Return to Poland - Return to Type

It's always said that every high eventually results in a low. And after 4 days of high spirits and celebration from Thursday through to Sunday, the 2,500 souls who'd trekked from Dublin to Warsaw in the aftermath of Thursday's famous win against Germany were faced with our own comedown as Ireland reverted to type and once again, came up just short.

Thursday was undoubtedly and still remains one of the greatest results in our history and was celebrated accordingly.  I had heard stories of lads heading straight to the airport from various pubs and clubs in Dublin on Friday morning to head to Poland and maybe 10 or 20 years ago I may have done the same but the intervening years have brought at least some modicum of sense so myself and my travelling companion, Brummie Bren had made the call to fly out Saturday morning so that we would at least still be in reasonable nick come match day on Sunday.  So Friday was a day of rest to a degree with a bit of dinner in Porterhouse North and a couple of pints either side of taking in a great win for Bohs in Dalymount the limit of our activities ahead of a 7.15 start on Saturday morning.

I had the usual fitful sleep that I always get ahead of an early flight and having avoided the possibility of sleeping in, the two of us were up and ready when the taxi arrived and had enough time to grab a bit of breakfast.  The airport was thronged with Ireland fans making their way over and a few Northern Ireland and Scotland fans obviously using Dublin as a hub to make their own way to Finland and Faro respectively to see out their qualifying campaigns.  The mood around the airport was generally very upbeat as one would imagine given Thursday's result.  The flight was full and pretty uneventful with a lot of people using it to catch up on some of the sleep missed since Thursday or to relive the events of the previous game.  And there was a definite optimism that this time we were heading back to Poland with the hope of having something to cheer about on the pitch rather than what happened in 2012 when it was what happened off the pitch that brought credit to the country.

One of the lads from the YBIG forum, GSpain had made the much appreciated effort to hire a minibus for the 2 hour journey from Lodz where we landed up to Warsaw for 20 of us from the forum to avoid the hassle of getting buses or trains and it was great to get to put a few faces on the names from the online community and the craic and bit of banter on the journey made the 2 hours fly in.  There was a good spread of ages on the coach with some lads making their first away trip along with a few grizzled old veterans like myself and Bren which led to some funny exchanges as we were reminiscing about previous away trips where we needed a result.  It brought it home how many years have passed when we were talking about the last time when a minimum of a 2 all draw would have qualified us back in 1997 in our play off against Belgium and one of the lads in front of us said that was the year that he was born! I swear it seems like yesterday to me.  Talk then turned to the World Cup 94 trip to America and the resulting comment of 'Jaysus, I wasn't even swimming in me Da's ball sack at that stage!" nearly had a few of us choking on our cans!  Still, it's good to see a new generation of fans coming along considering how little there's been to cheer about in recent years.  Although the fact that one of them called for a toilet stop on a service station that didn't have a shop to stock up on more refreshments showed they still have a bit to learn!!

The bus dropped us in the centre of Warsaw and having seen our hotel in the distance just before we got dropped off we were able to make our way there on foot.  Terry the Tash had noticed a deal on Booking.com for the 5 star Westin hotel in the city centre so we had all booked up for a bit of luxury for once.  We'd since heard that the team were also staying there but it was still a bit of a surprise when, after a rest and a freshen up, I called the lift to find a quiet spot to ring the missus back home and when it opened on my floor I found about 12 members of the squad beaming out at me!  Rather than trying to squeeze my way in I thought it better to leave it at a 'Howya lads, it's grand, I'll wait for the next one!  And thanks for Thursday!".  I think they must have been heading out to train at the ground as when I got down to the lobby there was an area roped off leading out to the team coach as my attempt to find a quiet spot for a call was doomed to failure with a big crowd gathered to get a few photos and autographs as the players came down the stairs from the first floor.  Anyway, it wasn't long clearing out as I touched base with home and then went back upstairs to grab Bren and hit the town for the night.

A Mexican restaurant / bar called the Tortilla Factory had been chosen as the congregation spot by YBIG for the weekend so we headed there initially to meet with Peter Mc, Terry the Tash and the London Irish crew but as it was getting pretty busy and we were looking to get food as well as a drink, we doubled back to a place round the corner called Piwiarnia that we'd spotted on the walk down.  There was a decent mix of locals and Irish fans in there including a few familiar faces as Steve Amsterdam and a few other faces from YBIG had nabbed a table and were getting food so we had a good catch up with them while we waited for a table ourselves.  It was our intention to just eat there and then maybe go back to the Tortilla Factory or possibly hit the Old Town but once we'd been fed and watered we got comfortable and before long the chants had started and ourselves and a few supporters at the table next to us over from Down for the game were up on the chairs belting out The 12 Days of Paul McGrath, We all Dream of a Team of Gary Breens, We're on the One Road, The Lonesome Boatman etc and the night slipped away from us! It was about 2.30 when the owners reluctantly told us they had to close up and after the early start and with a long Sunday ahead of us we decided that heading back to the hotel was the best option and called it a night around 3.  The only downer was Bren's jacket being missing at the end of the night which may well have been picked up by mistake but I heard of a number of lads having pockets picked over the course of the weekend which was something that hadn't been a feature of our previous visit to Poland in 2012.

Sunday morning rolled round and we headed out around lunchtime to get some late breakfast and by then had made the call to stay out for the day.  We'd missed the Quinn Towers on the Saturday after they'd been part of the advance party that landed on the Friday so linked up with them and headed down to check out the Old Town where Steve Amsterdam and his crowd had found a nice spot to sit out in despite the dropping temperatures so we made our way down there walking through and getting a daytime look at the city which is a funny mix of old medieval style buildings, some iron curtain era architecture and modern high rises.  It's very spacious but lacks the charm that Torun had when we based ourselves there for the Euros although it certainly has more of a big city feel than Poznan or Gdansk had.  After a couple of relaxing local brews the gang of us made our way back up to the Tortilla Factory where the Irish crowd was gathering pre game. The place was bedecked in Irish flags and getting pretty busy but I managed to get a spot for the 69ers flag to go up and made my way up to a raised section of the pub towards the big screen where a group of the London Irish had secured a spot earlier.  It was standing room only but we squeezed ourselves in and had a spot overlooking most of the crowd in there so we were able to give it a good lash in getting the songs going until the Ireland France rugby game came on and the volume was highered up as most people started watching the game on the TV's dotted round the pub.  There was still time for one more rousing song though as Ireland's Call came on in Cardiff and every man jack in Warsaw belted out a lusty rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann to completely drown out that other dirge!

The twins are the ones at the back!

Yes we mexi-can!

I've never been a rugby fan so, although I was obviously glad to see the team beat France and progress into the Rugby World Cup quarter finals, all my interest was focused on the Poland match.  Like everyone there, I like to see Ireland do well in any sport but would still have gladly swapped the win in the egg chasing for a win or high scoring draw that evening.  And as soon as the rugby finished we gathered the troops and jumped into a number of taxis to head up towards the stadium.  The atmosphere was building nicely despite the cold and after grabbing a bite and a drink outside the ground we made our way into what was a very impressive stadium.  Given that the capacity is only 5,000 more than Lansdowne it is a far more intimidating set up and the steep banks of seating on all 4 sides gave us an unusual view as the Poles had put us up in the nosebleed seats on the top tier behind the goal that Poland were to attack in the first half.

Outside.....

......and in.

The first thing that knocked the sense of optimism that I'd been nurturing since  Thursday's victory was, once again, seeing the team that Martin O'Neill had selected for such an important game.  There had  been whispers over the weekend that Wes Hoolahan was struggling with his heel injury that had been reported since before the Germany game and he had been spotted round the hotel wearing slippers rather than the trainers the rest of the squad had been sporting.  But it was still very disappointing to see him named on the bench.  The general thought was that if he was fit enough for the bench after playing on Thursday that he may have been worth gambling on and trying to get an hour out of him.  Hoolahan has since apparently said that he told O'Neill that 20 minutes was as much as he could manage which may explain his absence but I have my doubts that he would have started him anyway given his innate conservatism and his previous in the big away games this campaign.  Surely the majority of managers would attempt to persuade a player he really valued to play from the start if they say they're fit to give 20 minutes?  Elsewhere in the team I had to question a couple of the changes.  I've never been as down on Glen Whelan as many seem to be and think he can be underrated by some but had spoken over the weekend about how James McCarthy's performance playing deeper on Thursday in Whelan's absence had resulted in him having his best game for Ireland and how Whelan may have to be sacrificed from the starting 11 to allow McCarthy to continue there.  So it was disappointing but not surprising to see Whelan earmarked for that deeper role.  Equally, given how well Robbie Brady had played on the left of midfield in the previous game, it was disappointing to see him slot back in at left back when I think either moving Cyrus Christie across or letting James McClean drop in there could have freed the more creative player in Brady to operate further upfield. An XI of Randolph, Coleman, O'Shea, Keogh, McClean, Walters, McCarthy, Hendrick, Brady, Hoolahan and Long would most likely have been my preferred starting team.  If we're to accept that Hoolahan couldn't start then potentially playing Aiden McGeady in the Hoolahan role could have been considered.  Him playing in that position hadn't worked away to Germany but Poland are no Germany and he had done his best work away to Georgia drifting into that role.  Even with Whelan in the team then pushing him further forward to leave McCarthy further back could have been considered.  But everyone knows that Martin O'Neill is his own man so it was his selection that was going to see if we could get the result we needed on the night to avoid the necessity of another play off.

