end the other way around

Yeah and if my granny had my balls? Stupid statement.

Terrible match and poor skill level? Probably but fair play to the lads for winning 4-0 away from home despite being ''terrible''.

If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

If Carlsberg did moaning arses who like to piss on a teams achievements, you'd probably be in their ads. Thankfully, they don't.

crash davis

amacca wrote: »

true.....but you have to admit we were v.lucky at times

imo estonia were playing well for large parts of that first half (more accurate passing...better ball retention...better in posession...with a little more experience on their side or indeed luck it could have been tight enough

I think the scoreline suggests a dominance that in reality wasn't there

Fair enough about the first half, but how often did they look like scoring? That's the key to this Ireland team - tremendously difficult to score against.

Clean sheets are Trap's drug of choice, and fair play to him, he's gotten us to our first European Championship in 24 years and we should have been at the last World Cup too. Not bad going when you consider the players he has had at his disposal.

You think we have a chance at the Championships if we play expansive football? We'll be hockeyed.

coonecb1

We're there! I'll have to get on to my Polish colleagues to get a place to stay next summer!

Plug

Referee should have got man of the match.

Dotrel

Plug wrote: »

Referee should have got man of the match.

He did have lovely legs alright.

amacca

crash davis wrote: »

Fair enough about the first half, but how often did they look like scoring? That's the key to this Ireland team - tremendously difficult to score against.

Clean sheets are Trap's drug of choice, and fair play to him, he's gotten us to our first European Championship in 24 years and we should have been at the last World Cup too. Not bad going when you consider the players he has had at his disposal.

You think we have a chance at the Championships if we play expansive football? We'll be hockeyed.

cant disagree with that (in fact its pretty much my opinion too)...we've lost out on a lot over the years by conceding at crucial times or allowing situations to develop that increased our chances of conceding..particularly given the playes at his disposal...it is one hell of an achievement imo...but you have to admit there was a good bit of luck that was absent in other campaigns present in this one

agreed too about being hockeyed if we try the expansive game..........however were pretty much condemned to a certain level of achievement if we continue to give the ball away as cheaply as we do at times

even great italian/german defences of old (the old 1-0 teams) took the pressure off their defenses by retaining possession for decent periods, stringing some passes together and staying in the opposition half for longer than 30 seconds at a time....tonight excepted we have had to defend non-stop for huge proportions of some games and barring some greece type fairy tale (of the soccer variety:D) or some even slight change in approach or tactics (particularly in terms of retaining posession - not suggesting we go banzai) I think we will be very very limited in our achievement at the euros

crash davis

amacca wrote: »

cant disagree with that (in fact its pretty much my opinion too)...we've lost out on a lot over the years by conceding at crucial times or allowing situations to develop that increased our chances of conceding..particularly given the playes at his disposal...it is one hell of an achievement imo...but you have to admit there was a good bit of luck that was absent in other campaigns present in this one

agreed too about being hockeyed if we try the expansive game..........however were pretty much condemned to a certain level of achievement if we continue to give the ball away as cheaply as we do at times

even great italian/german defences of old (the old 1-0 teams) took the pressure off their defenses by retaining possession for decent periods, stringing some passes together and staying in the opposition half for longer than 30 seconds at a time....tonight excepted we have had to defend non-stop for huge proportions of some games and barring some greece type fairy tale (of the soccer variety:D) or some even slight change in approach or tactics (particularly in terms of retaining posession - not suggesting we go banzai) I think we will be very very limited in our achievement at the euros

Agree with ball retention which goes hand in hand with one of my real reservations about this team- how they respond to going a goal up, with them usually falling back and allowing the other team to play. Drives me absolutely nuts, seriously.

I mean, I wonder how we would have come out in the second half if they still had 11 men on the pitch? I doubt we would have taken the match by the scruff of the neck in the same fashion. That worries me.

starbelgrade

headmaster wrote: »

If Carlsberg did terrible, then kean and co would be the best terrible in the world.

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals. Not one player from England - from all the great strikers they've had - has ever broken the 50 goal mark for the international team. Not even Bobby Charlton.

And if that wasn't a big enough accolade, then get this - he is now in the 14th highest ranked player of all time for goals scored for their country. Of all time.

If Carlsberg did awards for talking through your arse...

retalivity

a word on richard dunne.

he was great tonight, to add to many fine performances over the entire campaign. He's probably the best defender Ireland have had since the halcyon days of mcgrath & mccarthy. If ever a man deserved to compete on a bigger stage, it's him.

