The loss of Rice is not just hurting O’Neill as King’s U-21s face abyss
UNUSUALLY for an international involving Germany, there wasn’t a television camera to be seen for their visit to Tallaght on Tuesday, which didn’t turn out to be a bad thing for Ireland’s U-21s.
Those that ventured to Dublin 24, all 2,325 of them, were bizarrely all packed into one stand and it became apparent shortly into proceedings that the curiosity which drew them out into the rain for the teatime kick-off turned to concern.
Although the vast majority of fans stuck around until the end, thereby sacrificing the early stages of the senior match in Poland on television, any hope they had of viewing ready-made replacements for Martin O’Neill had long dissipated.
Patterns have taught us that graduates to the senior team will indeed eventually emerge from the group resoundingly beaten 6-0.
Of the side Germany put four past without reply five years ago, Shane Duffy, Matt Doherty, Aiden O’Brien and Graham Burke figured on Tuesday night in Wroclaw. Jack Grealish was also involved from the bench that night in Sligo and we all know how that ended.
Tuesday’s U-21 loss wasn’t so much a defeat but an annihilation. Only for Kieran O’Hara in the Irish goal, the margin could well have been double-figures. Granted, Ireland were shorn of some regulars like Ronan Curtis through suspension. But likewise, none of the Germany players who beat Spain in last year’s final, and who are still eligible for this campaign, were in their side either.
One of the reasons an unlikely victory would have brought Ireland to the top of their European Championship group was due to points dropped by the holders. The Norway team which Ireland drew with before losing to by a late goal in the return fixture had swept Germany aside 3-1, while Kosovo held their own in both matches, drawing one and suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat.
The gulf in class at Tallaght Stadium could not be explained by the fact that Ireland’s team featured players from lowly Yeovil Town, Crewe Alexandra, Crawley Town and Maidstone United. More relevant was the absence of Ireland’s one real star, Declan Rice.
The West Ham United man’s midfield presence in five of the seven qualifiers made a huge contribution to their haul of 14 points. Without him, like the seniors, quality opposition bulldoze from midfield into attack and cause havoc.
Walsall’s Liam Kinsella, son of former Irish international and Noel King’s assistant, Mark, battled gamely in Rice’s place alongside captain Josh Cullen over the double-header, the first being Friday’s 1-1 draw in Kosovo.
Perhaps it was the rigour of facing a step-up in calibre but Kinsella and his teammates wilted in the final 25 minutes as Germany collected four of their goals.
“Maybe they’re too good for us but that’s the best of what we have,” remarked King afterwards
Grimly, it could get worse. The nations meet again on October
16 in Heidenheim, a likely lap of honour for the Germans in their final home game once they clinch qualification by avoiding defeat four days earlier at home to Norway.
Hopefully, that one doesn’t become a video nasty.