The game kicked off and was cagey enough for the first 5 minutes before Long went down under a challenge from his Polish marker, Kamil Glik, after a clash of heads in an ominous sign of things to come.  Other than that nothing much happened until the game exploded into life on 13 minutes.  As we expected and feared, Robert Lewandowski was involved when his shot was deflected wide for a corner.  The corner was clipped back beyond the edge of the box where some very slack Irish marking had left Grzegorz Krychowiak free and he dispatched a shot into the corner under little pressure which bounced once before nestling in the net past the unsighted Randolph.  However, we'd only just finished uttering our expletives when a high ball was flicked on by Jon Walters towards Long just as he was moving into the box.  He went to head it and as he did so Michal Pazdan went in with a high boot and caught him in the head sending him crashing to the ground.  Although replays showed that although Long's body was in the box, his head was just outside it but regardless, the ref pointed to the spot.  After a short delay for treatment, Walters stepped up and buried a perfect penalty low to the keepers left!  One all and we were halfway to our high scoring draw target with only 16 minutes on the clock.

Jonny on the spot!

For me, this should have been the signal to raise the tempo and try and take the game to our hosts.  One more goal for us and they'd need two more.  Certainly, after 16 minutes, one all was a far better score for us than nil all so our tails should have been up.  Alas, that wasn't to happen, even after the lift we should have got a minute later when Poland had the ball in the net again when Krzysztof Mączyński beat Randolph from a Lewandowski cut back from an offside position that was correctly called by the officials.  It had been a heart stopping 5 minute spell but rather than us trying to dictate things, the game started to drift again with Poland rather than Ireland having the better of the little creative play that was on display.  As with the game in Dublin, the Poles were going down at the slightest contact with Lewandowski in particular making a huge meal of being caught by an O'Shea arm which earned what would prove to be a costly booking for the Waterford man.  All we seemed to be looking for was set plays and even when we got those, our delivery was generally very poor with a Coleman punt straight into Lucaz Fabianski's arms indicative of our failings.  This pattern was repeated around the half hour mark when the aforementioned Coleman won a corner only for Brady to play it straight to the keeper once again.

While Poland were certainly dominating possession they hadn't really threatened our goal since that offside effort but as the game moved towards half time this began to change.  And after one ball that had fizzed across the 6 yard box just missing the outstretched boot of Maczynski, our defence was finally breached 2 minutes later on 42 minutes.  And of course, it had to be the one world class player on the pitch in Lewandowski who got it.  It was a well worked goal to be fair as Piszczek worked the ball down the right before pulling it back to Maczynski who popped a cross over to the penalty spot.  There was still a lot to do but Lewandowski showed just why this was his 15th goal in his last 6 games by arching his back and neck to generate a huge amount of power onto the header and plant it into the corner.  So rather than going in level at half time, it was 2-1 to Poland as the ref took the players off a few minutes later.

To be honest, much as it hurts seeing us concede any goal, I was thinking that 2-1 didn't really make much difference as long as we didn't concede again.  One all was sending us to the play offs anyway so we needed another goal regardless and I was hopeful that the longer the game went on the more adventurous we'd become as had been the pattern in a lot of our games this campaign.  We hadn't put a solid 90 minutes together in the group so a better 45 minutes would surely be on the cards going by that pattern?  The Polish defence had looked shaky enough dealing with Long on our rare forays forward and I was thinking that moving Walters inside to partner him in a 4-4-2 might enable us to get a better foothold in the game.  Unfortunately the start of the second half saw no change to the pattern of the game and Poland again started on the front foot with a very spurious claim for a penalty after a blatant dive from Lewandowski being the first meaningful action of the half.  He's a great player but his tendency to go to ground is really irritating.  On the one hand he's strong enough to jump over Walters to power his header in yet he'll throw himself to the ground on every opportunity if he can't win the ball.  The fact that he wasn't booked on this occasion left me baffled.

After more of the shadow boxing that characterised the first half with a Whelan shot easily saved by Fabianski the only action of note, we were dealt a major blow when Glik rather cynically followed through on Long after winning the ball to leave our biggest threat laid out in what looked like significant pain. He was eventually stretchered off to be replaced by Robbie Keane who immediately got a shot off but it was well off target.  A minute later McGeady came on for Whelan and we moved to the 4-4-2 which to be fair is essential with Keane on the pitch given that he couldn't play as the lone striker at his peak, let alone in the twilight of his career.  The change was noticeable straight away as we began to move forward with a bit more purpose and Poland began to retreat a little as they began to settle for what they had.  But we still weren't creating anything of note and it took a great stop from Randolph from a Poland break on 64 minutes to keep us that single goal behind. This lifted Poland for another couple of minutes before Ireland moved forward again only to waste yet another dead ball when Jeff Hendrick was the guilty player to put a corner straight into the Polish keepers hands.  And again our wastefulness was shown up a couple of minutes later as Brady contrived to boot the ball straight into touch when attempting to find McClean.

Poland attacks were becoming rarer and rarer but we had another let off after 72 minutes when poor marking from a corner once again was nearly punished as Krychowiak was given a free header which he luckily put wide.  Immediately after this Hoolahan was finally brought into the fray and instantly made a difference as our play become a little less frenetic.  However, chances were still at a premium with a McClean effort miles off target the only thing that could have been considered an opening before the moment which we will regret forever should we not come though the play off.

There are often times in football when you can play poorly but hang on in a game and somehow sneak something that you don't deserve.  And this really should have been one of those times.  On 80 minutes, our increasing pressure resulted in a corner which for once was well delivered. Although Brady's initial cross somehow evaded everyone, the ball was recycled by Coleman who played it back out wide to his Everton team mate, McGeady. A little stepover and shape saw him beat his man and loft over a cross.  Richard Keogh had stayed in the box and managed to lose his man and seemed to have the goal at his mercy but instead of just glancing the header into the corner placed it straight at Fabianski who spilled it initially but,  with no one there to attack the rebound,  gathered it at the second attempt.  I had initially thought that there hadn't been enough pace on the ball and it was trying to generate pace that resulted in Keogh missing it but having looked back at the replay and at the great picture below that one of the YBIG forum members, awaythelads, discovered he had when he went through his pictures, you would have to say that he really should have scored given the space he had.  It was probably an easier chance than the one Lewandowski scored in the first half but that's the difference that having a Champions League player rather than a Championship player can make.
 

  Keogh way back (picture courtesy of awaythelads)

The feeling straight after that miss was that that was our chance to get the second goal we needed and so it proved as our efforts became more and more frantic over the remaining ten minutes with a shot from Hoolahan that looped into the keepers hands and a cross horribly skewed wide by McGeady summing up the increasing frustration.  A flicker of hope was lit when the fourth official indicated 5 minutes of stoppage time which was right given the time-wasting tactics employed by the Poles but rather than that giving us the impetus to push on and create another chance, the stoppage time made a bad situation worse as first, John O'Shea ruled himself out of the play off first leg by pulling back Lewandowski on the halfway line and earning himself a second booking and red card.  Then two minutes later, Lewandowski again went down after minimal contact from Walters who was also booked and will also miss the first leg. You'd have to wonder if Lewandowski had been booked for diving as he should have been in the first half would it have kept him on his feet a bit more in the rest of the game.  Poland ran the clock down after winning that free and once again we had to make our way out of a stadium with ticker tape flying and music blaring reminiscent of previous trips to Brussels 97 and Paris 09 as the locals celebrated qualification.  At least the difference with this time was that we now have a second chance.

It was a subdued train journey back into the centre as the sense of disappointment settled in and we made our way back to Piwiarnia bar we'd been in the previous night but this time there was no singing and just a post mortem as we dissected the game over some food and drinks with the usual suspects and tried to work out what permutations of results would be required to get us seeded for the play offs.  And after a couple of hours of trying and failing to work that out it was time to call it a night and get ready for the trip home the next day.  At least I had the luxury of a lie in as my flight wasn't until 6:20 the following evening, unlike my room mate, Bren, who was last seen ordering a taxi for 5.45 in the morning for a red eye 7:50 flight as we called it a night at 4 in the morning!

