Ireland v Poland, International Friendly. SS2 KO 7:45pm.

dublincelt

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Green has actually done alright since coming on!

Il tip my hat to him. He has played very well.

Patser

Psychedelic wrote: »

Fans could barely sing one chorus of Fields of Athenry before giving up, dismal effort.

We're winning 2-0 not losing 4-0, so there probably confused and unsure of what to do...

PhlegmyMoses

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Green has actually done alright since coming on!

Yep. Been involved in a lot of the good stuff and has mopped up on a few instances as well.

Dubh Geannain

Clark finishes with a clean sheet and a goal to his name.

Orchard Rebel

Ireland are turning into Derby. As if being a Forest fan wasn't hard enough at the minute....

tayto lover

Did Poland put on a new team at half-time? This lot are poor compared to the first-half team.

ricero

TRAP IN !!

S28382

Bad night for Sammon, good night for Green, great for Houlahan, so Gio will play Sammon against Sweden and leave out the other two. Well at least they won.

Francie Barrett

Our work rate has been top class in fairness tonight. The Polish team were shellshocked by the first goal and just couldn't get into the game after that.

murpho999

What is the point of those fireworks?

Max Power

Decent win. Terrible game.

noodler

Delighted with Forde's performance.

Should be number one.

Francie Barrett

S28382 wrote: »

Bad night for Sammon, good night for Green, great for Houlahan, so Gio will play Sammon against Sweden and leave out the other two. Well at least they won.

Sammon didn't have a bad game really. The service he got was pathetic and he worked hard on the scraps. I'd say he was just given a run-out to see what he could do and I wouldn't expect him to feature against Sweden.

ShooterSF

FionnMcCool87 wrote: »

Decent win. Terrible game.

I'd say more than decent to beat Poland 2-0.

aindriu80

Great to see Ireland win ! Also great to see Wesi score. Maybe he could force himself into the team and we could change the formation .

GLaDOS

Cunningham did well.

Forde made some good saves, but looked dodgy on the ball and less than assertive under the high ball.

Thought Brady applied himself well, but execution was lacking for the most part.Young player, these things happen.

Sammon isn't good enough.

Sin City

Forde was.dodgy with his distribution
McShambles should never be let near the team let alone in it
Clarke was solid and.glad to see him score
Green was surprisingly good tonight
Sammon had his Joe Laparia moment (missed a sitter)

Glad to see Wessi score

I think Traps reaction to his goal said it all

Surely he has to be a serious option

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

Clark finishes with a clean sheet and a goal to his name.

He won't be saying the first part for a long time again. :pac:

yohan the great

Hendrick pass being overshadowed by goal. Was a great pass

yabadabado

yohan the great wrote: »

Hendrick pass being overshadowed by goal. Was a great pass

excellent pass and finish between the 2 subs.Pity both players didnt get more time.

Kerrydude1981

Good day all round U21s beating Holland as well

SlickRic

It sounds like Trap was more impressed with Sammon than Hoolahan.

says it all.

if Wes doesn't play a decent part against Sweden, then what the fúck was the point?

Trap actually looked slightly annoyed that Wes scored!

Kerrydude1981

SlickRic wrote: »

It sounds like Trap was more impressed with Sammon than Hoolahan.

says it all.

if Wes doesn't play a decent part against Sweden, then what the fúck was the point?

Trap actually looked slightly annoyed that Wes scored!

Poor Johnny Giles was confused after Traps interview,he wasnt the only one

tonycascarino

noodler wrote: »

Delighted with Forde's performance.

Should be number one.

No he shouldn't. Mark Bunn please hurry up with that passport.

BobbyPropane

Forde - 7 - Great shot stopper and sweeper but poor poor distribution
McShane - 5 - Always tries his best but too many mistakes will cost us
O'Shea - 7 - Showed his experience tonight but made one or two mistakes. Marshalled back four well
Clark - 8 - Much better for country than club. Definitely forms a formidable partnership with O'Shea
Cunningham - 9 - Perfect left back.
Whelan - 4 - Needs to step up his game for Ireland
McCarthy - 7 - Great passer and striker of the ball
McClean - 6 - Did well but needs to improve his reading of the game and get forward more
Brady - 6 - Same as McClean but Brady does look a good prospect
Long - 5 - Anonymous tonight really
Sammon - 6 - Good squad player to have around

Wes - 9 - Should be leading the Irish midfield for the next few years
Green - 8 - Much better performance
Keogh - N/A
Cox - anonymous
Walters - anonymous
Hendrick - 7 - Best Irish pass I've seen in a long while

qwabercd

I genuinely believe that Mark Quigley is a better player than Conor Sammon.

