Video: Get the Tissues, Ireland Score Four…Oh, and Trap Cries
The best thing about this video is that Trap has no idea how crazy the country is going to go.
Trap Gets Ireland up the Pole
Well, no one was expecting that. All the pre-match thought predicted a cagey Irish performance, a low-scoring game, and deemed an away goal a bonus. We can book the flights to Poland and Ukraine. A 4-0 win reflected a dominant Irish performance, particularly in the second half and the nation is waking up today with massive smile on its face. Dublin on Tuesday is going to be a hell of a party.
Trap Wants Plenty to Cro About
Preview – With the Premier League season starting on Saturday, and the spate of withdrawals from the Irish squad, we don’t expect much from tonight’s friendly with Croatia. And by now you’d think Giovanni Trapattoni would consistently pick Ireland’s best players. However, with two massive qualifying games looming, his squad selections remain as erratic as ever meaning this evening offers a last chance for someone to gate-crash the Italian’s plans.
State of Play: Macedonia 0 Ireland 2
MANY people predicted Ireland would only be good enough to claim a point in Skopje last night. Missing some key players, with a makeshift defence and a lack of creativity in midfield, it was a game with many pitfalls to scupper our qualification bid. Instead, despite shortcomings in our ability to dictate the game and maintain possession, the Irish came away with a massive result. Robbie Keane made history while ensuring the Republic are in with a shot of making some more.
State of Play: Ireland 2 Uruguay 3
Póg Mo Goal’s no-holds-barred player ratings –
HAD Ireland equalised to make it 3-3 at the Aviva Stadium against Uruguay, they would have been full value for the draw. Playing with an abandon that was sorely missed on Saturday, a mix of the naivety but confidence of youth, and the excessive enthusiasm of those out to impress, saw an Irish side produce ambitious football that almost came up trumps.
Preview: I’m Having Ya Macedonia
An infamous night in Skopje. Not so much a tangerine dream as an orange nightmare. In 1997 Mick McCarthy’s hopes of emulating Jack Charlton by leading the Republic to a World Cup finals disintegrated when an ageing Irish side […]
State of Play: Will Trap take a Long shot on Shane?
GIOVANNI Trapattoni is nothing if not predictable. That may sound slightly caustic, but since taking charge of the Boys in Green, the Republic of Ireland manager has rarely been known for throwing caution to the wind.
He was back to his stable best on Monday, when announcing his squad for the two games against Macedonia and Uruguay. Many of the usual suspects were there – Dunne, Duff, Kilbane, etc. However, perhaps Il Trap will surprise us all and shake things up a little.
State of Play: Ireland 1 Norway 2
SHAY Given must have had a spring in his step before kick-off with the news that Joe Hart is out for a few weeks. He probably could have made a better wall for the free-kick or maybe positioned himself better but he made some very good instinctive stops and who am I to question the best goalie in the world who, hopefully, will get a chance to make Mancini see sense and get the respect that he has earned over the years in return.
State of Play: Ireland 2 Russia 3
FRIDAY night was a sad night and perhaps confirmed what we all may have suspected in the back our minds – that Trapattoni seems to be a very rigid tactician and that we haven’t really improved greatly on our previous managers’ regimes – i.e. has he encouraged the team to play ball, or is this down to the players? – it’s hard to know and Richard Dunne’s comments after the game blurred the situation even further.