So, it's on to the play offs for us but I'm no longer convinced that the corner I thought we'd turned on Thursday has been.  It was extremely disappointing to see us revert to the type of negative mindset that had blighted many of our away performances in the campaign, even in the games that we got good results in such as Georgia and Germany.  We have played better when we have tried to make things happen rather than when we have resorted to pumping long balls upfield and waiting for a break.  Yes, maybe we could have got lucky had Keogh taken his chance but that was the only chance we created from open play the entire game and even then it was a recycled ball from a corner. Given that we were halfway to the result we needed after 14 minutes to not push on and go for it was negative in the extreme.  Relying on taking a single chance when it comes along can only get you so far given the lack of a Lewandowski or a similar world class player in our ranks.  For our squad we really need to create 3 or 4 chances of the nature of Keogh's to give us the opportunity to score the goals we need.  And to do that we need to play our more creative players further up the pitch where they can do more damage.  So, having given Brady a chance at left back and on the evidence of his effectiveness in the last 2 games, I think it's time to let him loose on the wing in the play off.  It's essential that Hoolahan is fit and given a central role.  Walters and O'Shea will be sorely missed.  Despite O'Shea's poor performance on Sunday, he's been one of our better performers this campaign and as stated before, Walters has been our stand out performer.  We have to hope that Long recovers fitness as it's essential he starts for me.

I had issues with O'Neill's team selected v Germany but that was more around the presence of Daryl Murphy ahead of Long and a left back who had barely played for a year in Stephen Ward.  Despite those concerns, it seemed like he had stumbled across his best formation and I'd be happy with a starting XI along those lines with Long in for Murphy and Randolph for Given to start the play offs.  Given what transpired v Gemany it was folly to change back to our conservative default set up against Poland.  To be honest, I expect us to set up in the same manner and for Given and Whelan to start if fit regardless of our opposition come November despite it failing in our away games v Scotland and Poland.  O'Neill can arguably point to us hitting the bar in Glasgow in the last minute and Keogh's chance against Poland and it is on such fine margins that games and campaigns can turn.  But I think that while that approach can pay dividends against the top level teams, we're better served against teams of a similar standard to ourselves by playing a more creative, expansive game.  Looking at the seeded teams in the play offs, there is no outstanding team in any of our potential opposition.  Sweden and Bosnia do however have exceptional attackers in Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edin Džeko who have the top level experience that we lack and having seen the difference that having one of those players can make I hope to avoid them.  Ukraine would be an absolute nightmare to get to so I've fingers crossed for Hungary.  Let's see what Sunday brings anyway, hopefully come Sunday evening the irrational optimism will be rising again.  Whatever happens, we'll always have Germany at Lansdowne but let's hope for much more!

Ireland Über Alles - Playing The Long Game

Where do you begin to describe a night like that? A night that finally seemed to kick start the Martin O'Neill era and a new era in Lansdowne Road.  A night to sit alongside Russia in 74, France in 78 and 81, Holland in 80, Spain in 89 , Portugal in 95 and Holland again in 01.  A night for the ages.

To be honest, a result like that seemed a long way away as most of the usual suspects gathered in the Beggars Bush on Haddington Road beforehand.  A couple of our regulars were missing out with Frankie the Hands laid up sick and Greg being away but with the World Champions in town there was never going to be a shortage of takers for their season tickets.  But all 3 of the Brummies were over, the Quinn Towers were down, Terry the Tash, the London Irish and a smattering of the YBIG crew were all present and correct and a good contingent of German fans mingling in with our support was creating a great atmosphere.  The fact that the game was a sell out meant that there was more of a buzz around the area than there's been for some of the games in this campaign with masses of people milling around and that generally optimistic feeling you get before a game against one of the giants of the world game, of hope rather than expectation, was palpable.

My own sense of hopeful optimism was based on the fact that Germany only needed a draw to secure qualification but that was deflated significantly when the team was announced an hour before kick off.  While our injury list had obviously given cause for concern, I was gobsmacked to see Stephen Ward and Daryl Murphy named as starters.  While both players are very honest and hard working, Ward has hardly played since getting a bad injury last season and losing his place in the Burnley side and Murphy hasn't managed to take his form from last season into this and is yet to score for Ipswich in their 10 games so far.  It seems clear that O'Neill doesn't trust Long to start games but I would have started him and probably would have rejigged the back 4 to accommodate David Myler or possibly even Paul McShane ahead of Ward given his lack of game time.  But managers will live and die on those calls and given what transpired it would be churlish in the extreme to criticise the manager!

As kick off approached we made our way down to the ground and into the Singing Section (with a quick stop to collect my tickets for the Poland game that hadn't been posted due to the postal strike) and we made it to our usual spot behind the goal in time for the anthems.  It was great to see the stadium full after the sparse attendance against Georgia and the atmosphere was as good as it's been in years.  Everyone also had an eye on the match in Glasgow where a Scotland defeat would see us confirmed in the play offs and take some of the pressure off Sunday's visit to Warsaw.  And the news of Robert Lewandowski's early goal for Poland was greeted with cheers as Germany had started strongly and John O'Shea had been called into action very early to cut out a Marco Reus cross that was heading for the normally lethal Thomas Muller.

Early signs weren't encouraging for us as we struggled to get any meaningful possession on the ball but as ever, our spirit was always noticeable and the likes of Cyrus Christie and Richard Keogh were putting their bodies on the line and getting blocks in to deflect balls wide for corners and leaving Shay Given's goal relatively un-threatened.  My own nerves were already jangling and in order  to cope I'd taken to breaking the game down into segments.  15 minutes in and I've turned to Philly who's standing beside me. "A sixth of the game gone now, only five more to go".  16 minutes in and Germany have a shout for a penalty with O'Shea on Hummels but it would have been harsh for me.  19 minutes in and Germany have an Ozil goal rightly disallowed for offside.  Germany are looking ominous at this stage.  23 minutes in, "Quarter of the game gone, Philly, only 3 more of them to go".  24 minutes in and we finally get some possession in their half and Jon Walters goes down under pressure from Matt Hummels and again the ref rightly waves play on.  At this stage we seemed to have settled down somewhat and weathered the early German storm. We had begun to make the odd foray forward into German territory.  30 minutes gone. "That's a third of the game done now, Philly, we're getting there".  34 minutes and a half chance for Walters results in a corner.  Things are looking up.  James McCarthy is having his best game ever for Ireland and it's as a result of a clash with him that Mario Gotze has to be replaced by Andre Schurrle.  Ireland are making things difficult for the Germans and there seems to be a bit of lethargy about the visitors.  That said, they carved out a chance about 5 minutes before half time that Ozil really should have done better with and it looks like he has brought his inconsistent Arsenal form onto the international stage.  Immediately afterwards, the second substitution of the night is made as Given seems to injure himself taking a kick out and Darren Randolph comes on for the biggest game of his Ireland career.  The rest of the half peters out uneventfully. "Half way there, Philly, just one more half".

Just before half time word had come through from Glasgow that Scotland had equalised.  I had said pre game that I would have taken your hand off for draws in both games as that would qualify us for the play offs and also give us the opportunity to pip Poland for automatic qualification with a victory in Warsaw on Sunday.  Most of the talk at half time was of hoping that things remained the same but a lot can happen in 45 minutes.  That said, I don't think anyone expected the drama that was to transpire in both Dublin and Glasgow!

The second half started much as the first had in terms of German possession but we definitely looked to have a more compact shape and Germany weren't  really threatening our goal at this stage.  Everyone in green is putting on a serious shift and I was worrying at this stage how long some of the players would be able to keep it up considering the lack of club action for some of them and the fact that we've already had to use one of our subs.  The first real chance of the half came about 10 minutes in as Reus hit a great cross over to Schurrle who manages to spoon his volley over the bar.  I would have fancied Gotze to take that chance and started wondering to myself if this might be one of those nights.  My feeling was that the longer the game went on the more likely Germany were to take a draw and as long as things didn't change in Scotland then that would do for us.  Unfortunately, that feeling of comfort was blown apart when word came through that Scotland had gone 2-1 ahead.  This left us needing to win in Poland to qualify automatically but also left the possibility of us missing out on the play offs altogether with a draw or a defeat.  Had I any nails left at this point they'd have been bitten and a false alarm that Poland had equalised which swept through the section before being corrected didn't help matters.  60 minutes gone. "Two thirds of the way there, Philly".

We had played ourselves well into the game at this point and were certainly playing better in the second half than we had in the first.  The crowd were really getting behind the team all round the stadium rather than just in the Singing Section and there was a glimmer of a chance for Murphy who was played through by the increasingly influential Wes Hoolahan but he dragged his shot just wide. This was Murphy's last act as he was replaced by Shane Long who received a rapturous welcome from the crowd, most of whom seemed to agree that he should have started.  Immediately afterwards, Ward went down injured having had a far better game than I'd expected and Myler came on which left the outfield 10 that I would have started with on the pitch.  The only concern now was that we had used all 3 subs due to the 2 injuries so if anyone else got hurt we'd have been down to ten men and we wouldn't have any further fresh legs to introduce. To Ward's immense credit he had tried to carry on and had got a vital block in just before he went off to prevent a Muller ball running through to Schurle in the box. "Three quarters of the way there, mate, one to go".

