MART MEN FOR GLORY
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# <M<IP >8D< Randolph keeps Irish on track
MARTIN O’NEILL’S men will never win any prizes for fantasy football. And they don’t care one bit. Republic of Ireland have been labelled a pub team for their methods and, in truth, the stats don’t provide a counter argument.
They struggle to keep possession, their passing is often wayward and at times the formation is 10-0-0 or, being kind, 5-5-0.
But when it comes to rolling up sleeves, digging in and defending as if your life depends on it, the Irish are top of the league.
Against the Danes on Saturday, they were outplayed but never outfought or outwitted in the first leg of their World Cup play-off.
As a spectacle, it was pants. But had it been thrill-a-minute stuff, Denmark would probably already be booking their flights to Russia next summer.
Instead, Republic of Ireland’s World Cup dream is still alive.
And boss O’Neill has promised there will be a creative edge to his side in tomorrow’s second leg which was missing in Copenhagen. But don’t expect the Irish to divert too much from a game plan which has served them well over the last two qualifying campaigns.
Brighton defender Shane Duffy said: “It doesn’t matter what it looks like or how we get through as long as we do.
“In the first leg, it was scruffy, a little bit ugly. Maybe we could have put our foot on the ball more.
“It’s not an excuse, but the pitch wasn’t great and you could see even some of their technical players were struggling.
“The ball was bobbling so it was a tough night for both teams.
“But you’ve got to give us credit for the clean sheet against a side who had beaten Poland 4-0. Manof-the-match Darren Randolph pulled off two excellent saves in the opening half hour as Denmark threatened to overwhelm the visitors.
But so effective were Republic in dousing their fire, he wasn’t called into action again until the dying moments when he tipped over a header from substitute Yussuf Poulsen.
Bust
The Middlesbrough keeper knows Ireland have passed the first test but their mission is nowhere near accomplished.
Randolph said: “It’s win or bust now. And we’re at home, so it’s up to us to get the result. Our job over there was to keep in the tie