Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland - Friday Sep 4 2015 - 19:45 - RTE2

Amirani

Laois_Man wrote: »

Yep....awful!

That's horrendous. Some of our grey/navy jerseys recently have been nice too.

CurryFlavoured

Beat Georgia and draw one of the other 2 and we should get 3rd. Not a hope we catch Poland.

Laois_Man

Laois_Man wrote: »

Yep....awful!

like a training jersey. Umbro falling into this trap again after producing beauts around the late noughties/early teens for England, City and Ireland

Yillan

Washington Irving wrote: »

Ireland beat Georgia: 2 points behind.

Ireland lose to Germany, Poland and Scotland draw: 3 points behind Poland, 3 ahead of Scotland.

Scotland beat Gibraltar, Ireland beat Poland: Ireland and Poland level on points, Ireland qualify automatically on versus record.

Would I dare hope for a draw between Poland and Scotland, knowing that a Poland win would guarantee us a play off spot, while the draw would mean we need to get a result against Poland?

I'd fancy us to beat the majority of the other 3rd placed teams moreso than I would us to get something from Poland away.

So no. I've decided I want Poland to win that game.

The hope there being that we would avoid Netherlands and Russia. So there would be a one in four chance that we would have no chance of qualifying from the play offs. Hmmm.. it's a tough one isn't it. And Scotland's and our Germany games aren't definitely lost either. Lots of twists to come potentially.

I would enjoy it a lot more if I thought Ireland were any good. Such a shame our performances are so inconsistent within games. The ends of the Scotland and Poland games in particular were quite good, and I don't know why we don't play like that for 90 minutes. I think O'Neill is often too cautious, and once we throw caution to the wind, we look quite effective.

A draw between Poland and Scotland, and us beating Poland to qualify automatically doesn't seem totally impossible though. Which is nice.

briany

Yillan wrote: »

Would I dare hope for a draw between Poland and Scotland, knowing that a Poland win would guarantee us a play off spot, while the draw would mean we need to get a result against Poland?

I'd fancy us to beat the majority of the other 3rd placed teams moreso than I would us to get something from Poland away.

So no. I've decided I want Poland to win that game.

The hope there being that we would avoid Netherlands and Russia. So there would be a one in four chance that we would have no chance of qualifying from the play offs. Hmmm.. it's a tough one isn't it. And Scotland's and our Germany games aren't definitely lost either. Lots of twists to come potentially.

I would enjoy it a lot more if I thought Ireland were any good. Such a shame our performances are so inconsistent within games. The ends of the Scotland and Poland games in particular were quite good, and I don't know why we don't play like that for 90 minutes. I think O'Neill is often too cautious, and once we throw caution to the wind, we look quite effective.

A draw between Poland and Scotland, and us beating Poland to qualify automatically doesn't seem totally impossible though. Which is nice.

It comes down to this - Ireland have a poor history of getting things done for themselves in crunch ties, especially against equal or better sides, so I'd take a relatively calm passage to the playoffs against an all or nothing tie vs. the Poles for second.

Paully D

Given ourselves a chance (or rather, we've been given a chance). What a huge game that is on Monday now.

TheCitizen

What's the story with the panel do they have a kind of rotation system. Will we get a break from Brady next time.

briany

Paully D wrote: »

Given ourselves a chance (or rather, we've been given a chance). What a huge game that is on Monday now.

Georgia will be buoyed up by their result as well. For them, it's a bit of a scalp in beating Scotland, and after a poor run of form to boot. They'll come to Dublin to play. The performance against Gibraltar was one of utter complacency from Ireland and any cobwebs will need to be well and truly shaken off before the Georgia game.

breffni bogballer

Cracking game between ger v pol, poles unlucky not to get a point. Both og them will beat us easily

Washington Irving

Yillan wrote: »

Would I dare hope for a draw between Poland and Scotland, knowing that a Poland win would guarantee us a play off spot, while the draw would mean we need to get a result against Poland?

I'd fancy us to beat the majority of the other 3rd placed teams moreso than I would us to get something from Poland away.

So no. I've decided I want Poland to win that game.

The hope there being that we would avoid Netherlands and Russia. So there would be a one in four chance that we would have no chance of qualifying from the play offs. Hmmm.. it's a tough one isn't it. And Scotland's and our Germany games aren't definitely lost either. Lots of twists to come potentially.

I would enjoy it a lot more if I thought Ireland were any good. Such a shame our performances are so inconsistent within games. The ends of the Scotland and Poland games in particular were quite good, and I don't know why we don't play like that for 90 minutes. I think O'Neill is often too cautious, and once we throw caution to the wind, we look quite effective.

