What an international weekend! Did anybody predict any of those score lines for any of the Home Nations (and Republic of Ireland)? Surely those are the sort of results which will bring an end to talk of a two-tier qualifying process! I had a very enjoyable day of flicking between BBC1, BBC3 and TV3 (in Ireland) as I was able to watch fairly closely the England, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland matches. Later in the evening I watched the highlights of the Scotland game on Match of the Day, and also caught up on some of the incidents I missed due to constant flicking!
Scotland the Lucky?
Surely result of the day, and for most Scots under thirty, the result of a lifetime! Read it carefully, Scotland 1 (one), France 0 (nil). As a Scottish mate texted to me this morning ??There was a lot of alcohol consumed last night! Bit lucky but who cares? we won. Bring on Ukraine!? Enjoy it lads, when these shock results become the norm, some of the shine begins to wear off (speaking as a Northern Ireland fan).
An outstanding backs-to-the-wall first-half performance (an Henry woodwork strike aside), suitably frustrated a French team ranked second in the world. That?s not to say they were not a completely dull goal-threat, with James McFadden ploughing a lone furrow up front, and giving the Frog defence the odd scare. Yes the French had two goals ruled out for off-side, and Craig Gordon made his share of fine saves, but the under-dogs were to take full benefit of their ?luck? in the second half.
The Trannies upped their tempo after the break, attacking with more flourish, and harrying the French out of their first-half fluency. The noise from the Hampden crowd reached a stunning crescendo when Gary Caldwell lashed home a Hartley corner in the 67th minute. It was a goal which brought to my mind that scored by Terry Neill for Northern Ireland against England at Wembley in 1972 ? taking your chances when you get them is what being the underdog is all about. One man who clearly failed to take his best chance was Thierry Henry. Leading the desperate French charge in the final minutes, he headed tamely into Gordon?s welcoming gloves.
Yes the group?s only three games old, but Scotland are on top, played three won three, ahead of the two World Cup finalists France and Italy. Can they maintain the form and effort for the next nine matches? I don?t know, but the Scots surely now believe they can!
England Expects? What Exactly?
In the car yesterday morning, searching for something listenable on the radio, I stumbled on a match prediction for the England ? Macedonia game on Virgin Radio. I may be paraphrasing somewhat, but this is the gist of what was said: ?The FA are talking up Macedonia, but England should beat them easily.? I?ve commented before on the arrogance that pervades not just the English media, but also a section of their fans ? this attitude must surely rub-off on the players and coaching staff too. It wasn?t that long ago the Macedonia last came to England and left with a point following a 2-2 draw at St Mary?s. The Macedonians have since grasped a number of other excellent results, and yet they were disregarded as minnows, there for the hammering? when will you guys learn?
This was another game where England?s stars failed to show up. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, Steven Gerrard lax (though he struck the woodwork for the umpteenth time this season), Frank Lampard all-action, no control. Peter Crouch was almost effective (a bit like his early days at Liverpool), but again no end result. It must speak volumes when England?s men of the match were Gary Neville and Ashley Cole, the full-backs. Were the two points thrown away due to poor tactics? Partially yes, but more-so by poor attitude, poor application, and an over-confidence not becoming a nation that fails so miserably each time their expectations are raised.
Will England qualify? Without a doubt. Will they win the Euro 2008? Not a hope.
Wales Cymru Down
Due to ?contractual? issues (I don?t have Sky) I haven?t even seen the goals from the Wales game, I?ve only read and listened to the reaction. And what a reaction that has been!
Wales punched above their weight for a short time under Mark Hughes - a shorter time than any rose-tinted spectacles may have Welsh fans believe by the way. Slovakia have been in the shadow of their Czech neighbours for more than a decade. Predicted result, low scoring match, probably a draw ? actual result, Welsh humiliation.
