By Glenn Mason
Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will brief his defensive colleagues about how best to limit the influence of his former Stoke City team-mate Jonathan Walters when they meet in tomorrow night’s Euro 2016 qualification play-off second leg.
Walters missed the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Zenica after picking up a suspension in Ireland’s defeat to Poland last month.
However, he is one of Martin O’Neill’s most reliable performers and is almost certain to regain his place in the starting line-up for the decisive clash at the Aviva Stadium.
Walters contributed three goals and a lot whole lot more besides in the nine qualification games he played in and Begovic admitted they will have to be wary of his goal threat and work-rate.
“I expect a lot from Jon,” said Begovic about the player he spent five years playing with at the Britannia Stadium, before the keeper moved to Chelsea.
“Jon’s a good quality player and he’s going to strengthen their side, but we know we’re trying to prepare as much as possible and it would be nice to get one over him.
“I will speak to some of the defenders in our team about Jon. He’s a seasoned pro that has played in the Premier League for a very long time. His quality is there for all to see.
“I’m sure he’ll be excited about the game, but I also think we’ll be ready for his qualities and try to limit him as much as possible."
Many observers believe it is advantage to Ireland after the opening draw on Friday night, but Begovic stressed the importance for Bosnia not being too gung-ho in their approach as they seek to cancel out Robbie Brady’s away goal.
“Of course keeping a clean sheet will be very important,” he said. “It's important that we play an organised game, try to be as compact as possible and try to also limit our mistakes.
“But it's obviously about trying to win the game, trying to be positive as well and trying to find the right balance between attacking and defending.
“As the first game showed, there's not much between the two sides and I expect more of the same tomorrow night."
Ireland were unbeaten at home during their five qualifying games, with the win over Germany the standout result, as well as being one of the biggest shocks of the whole campaign across the continent.
The hero on that night, Shane Long, as well John O’Shea returned to training this morning, boosting the options for O’Neill in a game that Begovic can’t wait to get started.
“We expect a great atmosphere,” he said. “It will be a full stadium, a very, very big Irish crowd, so it's going to be a little fun to play in front of.
"There's not much between the two sides and I expect more of the same tomorrow night."
“We will have a few of our fans as well, so it should be a very great atmosphere and as a player, you look forward to playing in these environments and these atmospheres.”
Bosnian coach Mehmed Bazdarevic opened the pre-match press conference with an expression of sympathy for the French people after the horrific attacks in Paris on Friday night.
More than 120 people were murdered in several attacks across the French capital, which stunned the world. There will be a minute's silence for the Paris victims at the Aviva on Monday night.
Bazdaravic still lives in France after making a home there during a nine-year stint with Sochaux in the 1980s and 1990s.
“I want to start with the sad events in France. Our thoughts are with the French people. I live there so I know the situation and I’m thinking of them,” he said solemnly.
Returning to football matters, Bazdarevic admitted that things did not go the way he expected them to in the first leg and he hinted that he may have to look at different options for the second leg.
He hopes to have a full squad to choose from, with Mensur Mujdza expected to recover after coming off worse from a 50/50 challenge with Ciaran Clark. Everton’s Mo Besic is expected to come into midfield in the place of Edin Cocalic.