Ferris_Bueller

Didn't get to see the game tonight but saw the goals, and a 2-0 win over Poland can't be a bad result. Good to hear Clark and Cunningham had good games, hopefully will become two important players for us over the next few years. Was Wes really that good? Took his goal brilliantly, but he was only on for 15/20 mins as far as I know, was he really that good? When he came on did we play a 4-4-1-1 with him behind the striker or what way did we line out? If this was the case, and if Trap did somehow decide to start Wes in the qualifiers I wonder which striker would work best up there on his own.

tonycascarino

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Didn't get to see the game tonight but saw the goals, and a 2-0 win over Poland can't be a bad result. Good to hear Clark and Cunningham had good games, hopefully will become two important players for us over the next few years.

Cunningham and Clark (take away his goal) realistically did not have great games. 6 at best for both. Will be great to have Marc Wilson back soon for the left back spot.

andyman

tonycascarino wrote: »

Cunningham and Clark (take away his goal) realistically did not have great games. 6 at best for both. Will be great to have Marc Wilson back soon for the left back spot.

6 at best for Cunningham? G'way. He kept Poland's most important player quiet all game.

He did start to tire at the end and found himself off the pace, granted, but keeping a player like Kuba quiet all game is a very tough prospect and Cunningham did just that. Don't get me wrong, give me Wilson over him anyday, but if Cunningham can play like he did tonight next month then it'll be like Wilson never got injured.

applehunter

Disjointed performance from an admittedly weakened Irish side.

My ratings FWIW

Forde 6 Did well when called upon. Distribution was poor however.
McShane 5 A disaster waiting to happen.
Clarke 7 Grew into the game to become dominant figure at the back
O'Shea 6 A victim of the lack of a settled back 4. Lacked assurance at times.
Cunningham 5 McClean gave him good protection. Not convinced.
McClean 6 As above. Attacking wise he was a willing runner, touch let him down at times.
Whelan 4 A victim of the 4-4-2 or just an ordinary player? The latter I suspect.
McCarthy 5 Rarely got on the ball. Ineffective.
Brady 6 Put some decent crosses in but too often was ploughing a lone furrow.
Sammon 6 Poor bastard. Ran and ran. Couldn't fault effort. Hard to judge based on how little quality ball he got. Fluffed his big chance but think defender did well to cover.
Long 6 Willing runner but service to him was average at best.

Subs
Kendrick 7 Lovely composure and vision for goal:eek:
Hoolahan 7 Retained ball well and nice finish for goal
Green 7 Benefited from Hoolahan dropping into midfield and provided good defensive cover 2nd half.

Likely Team for Sweden.

---

Forde

---

O'Shea

---

St. Ledger

---

Clarke

---

Ward

Brady

---

Whelan

---

McCarthy

---

McGeady

---

Keane

---

Walters

---

Seaneh

If walters or Keane start ahead of Long against Sweden I'm going to send anthrex to the FAI.

aidan24326

aindriu80 wrote: »

Great to see Ireland win ! Also great to see Wesi score. Maybe he could force himself into the team and we could change the formation .

Trap loves changing the formation. Expect him to pick a team of 15 players the next day with Henry Shefflin at centre-forward. Seriously though all past evidence suggests that Trap will revert to his beloved system when the Sweden game comes around. You get the feeling Hoolahan could have turned in a Maradona performance tonight and it would have made no odds (and why didn't he start in the first place?)

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Was Wes really that good? Took his goal brilliantly, but he was only on for 15/20 mins as far as I know, was he really that good?

Played for the last half hour, and he did play really well. Creativity, ball retention, composure on the ball, always looking to be positive and get forward but willing to track back aswell when it was required. Showed a lot of what we've been missing.