What happened next will go down into the annals of Irish football history as one of the great great moments and like many of our best moments of the last 30 years came straight from the Big Jack playbook.  We were enjoying a little bit of possession after a kick out from Randolph had been flicked on by Long and controlled by the immense Jon Walters who played a one two with Jeff Hendrick before going down in the box leading to hopeful screams from our section for a penalty.  No decision was forthcoming and Germany broke quickly before O'Shea got a tackle in on Reus and Myler  tidied things up with a back pass to Randolph.  Randolph took one look up the pitch and launched a huge ball upfield.  I don't know if the German defence were aware of just how quick Long can be but despite giving three defenders half a yard start he shows electrifying pace to leave them in his wake and bears down on goal. I mean, that pace, I'm still in awe of it.  Everything seemed to slow down for a second as he races into the box still having a lot to do.  His next touch is a super bit of control on his knee and then BOOM!

We're right behind the goal as he hammers his laces through the ball to arrow it past a despairing Manuel Neuer and the net bulges and is nearly torn off the stanchion.  Cue absolute carnage in our section as the entire stadium completely erupts in a way not seen at Lansdowne since Holland in 2001 and not at a home game since Sean St Ledger's goal to put us 2-1 up against Italy in Croke Park.  The celebrations were long and sustained and covered about 3 of the rows around us leaving everyone involved with those strange bruises on the shins from hitting the seats in front that any fans who stand in a seated area are familiar with but I don't think anyone even noticed or will care!  Of course once things had calmed down everyone obviously realised that there were still 20 minutes to go and given our propensity to concede late goals, 20 minutes seemed like a long time.

Germany up things immediately after the goal and a header from a corner just drops wide.  But our tails are up now and Hoolahan gets into a position to unleash a shot that just goes wide. 75 minutes gone. "Five sixths gone now, one to go".  Germany make another change bringing on a winger for a defender and within a minute get their best chance of the game as the ball is cut back to Thomas Muller 12 yards out with all the time in the world to finish it.  A collective intake of breath in the stadium as the man with 30 odd goals in roughly 60 internationals picks his spot.  And a roar comes up from the home support as that spot is just wide of the post!  A couple of minutes later Jerome Boateng fires in a piledriver of a shot for which Randolph dives full length to palm around the post.  Gundogan has a hopeful effort another minute later which Randolph saves comfortably.  Robbie Brady who's run his heart out goes down and there's concern that we'll finish with ten men but it's only cramp and after treatment he carries on.  5 minutes left and Long takes a dubious tumble on the half way line and wins a free.  Another couple of minutes inch past and Cyrus Christie, who's also had an immense game,  plays the ball out off Muller to win a goal kick which is greeted by a cheer louder than I've seen some goals get.  Next thing the word comes around that Poland have equalised in Glasgow meaning that even if we concede we have a play off secured.  Ironically, it would have been better as things turned out if the Scots had held on but the sense of relief at the time was very welcome hence the celebrations!  4 minutes stoppage time are shown and we start bringing the ball into the corner.  Walters has had a man of the match performance for me and he comes into his own here by getting the ball at the corner and using his strength to protect it and win a couple of corners in quick succession.  A minute to go and Germany finally regain possession and move the ball forward. Hummels gets his head to the ball but it's straight at Randolph who slows things down and launches the ball up towards Long who controls superbly and plays it to Walters who again takes it to the corner and holds off the defenders until he concedes a throw.  Germany take the throw but before they can move the ball up front the ref put his whistle to his lips and blows for full time.

The roar that greeted the final whistle was as guttural and as uplifting as anything I've experienced at a final whistle in a long time.  I've seen us throw away so many leads to late goals over the years and most of the big results we've had in recent years against the bigger teams have been secured with late draws so this had serious echos of the win v Holland in 2001.  We had to weather an early storm, grew into the game, scored mid way through the second half and held on until the end. But this is arguably a better result again given that it was against the reigning world champions and that our team in 2001 had numerous players who had played and would go on to play in the Champions League as opposed to the current crop who are more likely to play Championship rather than Champions League.  Yet the likes Cyrus Christie, Richard Keogh and Jeff Hendrick all played superbly and above themselves. Every player deserved huge credit for the effort, application and courage they showed.  Walters and Hoolahan were stand out performers and Walters has been our player of the qualifiers for me, he has really grown into a leader on the international stage.  And I've been critical of the manager on occasion during the campaign but he can certainly argue his logic that Long would be more effective coming on fresh in the second half to terrorise defenders with his pace. And to see an Irish team close out a game in that manner when you consider the amount of times we've failed to do so was really encouraging.
The job's not done yet but we've now won 3 competitive games on the bounce for the first time since our successful qualification campaign under Trap in 2011.  The play offs could be tricky and I think everyone would prefer if we can finish the job in Poland on Sunday and take November off.  Given how the game finished in Glasgow, a draw won't be enough unless it's 2 all or higher which in a funny way might help us.  O'Neill by his nature is conservative and the temptation to keep things tight and hold out for a nil all may have been there if that would have sufficed.  Needing a win or high scoring draw means that we might as well just go for it.  The squad should have got a huge confidence boost from that win last night and it really feels like a turning point in what's been a bit of a stop start reign so far. Maybe he's been playing the long game all along!

I'm gutted for the Scots who added a huge amount of colour and atmosphere to this campaign and I'd have loved to be travelling to Poland with the chance of returning the favour Gary Mackay did for us all those years ago but it wasn't to be.  I have to congratulate the North on their successful campaign but the onus is now on us to finish the job and join them.  Myself and Brummie Bren have a flight to prepare for to Poland and a Bohs v Pats match to attend so I'll wind up here and hope that the Poland blog to come next week is as upbeat as this one!  COYBIG!!!!

Let Christie Take It

The build up to Ireland away trips is normally charged with nervous energy for me.  The sleepless night before an early start to the airport, the excitement that comes from knowing you'll be spending the next couple of days with like minded friends that you've shared practically every emotion possible with over the years and the nervousness that comes from never knowing exactly what sort of performance you're likely to get from any of the Ireland teams over the last decade or so.  So trips like last week's to Portugal made a nice change by giving you the opportunity to bolt a holiday onto it and actually have a relaxed build up for once!  It's not the first time I've done it with previous trips to Malta, Cyprus and Salonika / Macedonia all providing the opportunity to do similar and as with the latter trip gave me the opportunity to bring the better half, Louise, away for a nice break before the serious business of the football takes over for the last couple of days!

We actually moved into holiday mode the night before we left by having a very nice evening at the gala dinner for the 125th anniversary of that great Dublin institution, the Bohemian Football Club at the Gresham.  However, given that we had a 7.45 flight to Lisbon the following morning, we made our excuses and left around 1.30 to try and get a few hours sleep before our 6 am taxi. A further oversight on my part meant that 20 minutes after I booked the flights I twigged that the Sunday we'd booked our flight for was an All Ireland Semi final day and my heart sank when I checked and found out that it was the semi that the Leinster champions would contest if they got that far.  Having resigned myself to missing the game in person I at least had the consolation of knowing that I could catch a stream of it as we were due to arrive at the friend's house that we were staying the first few days with outside of the the city of Coimbra at 1.30.  Our flight took off and arrived on time landing us in Lisbon at 10.35 which left us an hour to make the 3 stops from the airport to Lisbon Oriente to make our connecting train at 11.39.  Plenty of time you would think given that the board at baggage claim said that the first bags from the flight were due at 11.00.  However, 11 came and went as did the bags from the Heathrow flight that landed 5 minutes after us before our bags finally started coming through about 11.20.  And a sprint down to the underground and up through Oriente station ultimately was in vain as we arrived up on the platform just in time to see our train begin to crawl away from it.  Relaxation was the furthest thing from my mind at that point after we were told that the next train wasn't for another two hours meaning we wouldn't reach where we were staying until 4 at the earliest and the 3.30 throw in left me with the realisation that I'd have to miss the first half of the Dublin Mayo game!  Anyway, after a particularly long stream of expletives and a fruitless online search to find a pub in Coimbra that might be showing it, I had to accept that the first half would be missed and rang our esteemed host, Big Dave aka Geordie, to let him know we'd be 2 hours late for our pick up.

