Job done.
When the fixture list for the Euro 2020 qualifiers was revealed, Irish fans would have been relatively happy to come up against Gibraltar and Georgia in the first two games. Six points were expected and six points were what we got, albeit courtesy of a couple of tight 1-0 wins.
Last night’s home win over Georgia was a far sight better than what we saw in Gibraltar on Saturday and for the first time in a long time, Irish fans might be heading to work with a spring in the step after a match at the Aviva.
Here are some of the major talking points from last night’s win..
1. New balls, please
Where else to start but with the protest that took place in the 33rd minute? As Conor Hourihane was lining up his successful free kick, tennis balls began to rain down from the stands, in protest at recent revelations about the FAI and the running of Irish football as a whole.
The game was held up for three minutes as stewards and players attempted to clear the pitch and Mick McCarthy admitted afterwards that he hoped the situation wouldn’t affect the concentration of his players. It certainly didn’t seem to as Hourihane fired home and we held out for a vital 1-0 win.
However you feel about the protest, it has certainly gotten people talking about the wider state of Irish football.
2. What a hit, Con
‘Harihan’, Hairahan’ or ‘Horahan’? Depending on the means you used to take in the match, it seemed that commentators were using different pronunciations of Conor Hourihane’s surname.
Whatever way you say it, the Aston Villa man well and truly announced himself to the Irish public in what was his tenth appearance for his country. With the help of Shane Duffy leaning against the Georgian wall, the 28-year-old found the space to send the ball into the net with the tennis balls still fresh in the memory.
An assured performance from there on should ensure that Hourihane is back in the starting line-up for the visit to Denmark in June.
Beautiful strike from Conor Hourihane.
***McGoldrick misses follow up.#IREvGEO pic.twitter.com/RSLVcyi7Nf
— YBIG (@YouBoysInGreen) March 26, 2019
3. Duff Justice
At half-time, attention turned to the RTÉ studio where the panel were debating the merits of tossing tennis balls on the pitch in an act of protest.
Richie Sadlier was very much siding with the fans on the one, stating that they had a right to air their views in this most public of settings. Damien Duff, on the other hand, advised fans to take their protests somewhere else and pointed to the resulting four minutes of added time, during which Georgia could have found an equaliser.
There aren’t many bigger Irish football legends than the Duffer but judging by the social reaction, plenty of fans found his point of view a little bit off.
Duffer getting very wound up over time added on. Hope he understands that many fans are even more passionate about the madness going on in Irish football at the moment and have every right to protest.
— Eoin McDevitt (@EoinMcDevitt) March 26, 2019
4. Didsy Did It
Hard work and endeavor. Two traits that have been characteristic of successful Irish sides for as long as we can remember and striker David McGoldrick showed both in spades last night.
The Sheffield United man, known as ‘Didsy’ to his manager and teammates, came off to a standing ovation in the 81st minute and duly took home the man of the match award.
He will be disappointed not to have scored his first international goal, but he neatly turned the Georgian defence on a few occasions, one of which led to the award of our winning free kick.
5. Game, set and match
Irish fans are well used to dreary 1-0 wins but last night’s victory felt somewhat different.
There was plenty of zip in our play and we really should have scored a couple more, with Hourihane and McGoldrick guilty of spurning a couple of chances.
At the other end, we had Darren Randolph to thank for a couple of great saves while the return of Glenn Whelan added experience and steel in midfield. Alongside him, Jeff Hendrick put in a tenacious performance and, like others, seems to have acquired a new lease of life under McCarthy.
Our next outing sees us travel to face our old foes Denmark on June 7 before hosting Gibraltar three days later. Anything less than four points from that double-header will be seen as a disappointment but if we play with the same enthusiasm as last night and ease out the shortcomings, we will be a tough team for the Danes to beat.
After all, we haven’t conceded a goal from open play in a competitive game since Wales hammered us 4-1 back in September.
Onwards and upwards.
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