Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia
Twitter Moments was launched in Ireland this week, an idea where you can assemble a series of photos and tweets based around a particular theme.
The perfect platform, one might think, to tell the story of a football match, however, based on the fare that was offered up at the Aviva Stadium as Ireland laboured to a 1-0 victory over Georgia, it would have been a struggle to meet the minimum quota.
Ireland’s first competitive match at home following the successful summer at Euro 2016 in France, a full house might have been expected to salute the over-achieving Boys in Green.
But when the stadium appeared far from full at kick-off - 39,700 was the official attendance - the writing was perhaps on the wall, that a long night was to be endured at the Lansdowne Road venue.
A lively start made it look like Ireland might take an early lead and cruise through this must-win encounter with Shane Long, Robbie Brady and James McClean all looking spritely in those opening exchanges.
However while enthusiasm was evident, quality was lacking, as Ireland failed to hold on to the ball and played without any amount of authority.
The game was crying out for a certain Norwich man to stamp his influence on the game – not the aforementioned Brady, but rather club colleague Wes Hoolahan.
Alas the goal-scoring hero from the opening Euro 2016 game has been usurped by the young guns and Hoolahan remained on the bench.
There were moments, of course. Three in fact, and all in the space of a hectic five minutes as half-time approached.
But all at the wrong end from an Ireland perspective as first the visitors hit the woodwork twice, as Levan Mchedlidze and Guram Kashia both headed against the frame of the goal.
Valeri Kazaishvili and again Mchedlidze caused further concern in the new-look Ireland defence, as first Coleman was beaten for pace from a ball over the top, before Shane Duffy stood too far off his marker to allow him to get the shot away.
But Ireland made it to the break without conceding.
And then a moment to savour.
Ireland captain Seamus Coleman picked up the ball out on the right flank and chose not to cross but run, and run, and run, and then pick up a couple of fortuitous ricochets before poking the ball over the line.
Possibly not how the Donegal native dreamt of how his first international goal would play-out, but if it eventually helps Ireland reach the promised land of Russia for the World Cup in 2018, the skipper can embellish the story any which way he chooses over time, to be able to tell the grandchildren that it was a screamer from 40-yards into the top corner.
They might have to check the Twitter Moments archive for verification.
Is That Entertainment?
The team that Martin O’Neill selected for tonight’s clash looked like a very attacking prospect with Robbie Brady named alongside James McClean and Jeff Hendrick in midfield, with Jonathan Walters and Shane Long further upfield.
But what transpired was a real disappointment in terms of footballing quality with little or no cohesive play from Ireland in the opponents’ half, particularly in the first half.
The 4-1-3-2 formation, while attacking appeared to leave a big gap between Shane Long, leading the line, and the line of three of McClean, Brady and Hendrick.
Of course, that area would have been ideal for Wes Hoolahan to patrol, which would have allowed him to pull the strings, naturally resulting in more creative, composed play.
The manager, to his credit is trying to get Brady to turn into the playmaker that he may potentially turn out to be, but that is two games in a row, where the Norwich man has failed to influence.
Brady will probably be ruled out of the Moldova game following the head injury in tonight’s game, but whether the manager continues with this approach in Austria next month remains to be seen.
McCarthy Gamble Reaps Rewards
Everton manager Ronald Koeman must have been watching from behind the couch when McCarthy crashed into the turf early in the second half.
As things transpired, the player who has not played since August, did not have an issue with his groin but rather his arm from the studs of a stray Georgian boot.
But overall, the gamble of playing the Everton midfielder paid dividends as he never looked under pressure, controlling matters in front of the Ireland defence.
McCarthy may or may not be involved in the Moldova game on Sunday, but his club will now, most likely, be delighted that the international week allowed their player to get 90 competitive minutes under his belt before returning to Premier League action next week.
Man of the Match
There were very few candidates for man of the match in tonight’s victory, so the perhaps easiest and most obvious decision was to hand it to the man whose goal made all the difference in this tight affair.
And you could not begrudge the accolade being awarded to the captain on the night that he scored his first ever goal for his country, but a certain Derry man may feel slightly aggrieved.
James McClean was a bundle of energy from the opening exchanges and drove Ireland forward with sheer enthusiasm as the quality was severely lacking from the overall performance.
And the West Brom midfielder did everything but put the ball in the back of the net – his two offside goals not counting – in an overall performance that showcased his value to this Ireland side.
McClean must have thought he would score with his thumping last-minute header, which may have swung the decision his way, but it was not to be, as the ball crashed off the crossbar and away to safety.
What The Manager Said
On the Victory
“We’re delighted with the win and obviously we can play better.”
On the Performance
“I think the players have plenty of confidence, but when you don’t start well and allow the opposition on your own pitch too much time on the ball it takes a while to get back on track. It took us most of the first 45 minutes to do that.
“First of all you have to try to press, then you have to try get close enough to the opposition when you do press and we weren’t doing that.
“We came out in the second half and pressed and had a lot of the ball in the second half because we did press.”
On Captain Seamus Coleman
“Coleman was excellent and he pulled out that game for us.
On Georgia
We’ve had tough games against Georgia against qualifiers in the past, in the last campaign.
“They’ve played very well against us and I’ve said it before - if they had a natural goalscorer in their teams they’d cause a lot too teams a lot of trouble.”
Ireland: Darren Randolph; Seamus Coleman (capt), Ciaran Clark, Shane Duffy, Stephen Ward; James McCarthy, Jeff Hendrick, James McClean, Robbie Brady (Glenn Whelan 81), Jonathan Walters; Shane Long (John O’Shea 90).
Georgia: Giorgi Loria; 2 Otar Kakabadze, 4 Guram Kashia (C), 5 Solomon Kverkvelia, 6 Murtaz Daushvili, 7 Jano Ananidze (Davit Skhirtladze 73), 8 Valeri Kazaishvili, 10 Tornike Okriashvili, 15 Valerian Gvilia, 22 Giorgi Navalovski, 23 Levan Mchedlidze.
Referee: Tony Chapron (Fra).
