Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
By Eck let Scots be a warning
minnows Kazakhstan on Thursday in a timely reminder of what can go wrong when hotly fancied.
Like this evening’s clash at Victoria Stadium, that game was also played on an artificial pitch – but Ireland will be battling the elements too.
Freak winds have smashed the country in the last 24-hours and a “significant weather warning” is in effect today.
In the shadow of the
Rock of Gibraltar and perched right beside the airport runway, the tiny 2,300-capacity ground is brutally exposed.
Asked about getting off to a winning start and the need to build momentum, Mccarthy said: “We haven’t got any yet, have we? To gain any momentum, we’re going to have to start here but I really do think we should give them the respect they deserve.
“Gibraltar will be right bang at it. It’s cliched but it’s like the old FA Cup ties we see in England all the time.
“We saw it with Scotland. We’re really aware of what can happen but we’re going to play as well as we can. I know Alex Mcleish and he’d have gone over there and done everything proper but they got a bad result so it’s a stark warning of what can happen.”
Mccarthy added: “You talk about the style of football but if we win, brilliant. If we play well and win, better still.
“We can only gain momentum if we start well and get a victory and only then will I concern myself with Georgia.” GIBRALTAR won more games than Ireland last year. They also scored more goals than Ireland. Just let that hang there for a moment.
It’s not quite like for like, of course. Sandwiched between Brunei and Guam, the minnows sit 194th in the FIFA world rankings.
The two teams were competing at different levels last year but after stirring Nations League campaign that yielded two wins, minnows Gibraltar are a team on the up.
Ireland registered just the one victory in a grim 2018 – against the USA – and their measly return of four goals was eclipsed by Gibraltar’s six.
Mick Mccarty version 2.0 is now tasked with proving that this is not an Irish team in freefall.
It was an utterly forgettable year that concluded with Martin O’neill getting the sack but the beginning of a new campaign marks the beginning of a new dawn. And the returning boss