HERE’S TO YOU MR ROBINSON
Callum ends Irish agony
Azerbaijan................... 0 Rep of Ireland ............. 3
Paul O’Hehir in Baku Callum Robinson emerged from the Covid storm like a thunderbolt to silence the jeers and sneers from the court of public opinion.
His revelation that he had refused the vaccine despite twice contracting the virus split opinion and dominated the build-up to this clash.
But having kept a low profile since that Tuesday briefing - as team-mates and Stephen Kenny came out to bat for him in the meantime – Robinson did his talking on the pitch.
Both of his goals in an eerily quiet Olympic Stadium – with police, army and stewards close to outnumbering the 6,000 fans – were top notch.
And he could easily have had three or four as Ireland delivered a first competitive win for Kenny.
Man- of- the- match Robinson refused to comment on the off-field furore and cursed himself for failing to complete a hat-trick.
He said: “That one is going to hurt for a while, that I didn’t get a hat-trick in the end.
“The header could have made it a perfect p hat-trick. But I’m happy, first of all to get the win as the goals come second, but it wawas nice to get on the th scoresheet. “When people ask as me what’s my best be position, I just jus enjoy being a free fre spirit, getting on the ball, being a threat thre and trying to score.” scor C hiedozie Ogbene’s Ogbe late header sealed seale the deal as Ireland Irela also won a competitive comp game for the ffirsti time since beating beatin Gibraltar in
Dublin in June, 2019. While the three points do nothing for Ireland’s already failed World Cup bid, they matter when it comes to Kenny’s ongoing pursuit of a new contract.
After the week that was, it just had to be Robinson who would leave his mark with a seventh-minute rocket.
And it was a beautiful goal from start to finish, patiently worked out from the back and into midfield where Josh Cullen fed James McClean on the left. Robinson latched onto his clever inside bal l and unleashed an unstoppable left-foot drive.
The West Brom ace wheeled away to celebrate by putting a finger in each ear – his nod to the noise that some feel he brought upon himself whereas Kenny felt he was “vilified”.
But the 220 Irish fans perched behind the corner f lag serenaded him with chants of ‘ Here’s to you Callum Robinson...’
Soon af ter, there were a few renditions of ‘There’s only one Stephen Kenny’ but they were short lived as Azerbaijan piled on the pressure.
Better sides would have capitalised as Ireland made a habit of coughing up possession high up the pitch.
But late in that first half, Robinson doubled his own haul with another sublime finish and Ogbene’s late intervention after coming off the bench had Ireland well covered.