Immense.

randylonghorn

starbelgrade wrote: »

Again!

In yore face Dolenz!!!

Ah, you figured out his fetish ... :cool:

Micky Dolenz

Heh, watch all the soccer heads breaking out :pac:

crash davis

retalivity wrote: »

a word on richard dunne.

he was great tonight, to add to many fine performances over the entire campaign. He's probably the best defender Ireland have had since the halcyon days of mcgrath & mccarthy. If ever a man deserved to compete on a bigger stage, it's him.

Immense.

He's the reason we're there really. When he puts that Irish jersey on you know he'll give everything. His performance against Russia was up there with McGrath against Italy in '94.

amacca

starbelgrade wrote: »

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals. Not one player from England - from all the great strikers they've had - has ever broken the 50 goal mark for the international team. Not even Bobby Charlton.

And if that wasn't a big enough accolade, then get this - he is now in the 14th highest ranked player of all time for goals scored for their country. Of all time.

If Carlsberg did awards for talking through your arse...

I'm probably talking through my arse here but out of curiosity.....how many international goals has Robbie scored if one was to say filter out goals in friendlies and goals scored against smaller countries who were formely part of the USSR or Yugoslavia

allright the above is unfair but he does have some advantages that the likes of Bobby Charlton wouldn't.....still 54/53 goals is a huge achievement I suppose

Dotrel

amacca wrote: »

I'm probably talking through my arse here but out of curiosity.....how many international goals has Robbie scored if one was to say filter out goals in friendlies and goals scored against smaller countries who were formely part of the USSR or Yugoslavia

allright the above is unfair but he does have some advantages that the likes of Bobby Charlton wouldn't.....still 54/53 goals is a huge achievement I suppose

He's scored competitive goals against Holland, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. He has nothing to prove.

amacca

Dotrel wrote: »

He's scored competitive goals against Holland, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. He has nothing to prove.

fair enough......does the total look as impressive when you see how many of them were scored in friendlies though...or is that just my own personal bias coming through?

sgb

I suppose people will be painting their houses,cars, and dogs green white and orange now

orourkeda

amacca wrote: »

true.....but you have to admit we were v.lucky at times

imo estonia were playing well for large parts of that first half (more accurate passing...better ball retention...better in posession...with a little more experience on their side or indeed luck it could have been tight enough

I think the scoreline suggests a dominance that in reality wasn't there

Estonia didnt threaten at all. They didnt create a worthwhile chance in 90 minutes. While the first red card was a turning point, they did not create a decent goalscoring opportunity before or after

Dubh Geannain

amacca wrote: »

fair enough......does the total look as impressive when you see how many of them were scored in friendlies though...or is that just my own personal bias coming through?

The latter.

Bobby Charlton played against weaker teams too. Some of which didn't even have proper established football associations.

Shanotheslayer

orourkeda wrote: »

Estonia didnt threaten at all. They didnt create a worthwhile chance in 90 minutes. While the first red card was a turning point, they did not create a decent goalscoring opportunity before or after

Estonia looked more threatening with 10 men then we did with 11. If you didn't notice that you weren't paying much attention. Until that 2nd goal came Estonia where the more likely team to score. Even when we went 1-0 Estonia looked more likely to score then we did.

Micky Dolenz

I have zero interest in football but I like to see representatives of my country do well, no matter what discipline .

Ireland nearly qualifying for a summer tournament means great boozy days out, singing and having the craic. It means watching a sport you would never normally watch and being an expert after a game or two. :P

Ah lads, there's craic to be had if they qualify.

C'mon Ireland

starbelgrade

amacca wrote: »

I'm probably talking through my arse here but out of curiosity.....how many international goals has Robbie scored if one was to say filter out goals in friendlies and goals scored against smaller countries who were formely part of the USSR or Yugoslavia

17 of the goals were in friendlies & quite a few were against "weaker" teams, but the point is kind of moot really, because all the top international goalscorers would have racked up goals in much the same way.

Also, it's impossible to compare records of goalscorers in a way that would rank who they scored against... for example if Robbie Keane scored a goal against Malta, does that make it an easier goal than say a goal Pele scored against Italy? Yes, Italy are a better team than Malta, but by the same reasoning, Brazil of Pele's time were a much better team than Ireland.

Another possible way of ranking would be goals scored per international games played, which would drop him down in the ranking to No.46, but even at that - for an Irish player to make the top 50 of all time international goalscorers is a huge achievement and a great credit to the player.

