STORM CALLUM
IRELAND face old foes Denmark tonight with just one win from their last seven games but Callum O’dowda claims they are back on track. say we rolled over. It was just one of those games where we didn’t have much of the ball.
“We can’t be putting in performances like that, but we’ve learned from that and in the Poland game I thought we were a lot better.
“There was so much frustration on the night in Wales and going into the game in Poland, we wanted to make things right.”
It was a largely second string team that was on the cusp of victory in Wroclaw until the concession of a late equaliser but it was encouraging nonetheless.
“The way everyone was braver on the ball and, out of possession, creating angles and stuff like that
– it was just a better game all around,” said
O’dowda. He was an unused sub when the marauding Danes took Dublin by storm almost a year ago but tonight’s opponents are without star turn Christian Eriksen.
O’dowda could only look on as the Tottenham ace single handedly destroyed Irish World Cup hopes with a sensational hat-trick as Denmark came from behind in style.
“He’s a great player for them,” said O’dowda. “The goals he scores and the key moments he has in games. “He’s one less player available to them that’s playing at the top level for his club. But they’ve still got a really good team so it’s going to be a difficult game.
“Players like that do make the difference. Look at players like Gareth Bale in the last game, the difference he makes to the team.
“You could see it as a positive but Denmark have got other good players so it’s not just Eriksen we’re looking out for.”
But O’dowda does not agree that Ireland have to win back the fans after some deflating results in big games.
“You can’t say that,” he said. “I don’t think it’s healthy to be in that mindset. You don’t want to change your emotions or put any more pressure on other players.
“We’ve two big games coming up and the last time Denmark were here it wasn’t great at all. We just need a proper performance, certainly better than in the Wales game.”
You can’t be putting in performances like that (Wales), but we’ve learned from that..