When he came on did we play a 4-4-1-1 with him behind the striker or what way did we line out? If this was the case, and if Trap did somehow decide to start Wes in the qualifiers I wonder which striker would work best up there on his own.

More or less a 4-4-1-1 yeah. It would be Shane Long if that came about. Though despite Hoolahan's eye-catching performance tonight the signs are that he won't start against Sweden. Back to the usual Trappatoni system. I hope I'm proven wrong but past evidence would suggest that's how it will go.

Augmerson

What's really disappointing is probably none of the players who featured last night will get a look in against Sweden. Trapp, prove me wrong!

The_Kew_Tour

Paul mcshane should give anybody hope of becoming a professional footballer. Good win only saw highlights but we were lucky but still a win should least give the team confidence for 2 matches where we have to get 4 points.

cournioni

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Paul mcshane should give anybody hope of becoming a professional footballer. Good win only saw highlights but we were lucky but still a win should least give the team confidence for 2 matches where we have to get 4 points.

I don't think I have ever seen a player as bad as McShane play at professional or semi professional level. I only watched the RTE highlights last night, but any time the ball came close to him he either played it straight to an opponent, kicked the ball straight at an opponent or completely missed the ball allowing an opponent in on goal.

I have always said it, watching him running on the pitch is akin to a barking dog running after a wheel of a car or after a ball in the local park. Having said that, the dogs I've seen have better ball control than McShane. Truly shocking.

listermint

Was at the game last night.

Missed traps reaction to the goal i see there was comments on it, what happened ?

Thought there were a fair few plusses from last night

Cunningham and Clarke looked very comfortable in defence.

Thought McClean though his distribution was poor at things put in a number of decent crosses and looked lively all night.

Green did excellent when he came on which was a shocker.

Wes looked really tidy on the ball and him and hendrick showed we do have a few options. Would play Long up front against Sweden with Wes behind but trap even said after the game we will stick with 2 up front as if you play 1 teams think you fear them !!! Really getting a bit fecked off with his stubborness.

iregk

A few good and bad performances form last night. McShane sweet jesus can someone just keep him away from the team. Any team.

Salmon I thought had a bad night, looked a bit out of his dept and seemed like he was swimming against the current all night.

adamski8

cournioni wrote: »

I don't think I have ever seen a player as bad as McShane play at professional or semi professional level. I only watched the RTE highlights last night, but any time the ball came close to him he either played it straight to an opponent, kicked the ball straight at an opponent or completely missed the ball allowing an opponent in on goal.

I have always said it, watching him running on the pitch is akin to a barking dog running after a wheel of a car or after a ball in the local park. Having said that, the dogs I've seen have better ball control than McShane. Truly shocking.

the most shocking thing for me yesterday was the amount of time he ended up in a central attacking midfield position.

really funny watching him and cunningham and how they did things so differently!

BeanFlicker

Was at the game last, it was like spot the Irish man in the crowd. Say the Pols outnumbered us there by 6:1

Anyway onto the game, fairly disjointed team performance but the win will do good for confidence

Forde 6 - made two quality saves, one from his own doing but overall good performance, terrible distribution tho
McShane 5 - can' fault him for effort but that's about it
O'Shea 7 - organised defence well, decent game
Clark 7 - good finish and partnered well with JOS
Cunningham 7- good performance last night, good back up for Ward/Wilson & only 22
Brady 6 - not very influential last night but definitely a talent
McCarthy 6 - was fairly ineffective last night but is our future
Whelan 5 - done nothing
McClean 6 - very frustrating at times, tracks back but lacking that final ball
Long 5 - ineffective
Sammon 5 - put in a shift and feeding off scraps but first touch let him down on an awful lot of occasions

---

Walters 4 - not much of an impact when came on
Cox 4 - same as above
Hendrick 7 - excellent vision & pass for Wes goal
Green 6 - done well, made some decent tackles/interceptions but still shouldn't be near the squad for Sweden
Hoolahan 8 - fantastic finish and always looking for the ball to play to feet, hopefully Trap will take note but highly unlikely. (May watch Trap's reaction later)
Keogh - same as Walters & Cox

cournioni

adamski8 wrote: »

the most shocking thing for me yesterday was the amount of time he ended up in a central attacking midfield position.

really funny watching him and cunningham and how they did things so differently!