Yes they were without captain Ryan Giggs, they were fielding a player just past his seventeenth birthday, and they had handed the human liability that is Craig Bellamy, the captain?s armband! But they should still be a solid unit, right? From the very off Slovakia were impressive, scoring after just fourteen minutes, and two up just after the half-hour. The 28,000 fans in the Millennium Stadium (where have all the fans gone?) were given brief hope when Gareth Bale, aged just 17 years and 80-odd days became the youngest ever Welsh goalscorer. The hope was short-lived, and by half-time it was 3-1 to the Slovaks. By the second-half the Welsh heads had dropped and there was a certain inevitability about the 5-1 final score; Wales? worst result in a decade, and worst at home in near a century.
Scapegoats? Well the obvious one was 39 year-old ?keeper Paul Jones. His fiftieth cap (he even had ?50? shaved into his hair) will have been memorable for all the wrong reasons. He had a nightmare, his worst howler was for the Slovak?s second, but he was generally just poor and helpless rolled into one.
The real criticism must fall at the feet of John Toshack. Where was the logic in appointing a well-know ill-disciplined player, facing assault charges this very week, as captain? I can just imagine Craig Bellamy?s motivational techniques ? ?Go out and f****** win or I?ll beat your girlfiriend!? Tactically also, Toshack has failed to offer anything that would suggest he was formerly one of Europe?s leading coaches, he seems unable to grasp the basics of getting a number of (let?s be honest) limited players to up their games, to play hard, high-tempo football which is their only hope. Fancy flicks and petulance should be reserved for the pre-game warm-up only.
The press are clamouring for the re-call of Robbie Savage, and for Tosh to plead with Gary Speed to come out of international retirement. The Savage call would be a poor one, what would this smug but limited player offer? He is not hard, but is dirty, he is not good with the ball, but seems to think he?s the best in the world ? a trouble maker who would disrupt whatever harmony there is left in the Welsh dressing room. On Speed, I initially though, ?Nah, forget him, he?s too old!? but on reflection it may be a good idea. A truly excellent player (still at 37) he could offer the short-term leadership the Welsh require to get them through this lull. What have they got to lose? It?s not like they?re going to qualify anyway!
Beggars Belief
Shadenfreude is a terrible thing, but I truly enjoyed the Republic of Ireland?s humbling at the hands of the mighty Cyprus. For years Northern Ireland have been lauded over by their nearest neighbours, every poor result used as an excuse to call into question our very existence as a football team (a 0-0 draw against Cyprus doesn?t look so bad now, does it?).
So Stan (?that?s another fine mess you?ve got me into?) Staunton has been unable to fashion a team of Premiership stars (and I mean real top-level like Duff, Keane, Finnan etc) into one that is capable of beating a team of part-timers from one of Europe?s true minnows! I don?t blame Staunton, he thought he?d fill in the application form as a bit of a laugh, maybe get a coaches job or an under-age team to manage, then finds himself as boss of the national team. He has been badly found out as a tactician and motivator, na?ve at best, inept at worst. The real blame here lies with the FAI for picking someone so inexperienced.
I?ll be honest, for the last five years of his playing career (at least) I don?t think Stan looked interested, he coasted through on the field, and perhaps he believed he could do the same thing through a coaching career. Nice guy or not, I think the Irish would be safer looking towards a new manager already ? I believe Mick McCarthy?s looking for work!
A quick look at the match itself… how quickly can you say ?shocking?? An early lead from Stephen Ireland was squandered following any number of defensive howlers from the likes of Steve Finnan and most tellingly Andy O?Brien. Paddy Kenny left the Irish praying for the return of Shay Given as he gifted the Cypriots the lead after an ill-judged charge for the ball left an empty net just asking for the ball to be headed into it ? Garpozis quickly obliged. The tempo rose to a frantic level through the remainder of the first-half, and after a number of good chances, Richard Dunne leveled with a header from a corner just before half-time. The Cypriots went straight down the other end and hit the cross-bar ? but it was 2-2 at half-time, and no doubt there were a few sighs of relief.
The relief was brief. Five minutes into the second-half and Cyprus were back in front thanks to a penalty conceded by the clumsy O?Brien. Another spate of car-crash defending gifted the Cypriots their fourth after the hour mark, and with fifteen minutes to go it was five, with the ball volleyed home after a Kenny parry. The nightmare was not yet over for the men in green, Richard Dunne sent off after a clumsy elbow was brought down on an opponents head.