Having hung around for the extra couple of hours and then sat through a 2 and a half hour train journey, we were pretty tired by the time we got collected in Coimbra although we got a great boost by seeing our old friend, the aforementioned Geordie stride up the platform to greet us.  Having moved out to Portugal last year, his house has practically turned into a guest house with the amount of visitors from Dublin and beyond that have ventured over in the last 15 months!  We had previously visited last year and this year, he had one friend, Ray, leaving on the Monday morning, another one, Julie arriving at the same time as us and a further one, Richie arriving on the Tuesday!  By the time we arrived at 4, Ray informed me that the Dubs were level at half time and we settled down for the second half which again was far from relaxing as Dublin contrived to look like they'd put the game beyond doubt only to utterly blow up in the last 10 minutes and end up being lucky to hang on for a draw.  My initial happiness at thinking at least I'd make the replay soon evaporated as I realised that the replay would most likely be on the following Saturday when we were due to travel home.  Mind you, I was already missing the Dublin derby on the Saturday so I suppose at least it saved me having to chose which game to attend!

Anyway, once that was out of the way, we were finally able to fully embrace relaxation mode and had a great few days with Geordie, Julie and Richie taking in everything from shooting competitions with his air rifle, star gazing with his recently acquired astronomy telescope, visits to the city, swimming down the local river beaches on top of a couple of lovely meals out, a couple of great BBQ's soundtracked by some good tunes and great company.  Not to mention fueled by the local brew Sagres and some fine red wines!  Thursday rolled round far too quickly and we were sorry leaving the rest behind as we headed off for our 5 and a half hour train journey to Faro.  The sadness was obviously tempered by the fact that we were heading down to meet a different circle of great friends and even though the match was as close to a gimme as you can get in international football it was still something to look forward to.

Target practice for Gibraltar!

So we arrived in Faro on Thursday evening and having had a wander to get our bearings, found a lovely restaurant to get dinner and following that headed down to Pipers, a local Irish bar where that legend amongst the Irish traveling support of a certain vintage, Tommy Feeley, was celebrating his 60th birthday.  Once inside we discovered a cracking terrace bar on the roof and settled down with some of the regular traveling crowd,  Terry the Tash, McCoy, Pete and Pat for a catch up, a reminisce and some chat about the weekend's fixtures while the party raged downstairs.  All had agreed that Georgia doing us a favour against Scotland could turn things around big time for us but we were looking at that game more in hope than expectation.  Shared concerns over us getting the required result on Monday at home to Georgia were also expressed but before we knew it, it had gone past 2 am and with a big day in front of us on Friday we decided to call it a night.

Our original plan was to possibly head up to Albufeira on the Thursday night to catch up with some of the YBIG crew but Tommy's party had put paid to that idea so myself and Lou decided that we'd head up there before the game on Friday to check out the pre match atmosphere in the Erin's Isle pub where the YBIG meet up had been planned.  The place was thronged when we arrived with a DVD showing the best of the Charlton era on the big screen adding to the festive atmosphere.  We made our way through the crowd and found the Quinn towers with a few of their Newry crowd and said our hello's to a few of the usual YBIG stalwarts like Saint Tom, The GerK and Steve Amsterdam and spent the next few hours chanting and chatting and trying to see if we could blag our way onto any of the buses going out to the ground after being told they were all booked out on arrival. The buses were due to leave at 6 so we were able to catch the first half of the Scotland game before we would have to leave and at 5 the Glory Years DVD came off and the Georgia game came up on the big screen.  To be honest, myself and what seemed like most of the fans present were more nervous about this game than our own.  Georgia started pretty well and fluffed one great chance early on.  I hadn't dared hope that Georgia would do us a favour so couldn't believe it when they kept the pressure on and went one nil up before half time!  The roar that went up from the Irish support would have taken the roof off the Erin's Isle were we not in the open air courtyard!

Erin's Isle

It was the lack of a bus ticket that led us to meet up with another nice crew and again showed exactly why the traveling Irish fans are the best in the world.  While I was checking with one of the lads who was running the buses to see if we could buy tickets if there were any no shows, another fan overheard and said that he had a car going out with 2 spare seats in it and myself and Lou were welcome to jump in with them.  So while all the coaches began to pull out, we followed the convoy with our new friend, Gerard, a Limerick man now living in London who had traveled over with his son Conor and his nephew and designated driver, Laurence!  They were a sound bunch of lads and we arranged to meet them afterwards as they were in the opposite side of the the ground to us even though we had bus tickets back to Faro.  Our mood was improved further when confirmation came through as we were waiting to collect their tickets that Georgia had held on against Scotland for a 1-0 win which put our fate back in our own hands!

Our chauffeurs for the day!

And so onto the game itself.  As I mentioned earlier, these sort of games lack the tension of the majority of qualifiers as the result is essentially a foregone conclusion although as Irish fans,  the spectre of the 0-0 draw v Liechtenstein in 1995 always hangs over us.  The team selected by Martin O'Neill was an attacking one as would be expected  with the only real surprise being the selection of Cyrus Christie ahead of Seamus Coleman who was reported as having a tight hamstring.  O'Neill favourite Aiden McGeady couldn't really have expected to start given his lack of first team football at present and while there is an argument that Robbie Keane shouldn't start every game, it's exactly this sort of game that is suited to him these days and he is scoring week in week out in the MLS against teams far better than Gibraltar so it was a no brainer to start him in this game.

It was no surprise to see Ireland start on the front foot and after a couple of early corners the first real chance came around 5 minutes in when a good Robbie Brady free kick was well saved by the Gibraltar keeper at the expense of a corner which then amounted to nothing.  We kept the early pressure on although having seen Ciaran Clark hit the bar from a chance he really should have put away and then a Walters header into the net disallowed for offside we started losing our composure a bit and those unwelcome and unrealistic thoughts that it might be one of those games began when we reached the halfway point of the first half.  Thankfully, those thoughts were put to bed from the most unlikely of sources as Cyrus Christie waltzed through the Gibraltar defence following a one two with Wes Hoolahan and finished beautifully with the outside of his right boot to unleash a torrent of 'Let Christie take it!' gags on social media!  Ireland upped things again after that and nearly went two up within a minute after a superb strike from Jon Walters on the volley which the keeper did well to tip over but that increase of tempo didn't seem to last long and Gibraltar began to foray further forward and actually made Shay Given work with one decent save that got pushed away for a corner and a second comfortable save that was straight at him to be fair. Christie also had to clear one from under the bar as we got a bit sloppy.  Ireland finished the half huffing and puffing a bit with no real invention going into our set plays and I was disappointed to go into the half time break only that single goal to the good.

Let Christie Take It!

Having foregone a half time beer after discovering before the game that the only beer available in the ground was non alcoholic (I don't think the majority of fans realised it looking at the queue!), we settled back and waited for the second half to start hoping that O'Neill was giving the team a bit of a rocket during the break.  Although head to head trumps goal difference in this campaign, I'm never comfortable with a single goal lead regardless of the opposition so I wanted to see a bit more tempo at the start of the second to put the game beyond the part timers.  And so it came to pass with Keane having a very good shout for a penalty ignored in the first minute of the half before finally getting his chance with one of the easiest finishes he'd ever had to take his Irish tally to 66 goals.  It actually started with Christie involved again when he was caught in possession to leave Gibraltar in a three on two position before Walters saved his blushes by regaining the ball and bringing it forward before playing the ball across where a Gibraltar defender deflected it onto the post and off the keeper I think before rolling across the line where Keane was lurking on the far post to tap the ball in from no more than a couple of yards.  His celebration was no less extravagant than normal regardless of the simplicity of the finish and I think it's safe to say that he still loves scoring goals for Ireland!  

Route 66

The second goal essentially made the game safe and it was put beyond doubt two minutes later when Hoolahan was taken down in the box following some typical trickery and Keane stepped up to put away his 67th international goal from the spot.  Disappointingly, Ireland didn't use this as a platform to put the part timers to the sword as the pace of the game dropped to pre season pace and we seemed to resort to long cross field balls and hopeful punts in the box rather than continuing to pass the ball around and be more creative.  

The first subs came on around 70 minutes as Keane was withdrawn, and deprived of the chance to get his hat trick, with Shane Long entering the fray and James McCarthy who had again been very anonymous replaced by Stephen Quinn (whose name the stadium announcer seemed to have huge difficulty with altough not as much difficulty as he had pronouncing Richard Keogh!).  The changes initially didn't seem to change things too much with Gibraltar actually creating a half chance almost immediately which Brady did well to block but gradually we pushed further forward again with Walters putting a clear chance wide when he should have scored following a ball from Hoolahan which was his last input before being replaced by McGeady.  The fourth goal duly arrived with just over 10 minutes left when Long powered a good header (albeit a free one) home from a Jeff Hendrick cross but again we couldn't push on and get a fifth with the only chance falling to Walters who put a header wide when he really should have left it for Clark who was in a better position behind him.  As with the first half, the second petered out a bit before the ref blew up after 3 minutes stoppage time and we emulated Germany by posting 7-0 and 4-0 wins against the groups whipping boys.