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Estonia looked more threatening with 10 men then we did with 11. If you didn't notice that you weren't paying much attention. Until that 2nd goal came Estonia where the more likely team to score. Even when we went 1-0 Estonia looked more likely to score then we did.

If Estonia were still there now with 11 men they wouldn't have scored. They had more of the ball but created absolutely nothing in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

Dotrel

amacca wrote: »

fair enough......does the total look as impressive when you see how many of them were scored in friendlies though...or is that just my own personal bias coming through?

His goal-record in competitive games is actually better than his record in friendlies. Friendly games are actually pulling his stats down.

If you just counted competitive games his stats are 36 goals in 72 games.
His friendly rate is is just 17 in 40.

amacca

orourkeda wrote: »

Estonia didnt threaten at all. They didnt create a worthwhile chance in 90 minutes. While the first red card was a turning point, they did not create a decent goalscoring opportunity before or after

true...I couldn't understand why they were taking so many shots from distance when they had us on the back foot (particularly after we scored)...one or two more passes..a cross or two and we would have sweated imo

but thats surely more a point about them being poor (impatient - lacking experience) when it came to cutting us open in the final third (quarter) of the pitch than us being particularly dominant

starbelgrade

orourkeda wrote: »

If Estonia were still there now with 11 men they wouldn't have scored.

If Estonia had kept playing till now, they wouldn't have any players left on the pitch after 360 minutes the way they were going!

Shanotheslayer

orourkeda wrote: »

If Estonia were still there now with 11 men they wouldn't have scored. They had more of the ball but created absolutely nothing in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

We created nothing either until that 2nd goal. It was a crap game to watch. then was no great chances.Just goals from us that we put away(Thankfully) but as usual even tho we scored 4. Still awful to watch.

orourkeda

amacca wrote: »

true...I couldn't understand why they were taking so many shots from distance when they had us on the back foot (particularly after we scored)...one or two more passes..a cross or two and we would have sweated imo

but thats surely more a point about them being poor (impatient - lacking experience) when it came to cutting us open in the final third (quarter) of the pitch than us being particularly dominant

It was more to do with them being downright poor as opposed to inexperienced or impatient.

amacca

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

Bobby Charlton played against weaker teams too. Some of which didn't even have proper established football associations.

true but bobby charlton was more than just a goal hanger!:D

creative midfielder anyone!

tolosenc

orourkeda wrote: »

If Estonia were still there now with 11 men they wouldn't have scored. They had more of the ball but created absolutely nothing in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

They got within 30 yards of our goal about twice.

People are convinced it's all luck and no ability with Ireland, and will cling on to anything they can to justify a very blinkered opinion.

Dotrel

amacca wrote: »

true...I couldn't understand why they were taking so many shots from distance when they had us on the back foot

This clip explains all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNt2jnxMgbs

Basically, as bad as they looked tonight, their long range shooting is on a par with Brazil 1982 if they're given any space. They didn't get a sniff tonight however.

RachaelVO

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I have zero interest in football but I like to see representatives of my country do well, no matter what discipline .

Ireland nearly qualifying for a summer tournament means great boozy days out, singing and having the craic. It means watching a sport you would never normally watch and being an expert after a game or two. :P

Ah lads, there's craic to be had if they qualify.

C'mon Ireland

My thoughts exactly! Football, meh... drinking sessions watching a few matches and having a laugh, DEADLY!!!

starbelgrade

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We created nothing either until that 2nd goal. It was a crap game to watch. then was no great chances.Just goals from us that we put away(Thankfully) but as usual even tho we scored 4. Still awful to watch.

None of the Irish performances in this campaign have been pretty to watch. I actually fell asleep during the last game - that has never happened before when I was watching a game of football.

But, Trap has done an amazing job with a squad of players that are either reaching the ends of the international careers or really not that great on talent.

His man management skills must be fantastic, because at the start of the qualifiers, you wouldn't really have fancied Ireland's chances of making it to Poland-Ukraine.

It's a huge achievement - not great to watch, true - but football is all about the results in the end & we've got them this time around.

amacca

orourkeda wrote: »

It was more to do with them being downright poor as opposed to inexperienced or impatient.

as poor as they were they have some abilities we seem to need a bit of help with........................................we got the run on them to a certain extent.

you must have noticed their passing was a lot more accurate than ours and they had the ability to hang on to the ball for longer than we did.