Ireland’s World Cup hopes in real doubt
A much-improved performance from Ireland but they lacked goals and failed to keep a clean sheet. Serbia are a strong defensive unit and with the help of Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic in midfield, the Irish struggled to break them down.
Ireland’s performance was incomparable to Saturday night. The attitude was great and they tried to play football… until the end when attempts to hoof the ball made an unwelcome return.
Still, Ireland suffered their first defeat of their World Cup qualifying campaign. And to make matters worse for Martin O’Neill and his men, Wales beat Moldova seeing Ireland drop to third place in Group D.
Qualifying for next summer’s World Cup is a bigger ask than ever.
Why didn’t Ireland approach the Georgia game like this?
Press with intensity, keeping possession and attack in numbers. We didn’t see any of that in Georgia on Friday night and, unfortunately, it cost Ireland. From the start, James McClean and Jonathan Walters meant business, which unnerved the Serbs to an extent they were playing shambolic back-passes and were prone to mistakes in possession.
Aleksandar Kolarov’s opener in the second half came against the run of play but it didn’t really unsettle Ireland. The Boys in Green persisted against the Serbia defence but were unable to find a gap with the home nation managing to keep a clean sheet.
Wes Hoolahan’s presence
The previous point had a lot to do with this little magician.
Hoolahan gets more out of every Ireland player through encouragement. He’s a natural footballer who keeps possession but also tracks back to engage in battles. It goes without saying that he has more of an impact than Aston Villa’s Glen Whelan, who is a question regular in this Ireland side.
Of course, O’Neill had the option to start or use him as a substitute in Georgia but decided against the idea. Why? We’ll never know. Hoolahan should start every game for Ireland. They’re far greater with him in the team than without.
The decision to replace Hoolahan with Daryl Murphy after 60 minutes — moments after Serbia scored the opening and the only goal — may have raised eyebrows in the Aviva but an hour is a long time for a player not fully fit.
That said, Murphy played a part in Nikola Maksimovic being sent off for taking the Nottingham Forest striker down in the last man position. Then, a poor free-kick by Robbie Brady, on the edge of the box, failed to beat the wall.
Nemanja Matic - not just a handful for Manchester United
While Serbia looked nervy from the beginning, Matic stood firm in midfield preventing an early breakthrough for Ireland. Moreover, since the start of the Premier League season, he’s been one of the standout players and that was evident again on Tuesday night.
Obviously, Matic is not accompanied by as many top players like he is at United but he remained a dominant figure in midfield. Tonight made Chelsea’s decision to sign the midfielder to a rival even more questionable than it is already.
David Meyler makes claim he should be a regular in this Ireland side
Unfortunately, Meyler finds himself in the same boat as Hoolahan. Neither are considered regular first-team players for their clubs and that makes it difficult for Ireland’s management staff to pick them ahead of other players.
However, on the basis of this campaign, and maybe the previous, Meyler deserves to be ahead of Glenn Whelan in the pecking order. The Hull City midfielder kept play flowing and made important interceptions in and around his area of the pitch.
He certainly gave O’Neill and Roy Keane something to think about…
