STILL FALLING SHORT
Midfield remains a real issue for Ireland and will be a critical area for the new manager to address
MIKEY Johnston adorned the front of the match programme last night. Draped in the Irish flag, there was a wide smile across his face. He’s a player who has had plenty to smile about in recent weeks.
No Ireland player, not even Caoimhín Kelleher, came into this international window in better form. Since relocating to the Hawthorns, Johnston has been the spark that has ignited West Brom’s season, scoring five goals and creating a couple more in his 10 appearances so far. The upshot is that the Baggies are pushing for a play-off place.
Johnston insists that there is no secret to why he has suddenly added a scoring touch to the energy and endeavour he always brings. He has credited the trust of Spanish boss Carlos Corberan and his teammates, perhaps a none-too-subtle dig at what he has left behind at Celtic.
‘When you’re in the flow, your confidence just comes out in your play and that’s where I want to continue being,’ he said in a recent interview.
Try as he might though, Johnston couldn’t seem to get into the flow of the game last night. Perhaps Switzerland manager Murat Yakin has been paying attention to the Championship too, as whenever the winger looked to have some green space in front of him, he instantly had a couple of Swiss defenders for company.
But even when he had a bit of freedom, Johnston’s final ball let him down, such as just before the interval when Sammie Szmodics’ clever cross-field ball released him into just the space he thrives in, but his attempt at squaring the ball was easily cut out by Fabian Schar.
Johnston’s night came to an end in the 57th minute and his slow trot off the field indicated a player who expected more from himself in this game — and expected more from the game itself.
This was an odd and draining occasion that befitted where Irish football finds itself at the moment. There’s a lack of direction, with nobody sure of where to step next.
A couple of hours before kickoff, it emerged that chief executive Jonathan Hill was coming under renewed pressure from the FAI board.
Everyone in Irish football could have done with the distraction of a rare win over a higher ranked nation. Or at least, a performance that built on the encouraging scoreless draw with Belgium. They didn’t get either.
Saturday’s draw had been promising enough for many to suggest that last night might be a screen test for the interim manager. And John O’Shea did look the part, even in the way he carried himself when embracing Yakin before kick-off.
Indeed for the opening few minutes, there seemed to be a positive intent to Ireland’s play. When Jason Knight got his heels clipped by Eray Comerts in the third minute, there was a buzz around the crowd — which was announced as over 35,000 — but didn’t appear to be that many.
But once the Swiss settled into the game, they began to exert control and dictate the tempo. Paddy McCarthy clearly spotted there was an issue in the Irish engine room early on. In the 15th minute, he leapt from the bench to the edge of the technical area and was imploring the players to press up on Switzerland when they had the ball.
After Xherdan Shaqiri had deflated whatever atmosphere was at the Aviva with his lovely free-kick, Knight and Josh Cullen were called over to O’Shea and McCarthy and given plenty of instruction on where they should be positioning themselves. And even though there were flashes in the second half, midfield remains an issue for Ireland.
It might be why Glenn Whelan was drafted in as part of the interim coaching staff.
A 39, he could probably still do a job in helping to create some solidity in the middle of the park. In international football, midfield is the most important part of the field. And for the next manager, whoever that is, the first task — the main task — on their to-do list will be trying to solve Ireland’s long-standing problem there.
Cullen is neat and tidy but he’s not the type of character you would look for in the trenches. Not like Whelan was. That is what this team needs now. Given our relative riches in central defence, maybe Nathan Collins could be viewed as a possible solution. After all, the interim manager often found himself in midfield, for club and country.
We had been told that this was only a two-game gig, so that made it ripe for experimentation and moving Collins further up the field feels like something worth trying.
But somewhere along the line, it went from a stop-gap to some sort of audition and everything become a little more consequential.
There were the odd glimmers of light on a game that became increasingly dour. Szmodics put himself about again, was hungry and lively but at some point, he must have wondered if he should have paid more attention to the Hungarian fluttering of eyelashes.
Adam Idah showed a few flashes and neat touches and perhaps, there can be a partnership with Evan Ferguson that can be developed. But ultimately not a whole lot to remember this night by.