A draw between Poland and Scotland, and us beating Poland to qualify automatically doesn't seem totally impossible though. Which is nice.

Would probably take guaranteed third over having to beat Poland to qualify and finish second.

The playoff is seeded by UEFA coefficient ranking. I'm not sure how that system works or how much it's likely change based off qualification groups, but the one that was used for the original draw had the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary as the top four sides currently third. Ireland (narrowly behind Hungary), Slovenia, Israel and Norway after that.

The_Kew_Tour

Huge game Monday. Not concerned about the performance tonight. We did what we had to do.

dogcat

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

So assuming we beat Georgia, and Scotland lose to Germany, then we'll have a four point lead over the Scots. (15 vs 11)

Given that our next game after that is vs Germany, and we're likely to lose, the question is then how many points can Scotland claw back on us in their game - which is at home to Poland. I'm trying to work out the various scenarios:

Scotland beat Poland - this would see the Scots one point behind us and given that their last game is against Gibraltar - an easy 3 pts - we would then have to beat Poland away. If we did beat Poland away we would qualify automatically in second place, by my calculations.

Scotland draw to Poland - in this scenario we could secure third spot in our final game with just a draw away to Poland. A win would secure qualification in second place over Poland via the head to head record.

Scotland lose to Poland - This would guarantee us the third spot as even if the Scots win vs Gibraltar and we lose to Poland we could not be caught. It would mean, however, that Poland would already have second spot secured so the last game would be a damp squib.

Have I got that right?

Hope that we can get 2nd, I've gotten a bit more hope after reading your scenario, but still not much hope.

briany

If it comes down to needing an away draw to Poland, maybe we could get a little gentleman's agreement going? :pac:

NufcNavan

Forget about 2nd. Not going to happen.

A win on Monday will put us in great shape for 3rd mind.

homerjay2005

pretty much the perfect night for us, now beat Georgia and a German win on Monday and we are in a great position going into the last 2 games.

unless the scots beat Poland then, a point guarantees us 3rd place.

brianregan09

We could definitley get a point against Germany aswell we often rise to the occasion against the big teams , Not beating them but battling draws are not beyond us

dogcat

Washington Irving wrote: »

Would probably take guaranteed third over having to beat Poland to qualify and finish second.

The playoff is seeded by UEFA coefficient ranking. I'm not sure how that system works or how much it's likely change based off qualification groups, but the one that was used for the original draw had the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary as the top four sides currently third. Ireland (narrowly behind Hungary), Slovenia, Israel and Norway after that.

I wouldn't fancy our chances against any of those top 4. Hopefully they change or we can move up to the top 4 (or an unlikely 2nd).

briany

brianregan09 wrote: »

We could definitley get a point against Germany aswell we often rise to the occasion against the big teams , Not beating them but battling draws are not beyond us

I have a feeling it'll be batten-down-the-hatches time v. Germany. A game played with maximum fear. O'Neill will want to give minimum opportunities to get in behind Ireland. I expect a reasonably dull 90 minutes in terms of Irish play. If Germany go two-nil up, though, and O'Neill decides to loosen the shackles, it might already be too late.

jpboard1

At the game tonight. Savage craic. Go on Ireland!

PTH2009

IF WE WIN PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY

IF WE LOSE PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY

PTH2009

PTH2009 wrote: »

IF WE WIN PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY

IF WE LOSE PEOPLE ARE UNHAPPY

A draw would have been perfect!

The_Kew_Tour

I'm bloody a lot happier then I was this time yesterday.

I honestly thought it was over after Scotland home game.

But, its more pressure then ever on O Neill now, he has got another liveline, can he take advantage against Georgia, time will tell.

It won't be stroll in the park.

briany

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

I'm bloody a lot happier then I was this time yesterday.

I honestly thought it was over after Scotland home game.

But, its more pressure then ever on O Neill now, he has got another liveline, can he take advantage against Georgia, time will tell.

It won't be stroll in the park.

A reasonably convincing display against Georgia would give the team a fair amount of much needed confidence. You'd take any win, but a good win sets the team up so much better for the two tougher tests to follow, and it sends a message to the Scots. Anything that further chips away at their belief is very welcome for Ireland.

keeponhurling

Washington Irving wrote: »

the Netherlands,

It's not for no reason that the Dutch are struggling to get 3rd, they are a shambles at the moment.

There is little depth to the squad, and their back line has a tendency towards dropping clangers - which in fairness Ireland rarely do

Anyways it's possibly a moot point as if they lose in Turkey they probably won't even get 3rd

TheCitizen

MON needs to bite the bullet on that selection headache up front. Even though Keane is our record scorer that will never be beaten he is too much of luxury now, even against Georgia. He should only be used as a sub from now on.