Chalk and cheese no doubt, as is the case when you compare him with the rest of the players on the pitch. He works hard on the pitch and is obviously fit, but in my eyes he lacks pretty much everything else required to be a footballer at any level other than amateur.

He probably is a nice guy and is committed to Ireland but I am completely baffled as to how he consistently makes it into the Ireland squad. Nothing that he has done over the past 7 or 8 years has convinced me or anybody that I know otherwise.

Seans_Username

On a light-hearted note, I was listening to Newstalk last night and for the half time report Ken Early and Ciaran Murphy were joking that "Ciaran Clark's goal had silenced the home crowd..."

SantryRed

Seans_Username wrote: »

On a light-hearted note, I was listening to Newstalk last night and for the half time report Ken Early and Ciaran Murphy were joking that "Ciaran Clark's goal had silenced the home crowd..."

I don't know how anything could be funny coming out of Ken Early's mouth. Most boring commentator ever.

applehunter

SantryRed wrote: »

I don't know how anything could be funny coming out of Ken Early's mouth. Most boring commentator ever.

He's adequate as a commentator.

I find his reporting and analysis in that overacting hysterical tone amusing though.

The_Kew_Tour

SantryRed wrote: »

I don't know how anything could be funny coming out of Ken Early's mouth. Most boring commentator ever.

Does anyone know who he supports?

homerjay2005

Augmerson wrote: »

What's really disappointing is probably none of the players who featured last night will get a look in against Sweden. Trapp, prove me wrong!

you sure about that?

theres 4 or 5 guaranteed to start and the likes of Mcclane, Clark, Mcshane, Long and Brady all have a huge chance of being involved either from start or coming on.

Sweden are a team who seem to get stronger as the game goes on, so having the likes of Long and mcclane and even Weso to come on, may not be a bad thing.

Seans_Username wrote: »

On a light-hearted note, I was listening to Newstalk last night and for the half time report Ken Early and Ciaran Murphy were joking that "Ciaran Clark's goal had silenced the home crowd..."

of the 43k there, there had to have been 25K at least from Poland. they brought some crowd and made a great atmosphere, and aload of lovely girls in the crowd too which should be an inspiration for the irish girls to go (but it will never happen)

sad though that 30,000 people went to poland and most of them didnt bother showing up last night.

Dubh Geannain

Is this a genuine quote from Trap's post game interview?

"Maybe we have overlooked him because when we see him in his club he plays well in this position but his club is no Manchester or Arsenal."

http://www.balls.ie/football/5-talking-points-from-irelands-2-0-victory-over-poland/

Now I would have thought the fact you can put in performances like his with a team such as Norwich is more a testament to his talent than say at a United or Arsenal. I'm baffled by a comment like this.

Take it at face value he's is challenged more every premier league game than say a Carrick or Arteta.

pbowenroe

Psychedelic wrote: »

Fans could barely sing one chorus of Fields of Athenry before giving up, dismal effort.

Patser wrote: »

We're winning 2-0 not losing 4-0, so there probably confused and unsure of what to do...

says the two watching it at home and posting about it on the internet

Rega

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

Is this a genuine quote from Trap's post game interview?



http://www.balls.ie/football/5-talking-points-from-irelands-2-0-victory-over-poland/

Now I would have thought the fact you can put in performances like his with a team such as Norwich is more a testament to his talent than say at a United or Arsenal. I'm baffled by a comment like this.

Take it at face value he's is challenged more every premier league game than say a Carrick or Arteta.

Makes his decision to pick players who are barely getting a game at Championship level all the more perplexing.

(Yeah Paul Green, I'm looking at you!)

sReq | uTeK

Rega wrote: »

Makes his decision to pick players who are barely getting a game at Championship level all the more perplexing.

(Yeah Paul Green, I'm looking at you!)

Trapp is the greatest living troll on the planet, i'm telling you now he goes up with tardelli and writes this **** for the next encounter, the 2 of them are in stitches behind closed doors