Given the standard of the opposition it's hard to read too much into a game like that.  That said, Walters was impressive and everything that was played up to him stuck to him, Keane did what you'd expect of him, Hoolahan had flashes of creativity although also let the ball get away from him a couple of times.  Christie was a mixed bag for me, took his goal exceptionally well and defended well although his first touch left a lot to be desired on a couple of occasions which could be costly against better opposition.  That said, he got forward well on a few occasions as did Robbie Brady on the opposite flank, particularly early on.  Whelan did what Whelan does, Hendrick was okay without really putting his stamp on the game but McCarthy was very disappointing for me and still lacks the desire to demand the ball that his ability calls for.  I was delighted to see Long get on the score-sheet and hopefully his confidence will build from this and the Poland goal and he can start being more prolific for us as Keane's career winds down.  O'Shea and Clark weren't really tested and neither was Given bar the two aforementioned first half saves.

Regardless of the performance the result was what really mattered and having met up with Gerard, Conor and Laurence again we headed back to Faro and met up with the others on the rooftop terrace in Pipers again before heading off for some Tapas at a lovely place called Bottle and finishing about 3 with a glass of wine on the marina.  Like I said at the start these trips tend to have a different dynamic than the normal away trips with the lads!  After taking a bit of time to explore the old town on the Saturday, we made for the airport and our flight home, during which a perfect weekend of results was confirmed with Bohs securing a draw away to Rovers in Tallaght just before take off and the pilot announcing that the Dubs had won with a storming comeback to secure their All Ireland Final place.  The trip itself finished on a bit of a bizarre note when a huge crowd came out to greet us at the airport! Although maybe that had something to do with Conor McGregor arriving back on a flight just in front of us.......

Notorious! 

Obviously the big results were elsewhere in the group with Georgia's result against Scotland being absolutely huge for us.  A win tonight against Georgia and then we only need to match Scotland's results against Germany and Poland to be sure of a play off.  And Germany's win against Poland only leaves us 2 points behind them meaning that if we can stay within 3 points of Poland when we get to Warsaw that game becomes a winner takes all clash for automatic qualification.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves, in general I thought the performance v Gibraltar was poor enough and will need to be improved on to beat Georgia.  But on the positive side, we've been handed a lifeline that none of us really expected.  Now let's push on tonight and use it!  

Caught with our Jocks Down

Following a couple of weeks of high farce from FIFA and John Delaney (and by extension, the FAI), events at the Dublin Derby at Dalymount Park on the day before had me heading to Lansdowne for the Scotland game with a spring in my step and hopeful that Bohs' stunning late comeback was a good omen.  The atmosphere at the original home of Irish football had been electric and was enjoyed by a large smattering of Scottish fans and indeed, the entire city of Dublin was awash with sporrans and kilts in the build up to the game.  The game against England the previous week had told us little as it petered out into exactly the type of match I'd expected with two managers who play the percentage game not wanting to run the risk of picking up injuries and the early kick off not helping what turned into a staid scoreless draw played in a very muted atmosphere.  But this week was the real thing with the latest in what seems to be an endless run of 'must win' games meaning that expectation levels built all week and by the time Saturday morning rolled around that sense of anticipation that accompanies any big game had reached it's peak and actually been heightened by the Bohs result on Friday.

Having picked up Frankie the Hands in town, we headed for O'Neill's on Suffolk Street to collect the Brummies and following a quick one, jumped into a couple of taxis to head down to our usual spot in the Beggars Bush.  The Scots were certainly adding a flash of colour to proceedings as the fans openly mingled and exchanged some good natured banter.  Most of the usual suspects were at the Beggars when we arrived but the bar was absolutely thronged and having heard from a couple of the lads that it had taken half an hour to get served, we made the call to hit the off licence and grab a couple of cans to have out in the sun on the grounds outside the National Print Museum.  Given the queue outside the Spar beside Slatterys, we obviously weren't the only people to have the idea but I managed to get in fairly quickly and we found a nice spot on the grass to spend the last 90 minutes before the game.  A few quick calls and a good crew gathered there to make the most of what seemed to be the first week of the summer weather.

The first big talking point of the day was around Martin O'Neill's team selection with his preferred XI bearing a number of differences to what I would have sent out.  I believe at this stage that Kieran Westwood should be in the team ahead of Shay Given.  The back four was what I would have selected and Glen Whelan and James McCarthy in the centre and Jon Walters and Wes Hoolahan also would have started for me.  However, I thought that Jeff Hendrick playing ostensibly in a wide position hadn't worked against England as I felt he kept tucking in to his more favoured central role restricting our width so I would have had James McClean in ahead of him and despite Daryl Murphy's excellent season for Ipswich, I still found it baffling that he was picked ahead of Shane Long.  I have to wonder what Long has done to be overlooked consistently by consecutive managers.  While he can be poor in front of goal, he plays at a higher level than Murphy and has been prolific in the past while playing in the Championship.  But O'Neill is the boss so it's his call.  The fact that the team showed 7 changes from the reverse fixture in Glasgow worried me and indicates that even at this stage the management team don't know their best team or formation.  From the Scottish end, the one thing that I found encouraging was the absence of Ikechi Anya from their starting XI as I had feared his pace would cause us problems having seen him cause Germany all sorts of issues earlier in the campaign.

Between the good weather and the bigger crowd than normal the atmosphere built nicely with a gang of Scots fans walking past belting out Amhran na bhFiann on the bagpipes adding a nice touch.  We headed down to the South end about 25 minutes before kick off and made our way to the usual spot at the back of the Singing Section just in time for the anthems.  It was great to see the ground full for the second competitive game in a row and our anthem was roared out with a huge amount of gusto.  A minute's applause followed following the deaths of Bill O'Herlihy,League of Ireland legend, Johnny Fulham and also to mark the tragic passing of Robbie Keane's two cousins which had certainly put football into perspective before the ref blew for kick off.

Ireland actually started at a great tempo albeit it was more all about perspiration rather than inspiration despite the presence of Hoolohan on the pitch.  While we were certainly dominant in terms of possession there was little created in the way of chances with Scotland actually being the first to get a shot off as Fletcher made Given stretch for a relatively straightforward tip over.  But this was the exception rather than the rule and we began to reassert ourselves once the resultant corner was cleared without any clear cut chances coming our way.  The atmosphere in the singing section was as good at this point as it's been since Lansdowne re-opened with non stop chants booming out as we tried to encourage the team but despite winning a couple of corners, nothing came close to breaking the deadlock with a wayward shot into the stands from Whelan summing up our lack of cutting edge in the first 20 minutes.  The aforementioned Whelan's next input was a moment I'm sure he'll want to forget as he collected the ball in midfield in acres of space, looked up to survey his options and promptly booted the ball straight into touch without putting it anywhere near a teammate!

Another couple of corners followed with Brady's delivery from the left being decent but Whelan's delivery from the right leaving a lot to be desired.  Tackles were flying in at this stage and things flared up around half an hour in as McCarthy went up for a ball with Russell Martin and caught the Scottish defender with his elbow opening a cut on his head.  The pace with which the ref ran over to the slight fracas that had developed afterwards had me thinking that he was going to pull out a red card so there was a definite sense of relief when the card colour turned out to the yellow.  I don't think McCarthy is the type of player to go in swinging elbows but I've seen players walk for similar before.  The game reverted to type following this with us dictating the tempo but not really looking like breaching the Scotland defence and it was from a bit of a hit and hope ball into the box that Ireland fashioned another corner after Whelan lofting a ball onto Murphy's head who got sufficient loop onto the header to force David Marshall to palm the ball over the bar.

Brady was on corner taking duties again and it was from his delivery that the deadlock was finally broken.  He played an in-swinger in and Murphy got his head to it again causing Marshall to palm it out to the feet of Walters who gleefully buried the rebound despite having been clearly offside when the original header came in!  Even allowing for arguments about first and second phases of play, it was extremely fortunate not to be pulled up by the officials.  None of this was any way clear to us at the other end of the ground and the sight of the ball hitting the net had led to absolute pandemonium in the South end of the ground!  And even allowing for the lucky decision, it was a deserved lead on the balance of play.

I had thought that we'd need another goal to try and put some daylight between ourselves and the Scots and to be fair to the team, they certainly attempted to finish the half on a high as the Scottish defence looked like it was creaking a bit.  Brady's delivery once again was causing problems with another dangerous cross from the left being headed out by Charlie Mulgrew for another corner from the same side the goal had come from.  And it was from Brady's corner that we really should have found that daylight as he pinged a lovely ball over that bounced right across the goal at the edge of the six yard box but unfortunately no one was quick enough to apply a killer touch to it.  That was the last notable action of the half and the Scots were clearly happy to get off the pitch to regroup at that point whereas as an Irish fan, I'd have been happy to see the half go on another ten minutes.

