THREE wins, three clean sheets and outright victory in the Nations Cup was a welcome return for Giovanni Trapatonni’s Ireland. A continuation of that form is vital in Macedonia this weekend but has the team shown enough to suggest they can claim three points in Skopje, a place with unhappy memories for the Irish?
While we could not have asked for a better outcome in the recent friendlies, the lack of chances created by the team selections is a real concern. Likewise the contradictory statements emanating from the Irish management should worry us all.
Robbie Keane looks to be winning his battle to lead the Irish line but how Simon Cox has jumped ahead of Shane Long in the pecking order is anyone’s guess.
Nothing against Cox. He was impressive against Northern Ireland, scoring on his début, but apart from his movement against the Scots, he rarely had a sight on goal.
While he has featured prominently for West Brom this season, his scoring return has been paltry.
Shane Long on the other hand has been a revelation for Reading and looks set for a move to the top flight in the summer transfer window on the back of those displays.
The assertion of the management team that Long’s involvement in the play-off final has left him drained doesn’t add up. They’ve put most of the squad through two games in five days last week.
Paradoxically, they were prepared to pitch St Ledger straight into the starting line-up despite no games in almost ten weeks. The defender is nowhere near up to the pace of an international qualifier. Surely Long is bang on form.
Half our squad have been warming their arses on the bench for the entire season. Is it too much to ask them to put a full shift in? For God’s sake, all this talk of tiredness of footballers in recent weeks; it’s just one more game.
Despite Paul McShane’s impressive showings last week, Stephen Kelly will start at right back. He spent the last two games as the centre-half.
Darren O’Dea retains his place and will be joined by John O’Shea at the heart of the Irish defence.
Kevin Kilbane was also involved in a play-off game but Trapatonni has plumped for the veteran even though Stephen Ward excelled in the left-back slot in the last two outings.
Seamus Coleman loses out to Stephen Hunt, a player who actually admitted to being knackered for Tuesday’s game against Northern Ireland due to his exertions the previous Saturday. Hunt is barely back from injury but Trap has no room for Coleman.
McGeady must reproduce the form he displayed in the Dublin fixture because he is our only creative outlet in Skopje. We cannot afford for the winger to revert to the ineffective performances he so often put in prior to the home-leg.
Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan will no doubt work well when Macedonia have possession but they have had too many chances now and have shown an inability to offer any imagination to Ireland’s attack. Macedonia are as bad, if not worse, than the three teams Ireland faced in the Nations Cup but our punch up front was powder-puff against limited sides. We need a massive improvement in Skopje.
Keane and Cox linked well at times in the two games together but our shots on goal were few and far between. Even in the 5-0 win over Northern Ireland there was something far too rudimentary and predictable in attack. We need that partnership to click. It’s also likely that Keane won’t last the game. He will play through the pain barrier but you can bet the Macedonian defence will be waiting to show him some local hospitality early on.
In the home game at the Aviva, Ireland opened with all guns blazing. The concession of a soft goal totally unnerved the side and we lived on the edge in the second half.
Trapatonni has already shown that he favours caution in away games. He has opted for Whelan and Andrews to stymie the opponent’s play. Surely Macedonia don’t deserve such respect. Should we not be taking the game to them?
Unfortunately the reality is despite the perceived chasm in quality, most European teams, no matter how far below Ireland’s ranking they reside, play a far more technical brand of football. Macedonia passed better than us in Dublin and despite the so called superior Premier League experience of our side, Ireland were never comfortable. Our defence makes far many too last-gasp interventions. Basically, this Irish side, by virtue of the limited ability of our engine room can be given the run-around by even limited opposition.
Previous Irish journeys have derailed in Skopje with some of the worst results in our history. A draw would stall the head of steam we built up in the Nations Cup. Only a win will keep our hopes of automatic qualification on track.