Walters is a 1st pick in the wide position has been one of our better performers in this campaign to date. Shane Long should start the remaining 3 games now as well. Pick Long, show a bit of confidence in him.

Paz-CCFC

I don't see why there are complaints about the performance last night. Ireland didn't scrape a win, they won it convincingly. The first half was played at a high pace and should've led to more goals. But we got them early on in the second half. Yes, the intensity dropped late on, but Ireland had a comfortable lead with 40 minutes to go before absolutely wrapping it up with 10 to go.

Did people expect them to go hell for leather when there's a group-defining match on Monday? What would be the point in winning 10-0 last night if it were followed up by a loss on Monday? Last time against Gibraltar, we took it easy for about half an hour in the second half - that worked out fairly well, when it led to us having enough in the tank to muster an injury time equalisers away to Germany a few days later. Ireland did what they had to do last night - get the points, get a few goals to boost the confidence and have everyone at full fitness for Monday.

It's also worth noting that we matched Germany's aggregate score against Gibraltar over the two matches.

briany

TheCitizen wrote: »

MON needs to bite the bullet on that selection headache up front. Even though Keane is our record scorer that will never be beaten he is too much of luxury now, even against Georgia. He should only be used as a sub from now on.

Walters is a 1st pick in the wide position has been one of our better performers in this campaign to date. Shane Long should start the remaining 3 games now as well. Pick Long, show a bit of confidence in him.

If MoN could pick anyone showing a touch and poise to consistently rival Keane, I think he would gladly do so. There would be no reason not to.

I think the difference is that if you have a sitter, you still fancy Keane to get it that much more. Walters missed a gilt edged chance the other night against Gibraltar. This is why I think Keane's getting picked, because he's still the most likely to put away a breaking ball where the other two can come down with stagefright. I'm not saying Keane is always putting them away, or that his flappy arm antics aren't annoying, but you take a chance like the Keane's goal v. France - I'd still fancy him to take a similar chance over the other two in 2015.

TheCitizen

briany wrote: »

If MoN could pick anyone showing a touch and poise to consistently rival Keane, I think he would gladly do so. There would be no reason not to.

I think the difference is that if you have a sitter, you still fancy Keane to get it that much more. Walters missed a gilt edged chance the other night against Gibraltar. This is why I think Keane's getting picked, because he's still the most likely to put away a breaking ball where the other two can come down with stagefright. I'm not saying Keane is always putting them away, or that his flappy arm antics aren't annoying, but you take a chance like the Keane's goal v. France - I'd still fancy him to take a similar chance over the other two in 2015.

It is a dilemma. Scotland have the same problem, lacking a finisher. I think Keane's too much of a passenger now to start competitive games. Bring him on with a half an hour left if we still need a goal.

briany

TheCitizen wrote: »

It is a dilemma. Scotland have the same problem, lacking a finisher. I think Keane's too much of a passenger now to start competitive games. Bring him on with a half an hour left if we still need a goal.

To be fair, MoN's done that with Keane, trying him as an impact sub in both Scotland games and neither time did it work. MoN may be looking at these games and playing the percentages in his mind - "Do I give Robbie 30 minutes near the end, when the pressure is likely to be on, to make something happen, or do I give him 70-90 minutes?" It's a big question, and one that there is no real right answer to. Which way the ball bounces on matchday is a much better answer but not one anyone can predict. If the ball takes a touch and falls to Robbie and he puts it away, he's a saint. If the ball doesn't take that touch, he's a flappy armed prima donna who needs to flap those arms a bit harder and fly away to the land of retirement.

TheCitizen

briany wrote: »

To be fair, MoN's done that with Keane, trying him as an impact sub in both Scotland games and neither time did it work. MoN may be looking at these games and playing the percentages in his mind - "Do I give Robbie 30 minutes near the end, when the pressure is likely to be on, to make something happen, or do I give him 70-90 minutes?" It's a big question, and one that there is no real right answer to. Which way the ball bounces on matchday is a much better answer but not one anyone can predict. If the ball takes a touch and falls to Robbie and he puts it away, he's a saint. If the ball doesn't take that touch, he's a flappy armed prima donna who needs to flap those arms a bit harder and fly away to the land of retirement.

I think Long can do the job, needs a show of confidence in him. I doubt he'll start Keane v Germany or away to Poland anyway. He might start him v Georgia on Monday. The team still isn't settled.

I think he's better going with a solid midfield with extra holding players and get width from Coleman and Brady as opposed to McClean and McGeady who is out of form anyway. It's a hard call for the striker role, I'd go with Long, bring Keane on as a sub. BTW in the Scotland game in Dublin he started Murphy instead of Long, I still don't know why he did that.

