Richie Sadlier has heaped praise on Ireland goal-scorer Wes Hoolahan – and questioned manager Martin O’Neill’s decision to take him off.
Hoolahan opened Ireland’s Group E account at Euro 2016 with a brilliant first half strike against Sweden at the Stade de France.
The Swedes equalised in the second half on their way to a one-all draw, with the Boys in Green looking ragged at stages in Paris.
O’Neill’s side could barely keep possession for long periods, leading RTÉ expert analyst Sadlier to question his decision to take Hoolahan off and replace him with veteran striker Robbie Keane.
“The change that was made, if you are to accept that Wes has to come off and that it was a sensible decision, bringing Robbie on, I think he touched the ball once or twice,” he said, speaking on RTÉ Radio 1.
“We know the type of player Robbie is and his limitation in the last few years. We know the type of game that Robbie is well suited to and it’s always a conversation about the impact he can have in the latter stages of the game.
“This wasn’t a game that we were pounding Sweden in the box, it was ricocheting everywhere and it was screaming out for someone with Robbie’s instincts, his movement. It wasn’t that type of game.”
Norwich playmaker Hoolahan spent the early part of his career with Shelbourne in the League of Ireland and even after he made the switch to England and, eventually, the Premier League, he struggled to force his way into Ireland teams and squads.
Sadlier (above, right) says he’s a long-time fan of the Dubliner and was delighted to see him score such a classy goal on the big stage.
“We’ve all been rooting for him to do well, to get into the team and be picked in every game,” he explained. “We’re trying to promote him in Irish football and promote how rare he is.
“When I retired in 2003 I worked with a sports agency and one of their clients was Wes. We were trying to get him out of Shelbourne because we were thinking ‘this fella has a lot of talent’.
“Then I started working with Milwall academy had I brought the chief scout across specifically to watch him and they dismissed him with ‘ah he’s too small’ – the usual thing people used to dismiss him way back.
“As we all know he hasn’t really featured in the Irish senior team over the years for various reasons and all the time we thought there was a place for him. So, for a moment like that to happen for him it just seemed like absolutely the right thing to happen.”
Overall, Sadlier was impressed with the way Ireland played in their Euro opener, though he hopes we don’t end up regretting not picking up all three points with tough assignments against Belgium and Italy to follow.
“In the context of this group, will we look back and regret the reaction to going one-nil up because we don’t have the two handiest fixtures coming up,” he said.
“The positive thing is getting a point and avoiding defeat. You go into the Belgium game knowing that you’re distant second favourites, so even if we lose we know that a win going into the last game will extend our stay in France – that’s the positive. But it feels like a lost opportunity to me.”
