Still no end to O’Neill goal famine

NEW team, same old problems. Martin O’Neill’s Ireland don’t just struggle to score goals, they rarely threaten to shoot. That was evident in recent days, when even a practice match between the squad drifted for long periods without either goalkeeper being troubled. They scored 13 times from 12 games in failing to qualify for this summer’s World Cup and O’Neill has long since spoken of the need to replace the goals lost to Robbie Keane’s retirement. And so here, in trialling a 3-5-2, he paired Aston Villa debutant Scott Hogan and Preston’s Sean Maguire, making his first start, in attack. Hogan was sent clear in the first half, but after skipping by the keeper, he hooked into the sidenetting. Turkey captain Mehmet Topal then volleyed the only goal on 52 minutes and Ireland did not record an effort on target. ‘It is a concern, we have to create more in games, hence the two centre forwards,’ said O’Neill, who praised the debut of West Ham’s 19-year-old defender Declan Rice as a positive. But at the foot of the Taurus Mountains, it would appear O’Neill has one to climb if Ireland are to rebuild and qualify for Euro 2020.