IRISH SMILES
Republic still in it after they hold Denmark
IN the beginning, they stomped and they bounced in unison and they threw popcorn like unruly kids at the cinema. The Parken Stadium rocked and rolled on its foundations and they convinced themselves that Denmark would be going to the World Cup.
Then a couple of chances came and went. And, bit by bit, the f e r vour s l i pped. The noi s e diminished. When all was still equal 15 minutes into the second half, the first hints of impatience began to creep in and, amidst the chants and the yells, now there were a l s o s o me g r o a n s o f frustration.
And through it all, the Republic of Ireland players worked and worked. They knew the Danes were the better team. But their manager, Martin O’Neill, had told them not to die wondering what it would have been like to play in a World Cup and they ran for him as if those words were echoing in their minds.
James McClean, their best player, ran himself i nto the ground in pursuit of all manner of lost causes and their heroic defence repelled everything that was thrown at them.
The Irish did not worry too much about creative ambition. They were here to spoil. They were here to upset the odds and confound the critics, qualities that are bred in O’Neill’s bones. They crossed their own threshold so infrequently that they must have got cabin fever.
As the game entered its last 10 minutes with the score still barren, all those cheers had turned to boos as the home fans rained down their displeasure on the Ireland team for its cussedness. How sweet those boos must have sounded to O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane and to the 3,000 Irish fans behind one of the goals.
Under the final bombardment in injury time, the Republic goalkeeper Darren Randolph made one l ast superb save, tipping a close-range header over the bar.
All that was left was the final whistle and when it went, O’Neill marched matter-of-factly over to Denmark manager Age Hareide, shook his hand and celebrated a j ob half done. In Dublin on Tuesday, the Irish must finish what they started. The consensus before the game was that O’Neill would ask Glenn Whelan to man- mark Eriksen and try to replicate Ireland’s happy habit of outwitting and frustrating teams during their away matches in qualifying competitions. That did not happen.
O’Neill has become adept at springing selection surprises and he conjured another here by including Bristol City’s Callum O’Dowda in his starting line-up on the right of midfield. There was no place for Whelan. It was bolder than many commentators had expected.
Complacency is i l l - advised when facing an O’Neill side. The Irish went unbeaten in their World Cup 2018 qualifying group g a mes a way f r o m Dubl i n , drawing in Serbia and pulling off wins in Austria and Wales to force their way into the play-offs in the final game at the expense of Chris Coleman’s Euro 2016 semi-finalists.
Some of the away supporters congregating outside The Dubliner pub on Stroget, the city’s narrow, winding main shopping street, had been resigned to the idea that Ireland would have to limit themselves to trying to stop Denmark rather than imposing themselves on the opposition.
There would be time for taking the game to the Danes in Dublin, they said. They knew how high
the stakes were, too. They have not qualified for a World Cup since 2002.
‘ Qualifying for the Euros was great,’ said O’Neill on the eve of the game, ‘but the World Cup is something else’.
The neutrals would like them there, of course. Their supporters, and the fans of Northern Ireland, helped to bring joy to Euro 2016 at a time when so many of the headlines were about Russian thugs attacking English hooligans in Marseille. The World Cup would be poorer without them.
The goodwill the Republic fans spread was evident again here as t hey congregated in t he city centre, singing songs and dancing with Danish fans. Local people, who might be apt to turn and run when the supporters of other nations are visiting, hoisted their children on their shoulders so they could glimpse the merriment.
It did not take long for the Ireland goal to come under attack and, in the 12th minute, Randolph pulled off a superb double save. Denmark full- back Jens Stryger Larsen burst on to a long ball over the top and drilled his shot across goal. When Randolph parried it, Andreas Cornelius pounced on the rebound but the goalkeeper scrambled across to smother the shot.
The danger to the Republic was always most likely to come from a piece of invention from Christian Eriksen and after half an hour, he created a golden opportunity for his side. The Spurs playmaker escaped into space in midfield and unleashed a dipping drive that Randolph could only push into the path of Pione Sisto 10 yards out. Sisto had time to measure his shot but he sliced it just wide. Ireland were relieved.
The Irish were working hard to deny space. They swarmed around them. They refused to let them settle. They harried and hassled them out of their stride.
And then a couple of minutes before half- time, the Republic finally forged a chance of their own when Cyrus Christie darted past Larsen from the flank and into the box.
Suddenly, he was one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel and, from the tightest of angles, he tried to dink the ball over the Denmark keeper. Schmeichel blocked the ball with his body and, even though the rebound fell to O’Dowda, his crossshot was bundled out into touch.
The Republic did not manage much more after that but this was the night to stay upright, to stay in the contest. This was the night to stumble from the pitch utterly spent with that dream of playing at a World Cup still alive.