Qualification was always going to be hard from a group with Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Wales (ahem), now it is surely impossible. As it stands, the pointless Wales and Republic may be challenging San Marino for the wooden spoon!
? And no, we can?t merge!
The Boys Dane Good
So finally to the most important match of the day (from my point of view at least). Northern Ireland traveled to Denmark on the back of a win over Spain, but still who knows what to expect from a team that lost the previous match to Iceland.
What occurred was the best defensive performances seen under Lawrie Sanchez. Maik Taylor was immense (I had feared he was past it following the opening two qualifiers), pulling off save after save, clutching the ball to his chest, and inspiring those in front of him. The Craigan-Hughes centre-back partnership got parts of their bodies to everything the Danes had to throw at them, and the most confident display yet witnessed from Michael Duff at right-back was also pleasing. At left-back the incredible eighteen year-old that is Jonny Evans once again proved if you?re good enough you?re old enough. He tackled in and around the penalty area, he passed out of defence, he went forward with penetration ? my only concern is he is at times caught out of position, but he is very young.
The defence can?t take all the plaudits. Chris Baird (normally a right-back) played in a deep-lying midfield role hardly put a foot wrong, and shielded the back-four with a Hamann like performance. Also, although perhaps dulled as an attacking force, Steve Davis and Keith Gillespie offered defensive respite with their abilities to run with the ball out of the danger areas. On to, perhaps, the only let-down for me. Sammy Clingan, again still fresh out of the under-21 set-up, has built his reputation as a ball-playing midfielder, a set-piece expert, but for the third consecutive game his delivery continued to disappoint. True, he worked hard, he harried as best he could, but he couldn?t tackle a fish supper.
Up-front the Healy-Lafferty partnership didn?t have too much of a chance to shine. Healy?s incredible efforts though almost fashioned a couple of good chances, and Lafferty constantly won the high-balls launched out of defence ? it was just unfortunate that he had so little support to pick up on his knock-downs. Lafferty is another teenager, and at times was positionally na?ve, but he is big and strong and has time to learn. Later, when the exhausted Healy and Lafferty were replaced by Jones and Feeney Northern Ireland seemed to lack the ability to soak-up pressure at the front. Jones had the ability to run the ball into the corners but lacked the final ball, and Feeney had the tendency to run into defenders about 30 yards out.
Denmark, don?t forget they put four past England not too long ago, looked very dangerous going forward. Before the match Jan Molby (a hero of mine) predicted a few goals for the Danes ? Sorry to disappoint BFJ! Their attacking inter-play and pace would frighten almost any team, but they were badly let down by one thing ? simulation, diving, cheating (whatever you want to call it). This used to be the preserve of the South Americans, the Spanish, Italians and Greeks; but having spread with a vengeance into the British game, it is now clear that the formerly stalwart Scandinavians like a tumble too (true the Swedes have been at it for a few years, but I had more faith in the Danes).
OK, so this wasn?t a pretty performance by Northern Ireland, and not necessarily a stunning result, but it was the manner of the performance that most pleased me ? hard-working, defensively solid, confidence building. Can we take it on and beat Latvia on Wednesday night? I wouldn?t even try to guess!
Wednesday Night Predictions
Croatia-England
England without Gerrard, though given his current form this may not be a big miss. Will McClaren change it round? No matter, I?ll go for a draw, probably 0-0.
Ukraine-Scotland
Scotland on a high, Ukraine lost 2-0 to Italy, and must be low on confidence. Another 1-0 to the Scots, or will the be grounded quickly?
Wales-Cyprus
What do you think? Honestly Wales can?t be that bad again. Expect them to tighten up at the back, and perhaps scrape a goal 1-1, or maybe even 1-0 to the Welsh!
Republic of Ireland-Czech Republic
I can?t see any light at the end of the tunnel for the Irish, 3-0 to the Czechs ? at the very least!
Northern Ireland-Latvia
How does the cycle go, terrible result, great result, good result, ?????? The Latvian?s 4-0 win over Iceland (who beat us 3-0 in the opening game) yesterday will have them on a high. Confidence in the Northern Ireland team is almost always a bad thing ? 2-2 draw, give or take a goal?