TheCitizen

TheCitizen wrote: »

MON needs to bite the bullet on that selection headache up front. Even though Keane is our record scorer that will never be beaten he is too much of luxury now, even against Georgia. He should only be used as a sub from now on.

Walters is a 1st pick in the wide position has been one of our better performers in this campaign to date. Shane Long should start the remaining 3 games now as well. Pick Long, show a bit of confidence in him.

Not this again.

No, Keane needs to and will start on Monday against Georgia.

Still our best finisher. And he's in form for his club.

It's a simple decision for MON. Shane Long can be used in the 2nd half.

The_Kew_Tour

I think you have to start Keane. He delivers. Georgia are no mugs but we still should have too much for them and Keane always has chances in teams we are better then

TheCitizen

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Not this again.

No, Keane needs to and will start on Monday against Georgia.

Still our best finisher. And he's in form for his club.

It's a simple decision for MON. Shane Long can be used in the 2nd half.

There's nothing simple about it. He's playing well for his club in a semi retirement home. He's still the best finisher we have but if he's not on the end of a chance he's a passenger. He might start v Georgia at home. I don't see him starting v Germany or away to Poland though, do you?

So MON might say to himself, fck it we should beat Georgia at home with or without Keane anyway, and therefore the call would be to make Long first choice for the final 3 games in the Group and give him the confidence to be the main striker.

briany

TheCitizen wrote: »

There's nothing simple about it. He's playing well for his club in a semi retirement home. He's still the best finisher we have but if he's not on the end of a chance he's a passenger. He might start v Georgia at home. I don't see him starting v Germany or away to Poland though, do you?

It's fair to say that most of Ireland's goals seem to come from knock-downs and set pieces. In that environment, a qualified goal poacher will always have added value. I think it's O'Neill's estimation that Keane is still statistically more likely to put away a knock down, knock down, parry or deflection more than any other player in Ireland's ranks and that's why he continues to play him.

TheCitizen

TheCitizen wrote: »

There's nothing simple about it. He's playing well for his club in a semi retirement home. He's still the best finisher we have but if he's not on the end of a chance he's a passenger. He might start v Georgia at home. I don't see him starting v Germany or away to Poland though, do you?

So MON might say to himself, fck it we should beat Georgia at home with or without Keane anyway, and therefore the call would be to make Long first choice for the final 3 games in the Group and give him the confidence to be the main striker.

On the pitch against Georgia a finisher is exactly what we need.

Shane Long has never had consistency for his club so why risk our qualification chances on his shoulders.

MLS or not when you get chances you need to take them and Georgia would fall under the same level of opposition IMO.

And if you want to talk about Germany or Poland if one or two chances fall our way I would still want Keane on the end of them over Shane Long any day of the week.

TheCitizen

briany wrote: »

It's fair to say that most of Ireland's goals seem to come from knock-downs and set pieces. In that environment, a qualified goal poacher will always have added value. I think it's O'Neill's estimation that Keane is still statistically more likely to put away a knock down, knock down, parry or deflection more than any other player in Ireland's ranks and that's why he continues to play him.

The point is he doesn't play him - or at least start him - against the top sides. He starts him v Gib, maybe v Georgia, but probably not v Germany and Poland. So if he's going to do that, my point would be start Long v Georgia and give him a bit of confidence especially if he's going to start v Germany and Poland. We should be beating Georgia at home anyway and we've got enough to score without having to rely on Robbie Keane getting on the end of a chance that might come his way.

TheCitizen

M!Ck^ wrote: »

On the pitch against Georgia a finisher is exactly what we need.

Shane Long has never had consistency for his club so why risk our qualification chances on his shoulders.

MLS or not when you get chances you need to take them and Georgia would fall under the same level of opposition IMO.

And if you want to talk about Germany or Poland if one or two chances fall our way I would still want Keane on the end of them over Shane Long any day of the week.

At home in Dublin, we'll beat Georgia anyway.

If we can't beat Georgia at home, Keane or no Keane, we won't be making the play offs anyway. It's Georgia - at home.

pmasterson95

With Glenn Whelan taking our corners set pieces are sorted.

tigger123

pmasterson95 wrote: »

With Glenn Whelan taking our corners set pieces are sorted.

My sarcasm detector is broken?

briany

tigger123 wrote: »

My sarcasm detector is broken?

Whelan did score a great free kick against Italy that time.

pmasterson95

tigger123 wrote: »

My sarcasm detector is broken?

ever hear of Robbie Brady?

briany

pmasterson95 wrote: »

ever hear of Robbie Brady?

He's typically overshadowed by older brothers, Greg & Peter.