But half time it was and with it John Delaney's name again came to the fore.  It had been discussed and generally agreed across the various message boards that any protest regarding the litany of incredulous behaviour from the FAI CEO would generally take place at half time so we could concentrate on supporting the team while they were on the pitch.  And although there had been a number of "We Want Delaney Out!" and "Fuck Delaney and the FAI!" chants during the half, it was at half time that things kicked into gear again.  Despite the completely over the top searches that have been introduced for the last couple of games at the entrance to the Singing Section, a number of banners had got into the section and as they were unfurled, we had to initially witness the usual keystone cops attempts of the stewards to try and confiscate banners that breach no stadium regulations or laws of the land.  It's beyond pathetic that this prevention of legitimate protest is being undertaken and Mr. Delaney's good friend Denis O'Brien would no doubt be proud of it.  The news that Gardai had called out to an airfield where a light aircraft had been hired to fly a 'Delaney Out!' banner over the ground and that the pilot had then decided not to fly added and element of farce that Kim Jong Un would be embarrassed by, let alone our own Kim John D!  Following a stand off between the stewards and the protesters, the sheer number of fans chanting and passing the banners back and forth meant the stewards eventually gave up their efforts and things moved up another level when one fan dressed in full JD regalia of blazer and grey wig was hoisted aloft on a number of shoulders in Sopot style and started handing out brown envelopes to all and sundry!  I think that he did manage to hold onto his shoes though.

I've already blogged at length about my issues with Delaney's behaviour in the past but what's gone on after the farcical FIFA congress deserves comment.  The fact that the man can't see the hypocrisy involved in trying to portray himself as a beacon of UEFA transparency shining through the cesspit of corruption that Sepp Blatter's FIFA is while boasting about secret deals he's done with the individual in question shows yet again the utter lack of any sort of basic cop on that a man in his position should possess.  However, he seems to have an Irish politician's brass neck as shown by his blatant late night phone calls to convince various TD's not to call him to task in front of an Oireachtas committee and his utter inability to take responsibility for things that happen on his watch.  Parish pump bullshit at it's finest.  Add in the fact that someone in the FAI took it upon themselves to pulp and reprint the entire programme run for the game (without JD's knowledge of course) in the wake of the Ray D'Arcy interview at a cost of €10,000 due to the CEO's attack on FIFA corruption and the situation further enters the realms of the ridiculous.  When you consider how little money some League of Ireland teams have gone out of business over it turns from ridiculous to sickening.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the amusement at the protest and the feel good factor generated by the goal to completely disintegrate once the action started again on the pitch.  I mentioned earlier that I was surprised that Anya hadn't started for the Scots so it was no surprise to see him come on at the start of the second half.  And within a minute he was involved in a one two with Shaun Maloney which was very reminiscent of the interplay that led to Scotland's goal in Glasgow.  Once again the Ireland defence was asleep and once again the result was the same.  Although on this occasion Maloney's shot was well off target, a flick off Coleman's boot directed it into O'Shea's back as he turned away from the ball and although Given looked flat footed once again, it's doubtful that any keeper could have got close to the ball as it spun right into the corner to send the Scottish fans behind that goal into raptures.  The fact that the idiots in charge of the PA at Lansdowne decided that would be a good time to boom out 7 Nation Army when the opposition had scored just rubbed salt in the wound.

Despite this setback, our initial response was good and within another minute of tipping off we really should have gone back in front. Hoolohan got on the ball in a central position and threaded a beautiful ball into Murphy who had got in behind the full back on our left hand side. Although he took the ball into a good position, his attempt at goal from around 10 yards lacked a bit of conviction and Marshall manged to save with his trailing leg.  For a second it looked like Walters was on hand again to put away the rebound but the spin from the keepers touch took the ball away from him a bit and even though he got a shot off, Marshall was able to recover and put the ball away for a corner.  The initial chance really was clear cut and you'd have to say that an international striker should be finishing from there.

The missed opportunity seemed to suck the life out of us to a degree and Scotland enjoyed their best spell of the match in the 15 minutes afterwards although there was little in the way of goal opportunities.  The best chance they had was at the end of that spell when that man Anya got on the ball again and whipped a cross in which deflected off Coleman.  For a moment it looked like Given might be in trouble but credit where it's due, he sensed the danger and cleared it in a very unorthodox manner by clawing the ball into the ground where it bounced to safety. O'Neill made his first change shortly afterwards by bringing McClean on for Whelan and shifting Hendrick into the centre.  But although the Scottish storm had been weathered by now, we were still lacking in inspiration and any chance of getting a winner through a bit of creativity seemed to be given up on as Hoolohan was withdrawn for Robbie Keane.  It's clear that O'Neill, like Trap before him, thinks that Keane and Hoolahan can't play in the same team but it still felt like a retrograde step to me.

That said, despite his age, Keane still has a lot more quality in his movement than most of the squad and his arrival did signal a slight change in impetus.  He managed to get a decent strike off within a minute of coming on but unfortunately it was straight down Marshall's throat and easily gathered.  Scotland certainly seemed to be settling for the draw at this stage but despite our many late goals in the campaign so far, there was never that sense that another was coming.  Long finally arrived for Murphy on 80 minutes (which was at least 10 minutes later than I'd have liked) but the longer the game went on the clearer it was that we'd have to rely on a set piece to get something.  Brady's delivery was still causing problems and with around 5 minutes left he put a great corner onto McClean's head but the ball came off Hutton's head and out for another corner.  The fact that Hendrick then started taking some of the corners from the left instead of letting Brady out-swing a couple just added to the frustration as the game petered out to the inevitable draw that always seems to be the result in our must win games.

So, once the final whistle went, any feel good factor from the Bohs result on the Friday had well and truly dissipated.  The usual drowning of sorrows and post moterms followed but, being realistic, it looks like the campaign is effectively over and it has to be said that, bar the excitement generated by the late goals which have put a gloss on our results, it's been desperately disappointing.   While we should expect 2 wins against Gibraltar and Georgia in our next two games which will keep us in the running mathematically, we're essentially relying on a Gary Mackay style intervention from Georgia against Scotland to swing things back into our favour and then the easy task of getting a result against Germany at home and winning against Poland away.  Given how things have developed under O'Neill since he's taken over, I've seen nothing to suggest this could be the case.  I expressed concerns when he was appointed that without John Robertson by his side, we may end up with the Sunderland Martin O'Neill instead of the Celtic or even the Villa Martin O'Neill.  Unfortunately, it seems like it's the former we have.  It's questionable to see what Roy Keane has brought to the table other than a bigger circus from the media than Duffy's and Fossett's combined could bring.  Tactically we seem to be all over the place with numerous variations on formations and 22 different players starting the games in this campaign.  Decisions such as bringing the likes of Given back instead of putting his faith in the younger Westwood smacks of desperation. People defending the situation have been comparing it to the last campaign under Trap but that's a ludicrous comparison, it's his first campaign that it should be compared to.  And while we can certainly point to how difficult the draw made things for us, we had Italy and Bulgaria in the World Cup '10 campaign and went unbeaten home and away against them on our way to 2nd place in the group.  And again there is a relevant point that the squad has deteriorated over the last 5 years, when you look at the Scotland team that looks like finishing ahead of us, you can't say that they have better players than we do, it's just that their management team is getting the best out of them whereas ours clearly isn't.  The story leaking from the camp that the formation they were sent out to play such a vital game in hadn't been practiced at all in training is staggering if true.  O'Neill has never been a manager who gets involved in the general training drills like Strachan does and if you're going to take that approach then you need to have the right people around you.  It seems that in Robertson's absence, O'Neill does not.

So, where from here?  I'm not a fan of the vaguely ridiculous notion I've seen on some forums that the manager should be changed now to give a new management team 4 competitive games to build for the next campaign and he certainly deserves to see this campaign out.  Miracles can happen sometimes and I'll be there in Faro for the next game supporting the team and praying that results elsewhere start falling our way.  But fundamental questions around the entire set up in the FAI will remain.  Our CEO is all about the first team and seems to have little interest in how things are built up from the grass roots.  When you see how far we've regressed since Brian Kerr thrilled us with his all conquering underage sides it makes for a depressing thought.  A chance to build on that has been missed amid all the infighting and nonsense that makes up Irish football politics.  And unfortunately, when there's no one involved with the balls to ask any searching questions at the FAI AGM, let alone to tackle the top man head on it's hard to see that changing.     

