Welsh whizz-kids turn up the pressure on O’Neill
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph, Duffy, K Long (Hogan, 76 mins), Keogh, Doherty, Christie, Arter, McClean, Hendrick, Robinson (Maguire, 60 mins), O’Brien (S Long, 55 mins).
Subs not used: Doyle, D Williams, Meyler, S Williams, Browne, Stevens, Egan, Hourihane, McDermott.
WALES: Hennessy, C Roberts, Chester, Williams, B Davies, Allen, Smith (Thomas, 75 mins), Lawrence, Wilson (Gunter, 84 mins), Brooks (King, 87 mins), T Roberts. Subs not used: Ward, A Davies, Richards, Rodon, Edwards, Freeman, Vokes, Woodburn.
Man of the Match: Harry Wilson (Wales) Match Rating: 7/10
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands) THE last time Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers signalled for the end of a game in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland had just defeated Bosnia to qualify for the European Championships.
It ended with a lap of honour and Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane saluting to a celebrating crowd.
The vibe was different at 9.38pm on a grim Tuesday night, after a week that has drained any of the lingering enthusiasm surrounding this managerial ticket.
That magic touch which delivered crunch victories has been lost. One point from six in this ‘must-win’ October international window is a poor return, especially as both Denmark and Wales arrived without their star players.
The Republic were missing important bodies too, but they were able to call on a more experienced selection than their Celtic neighbours for this clash and still came away with nothing.
Ryan Giggs named seven Championship players in his starting XI; the Republic went with five.
Strangely enough, there were patches that offered more by way of cheer than Saturday’s drab af- fair with the Danes. And there was spirit in the late flurry as O’Neill went for broke by deploying three strikers in search of a point. It suggested he knew the importance of this Nations League tie in the context of his own position.
This result means that the Republic are almost certain to be condemned to third-seed status for the Euro 2020 draw.
A win in Denmark next month may not be enough to avoid that drop in status that will complicate the attempts to qualify for the finals. Boos towards the end indicated that a portion of fans no longer trust this regime to upset the unfavourable odds created by a stagnant year.
Of course, the vibrant profile of the Welsh squad spreads the blame around. There’s no real sense that the FAI board are ready to change things up in the dugout and see if it brings about an improvement.
There’s a financial element to that decision which presents an obvious obstacle. The fact that Giggs is paid around a quarter of Derryman O’Neill’s salary is a product of the FAI decision making over a protracted period. It’s everybody’s problem now. The first half had delivered fleeting signs of encouragement, in the sense that it showed the Republic do have players with the ability to pose problems in the final third.
Callum O’Dowda’s injury and doubts surrounding Shane Long drove O’Neill to make two changes with Callum Robinson and Aiden O’Brien brought in to reprise the partnership that worked well in Poland last month.
Jeff Hendrick reverted to a deeper role in midfield next to Harry Arter and Cyrus Christie and was much more comfortable there.
The pressure applied by Christie forced a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when Welsh teenager Matthew Smith dithered at the edge of the area and the makeshift midfielder seized possession.
He had time to advance and pick a spot past Wayne Hennessey but erred by shooting first time and the keeper pushed it to safety.
At half-time, the crowd gave a polite round of applause which hinted at mild satisfaction. But from the restart McClean was booked for chopping down Harry Wilson after he embarked on a mazy run, ruling the Derryman out of the Denmark game.
And it was a sign of what was to come, as a loose tackle from Arter on roving Welsh right full back Callum Roberts gave the guests a free-kick opportunity at the edge of the area.
Wilson (left) stepped up to stylishly dispatch it into the top corner.
The clearest sight of goal in the dying embers fell to a Welsh player with Darren Randolph denying David Brooks before racing forward for a late corner.
It was cleared away and the Republic’s chance was gone. REPUBLIC of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill remained defiant last night after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Wales in the Nations League.
The result piled the pressure on O’Neill amid boos on the final whistle at the Aviva Stadium.
Harry Wilson curled home a stunning free-kick as Ryan Giggs’ understudies made light of the absence of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey to deepen the Republic’s woes.
O’Neill and assistant Roy Keane will mark five years at the helm next month, when they will need Denmark to lose in Wales and to then record their first win in five competitive matches in Aarhus three days later if they are to avoid relegation from League B.
The former Northern Ireland skipper said: “I felt we should have scored early on, and we are not renowned for scoring a lot of goals so we need to take our chances.
“It was a grandstand finish and I thought we could have got something, but I thought there were a lot of positives despite the result.
“They have a great spirit, we lack a little bit of technical ability. We have spirit in abundance but that won’t take you everywhere. We need to be more creative if we can.”
Former Chelsea and Republic midfielder Andy Townsend argued: “It’s inevitable that Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are going to wake up to calls for their heads. That’s just the nature of the beast. But I didn’t think that was the performance of a team not showing commitment to their manager or his staff.
“We don’t have boys operating at the top end of the field that can make a difference and that is a fact.”
Wales manager Ryan Giggs said: “I’m so proud, they dug in right to the end. It was a really brilliant second-half performance.”
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