Pole Chancers

So another home game goes by and still we wait for a win against a higher ranked team than us and the win  that might finally kickstart both the Martin O'Neill era and the new Lansdowne roar.  UEFA's new 'Week of Football' format meant that our group's games took place on a Sunday and while that may suit the TV schedulers it doesn't do the fans any favours, particularly our 2nd generation supporters for whom even our home games require traveling to.  But we make do as we always do and with Monday safely booked off months ago, Sunday evening became the peak of the weekend rather than it's usual wind down status.  Having met up with the usual Birmingham Irish crew on Saturday and taken in a drab Dublin v Derry game in Croke Park before catching up over a few nightcaps, by the time Sunday afternoon finally rolled around were well up for creating a bit of atmosphere and town was buzzing with a huge amount of Polish fans visible in the city centre amongst the usual home support you'd see on a match day.  First stop was O'Neill's on Suffolk St where the Brummies had met up with the Quinn towers and after a couple of looseners in there the six of us jumped a cab and headed down to the usual spot in the Beggars Bush to hook up with the rest of the regulars.  After meeting with the usual away trip crew and some of YBIG's finest, the place was soon packed to the rafters and there was a proper big match feel to it with the usual pre match optimism mixed with the more pragmatic viewpoint as we tried to predict how the game would go.  Given our recent history at home, I was predicting a draw and that seemed to be the general consensus.

When the team was announced an hour or so before kick off, I was delighted to see Wes Hoolahan included but surprised to see Shay Given recalled at the expense of David Forde who can feel very hard done by given his performances for us since nailing down the number one spot.  I was happy enough with the team but curious to see how it would line up and I remain to be convinced that Robbie Keane and the aforementioned Hoolahan  dove-tail well together up front.  I thought that Keane would have been better suited to start in Glasgow considering how the team was set up over there and Shane Long is better suited to playing if we're using Hoolahan in the classic number 10 role. But O'Neill is the boss and he's always had his own way of doing things.  Robbie Brady's selection at left back was a bit of a surprise given how rarely he's played there and how recent his return from injury was.  He had played well there in the American friendly though and he is very good from a dead ball so I felt putting him in there was a gamble worth taking,

At this stage it was time to head down to the stadium and with our vocal chords nicely lubricated we made our way towards Lansdowne Road throughout a crowd mixed with plenty of red and white in amongst the green.  We got to our usual spot in the Singing Section just in time for the anthems and while the atmosphere was great in our end, it was still a bit of a shock to see that sheer volume of Polish fans all across the Havelock Square end and on into the East and West stands at that end of the ground.  Obviously I've seen the numbers that have attended our friendlies with Poland the last few years but it was still disappointing to see so many away fans at a crunch qualifier like this one.  I don't think you can blame the FAI for how they issued tickets this time with the availability of partial season tickets and the hat-trick initiative where tickets were sold as a package with the upcoming England and Scotland games, it's just indicative of the lack of love for this Irish team among the general public.  Considering there were also pockets of Polish fans dotted around the stadium I'd imagine there must have been close to 20,000 away fans there.

The one thing about the number of Polish fans there was that it certainly ramped up the atmosphere as our support set about getting behind the team to respond to the vociferous away support.  Unfortunately, this didn't seem to translate on the pitch and although we pushed forward on the right through Coleman in the first couple of minutes we were soon on the back foot as Poland started playing with far more assurance and confidence then we did.  We were struggling to hold on to the ball for any meaningful period of time and were letting Poland dictate the play.  To be honest, it was reminiscent of  the dying days of the Trap era and given how the game was developing, it wasn't a surprise when Poland took the lead.

The goal itself was disappointing on a number of levels.  It was a fairly hopeful long ball down the right from a Polish free which Brady got under and seemed to have enough time to at least lash the ball out of play.  However, having controlled the bouncing ball, Brady dawdled on it and allowed the Polish player, Peszko, to pick his pocket and take a return pass from Rybus before hammering the ball home across Given's body.  While Brady must take responsibility for the goal, I think questions should be asked of Given as well, while it would have taken a hell of a save to keep it out, he seemed to be slow in getting his hands up and his reaction to the shot in itself wasn't great.  At that stage we were making Poland look like worldbeaters and I was beginning to worry about our campaign ending halfway through it.  I thought Hoolahan had been playing too far forward for the half but to be fair to O'Neill, he changed things around coming up to half time with Walters pushing up to partner Keane and Hoolahan ostensibly moving to the left although he seemed to be playing more of a free role to try and link the midfield and attack.  All the same, I was relieved to get to half time with the score still at 1-0.

When the teams came out for the second half there were no changes and they lined up as they'd finished the half.  However, there had been a hint of the momentum shifting at the end of the first half and the Poles seemed content with their single goal lead and sat back somewhat.  About 7 minutes into the half we had our first significant opportunity when a cross from Brady took a deflection from a Polish defender causing it to loop over Fabianski and cannon back off the crossbar.  While it would have been a fluke the fact that we'd hit the woodwork ramped up the atmosphere another notch.  We carried on building a bit of pressure but seemed to be relying on set pieces to get a break with a free from Brady well over the bar the closest we came until O'Neill made his first throw of the dice, bringing James McClean on for Aiden McGeady.  McClean made an instant impact on the left within minutes when he dug out a great cross onto Keane's head with Fabianski somehow getting a hand to it to push it onto the post.  I thought the rebound was going to hit the keeper and bounce in but unfortunately it came back on the wrong side of the line and was cleared.

McClean really seemed up for it and a crunching tackle he made on around 74 minutes on Milik lifted the Polish player out of it and also lifted the crowd again.  By then I found it very surprising that Long hadn't been brought on yet and fully expected Keane to make way but to be fair to O'Neill he really went for by removing Whelan and going with the extra man up front.  Just before the change we'd had another couple of chances with a Keane pull back for a  Hoolahan shot being blocked and that man McClean involved again by putting a great cross in which Keane played back for the onrushing Coleman who unfortunately ballooned his shot wide.  So the pressure was still building but with time running out I found myself thinking we couldn't possibly get a third last minute goal in this campaign.  How wrong was I!

Right on the 90 minutes we'd won a free kick which Brady had dropped into the box and which Fabianski could only put out for a corner.  I always prefer when we're attacking the South end in the second half, it's always been where the noisiest Irish fans have congregated going back to the old South Terrace days and there was a ferocious amount of noise coming from us once we got the corner right up until Brady took it.  It seemed like it was now or never as Brady swung in a deep corner which somehow landed on the head of Hoolahan, one of the smallest players on the pitch, who cushioned a header down to Long.  Long took a great first touch before getting a bit lucky with his second when he got his shot off as it seemed to clip the defenders foot and loop in over Fabianski's dive!

Made in the League of Ireland!

As I said in the Germany blog, there's really nothing like a last minute goal when it comes to celebrations.  We've been waiting a long time for a magic moment and while everyone would have preferred it to be a winner, there was still an eruption of joy and relief that hasn't been seen yet in the new Lansdowne.  The Singing Section behind the goal went berserk and when the roar seemed to be dying down it picked up again and was nearly as sustained a celebration as the one that marked John O'Shea's goal in Germany.  With everyone's pulse quickened we realised that there were still 5 minutes of stoppage time and we bellowed at the team to attack and try and get a winner.  As it turned out, Poland had the first chance in the remaining injury time with a corner that was headed over but we managed to work it back up the pitch where Long was going through again only for the Polish defender to throw himself to the ground and win a soft free.  This was in keeping with most of the game as the ref had been awarding frees for dives all day, something which I'd be critical of the Poles for.  It was the worst I've seen at Lansdowne from an opposition team since the Israel game in 2005. We managed to get one final chance with another corner from the same side we scored from but although Brady lofted a similar delivery in, a green shirt couldn't get on the end of it and as it was cleared the ref blew for full time.  

So, now that the elation of the equaliser has subsided, you have to ask the question, was it a point gained or two dropped?  I was concerned before the game from reading O'Neill's press conference when he said that 'defeat was not an option'  and that he might settle for a draw.  The first half was awful to be fair but there was a marked improvement in the second and he might have finally stumbled across a formation that might work with Hoolahan in the team.  Where that leaves Keane is a question as I think a front line of  Long and Walters with Hoolahan playing deep would work better than Robbie ploughing his furrow up there.  At this stage maybe bringing him off the bench in the bigger games should be the option and start him against the minnows.  McClean has certainly given the manager food for thought and McGeady hasn't really built on his matchwinning performance in Georgia.  I'm not sure if sticking with Given in goal is the future and as I said earlier, Forde must be well put out by it.  It could be worth sticking with Brady at left back to get him into the team for his dead ball delivery but he'll need to improve his defending.  A team of Forde, Brady, O'Shea, Wilson, Coleman, McGeady, McCarthy, McClean, Hoolahan, Walters and Long is probably how I'd start v Scotland in our next must win game.

Despite the last minute goal there was still a bit of a sense of disappointment that another home game has gone by without a victory but it has to be said that the draw at least keeps the group alive but it also leaves no margin for error when we play Scotland in June.  Lose or draw that and what will be left will be a campaign as disappointing as Trap's final campaign.  Win it and the bandwagon will most likely roll on to October when we visit Warsaw provided we beat Georgia at home.  We never do it the easy way but hopefully the second half becomes our template rather than the first!