Murphy: Ireland have to believe
THE Ice Man cometh for France and he is fuelled with a goal intent. Daryl Murphy was all chilled out yesterday after his threeminute stint in the ice chamber at the Irish training ground in Versailles.
All he wants now is another nod of approval from Martin O’Neill tomorrow and the opportunity to freeze the French defence.
Having made the Euro finals cut, and started one of the group games, Murphy has one box left to tick in France: a first international goal.
‘Everyone keeps saying this to me is that the reason I have not scored is that it is going to come in a big game and hopefully it will,’ he said.
The solution to Murphy’s ‘catch 22’ issue with Ireland is easy: score a goal. And the 33-year-old knows it. He thought on Wednesday he’d finally nailed it, when a thumping header was on its way to the roof of the net only for the finger-tips of Salvatore Sirigu to deny him.
‘I thought that it was in, yeah. I caught it perfectly and thought “goal” but he pushed it over the bar. It was a good save,’ he recalled.
These finals are most likely Murphy’s only shot at a major final, although he intends to soldier on for ‘as long as I’m wanted.’ He was snubbed by Giovanni Trapattoni but Martin O’Neill has always warmed to a target-man forward who can hold the ball, win his share of aerial duels, and doesn’t shirk the physical stuff. He turned to Murphy midway through the qualification and has kept the Waterford native on board since.
In an Irish team were set pieces are often so vital, Murphy has a valued worth, which wasn’t always the case, as a six-year absence from the squad indicates.
‘It just goes to show that you never really give up, do you? I nearly did at one stage, when I had been overlooked for so long,’ he said.
Murphy has travelled far since his homesick days at Luton as a teenager, and the nightmare of the 2004 FAI Cup final with hometown club Waterford, which ‘still upsets me to think about it.’
Like a number of players in the Irish squad, he’s come from a League of Ireland background and had to be strong of mind and body to reach the international arena.
‘Yeah, most of us had to fight very hard to be where we are and I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ he said.
He has thrived at Ipswich, where Mick McCarthy dragged him in from the wing and placed him at centre-forward, his most effective and preferred position, as his 27 goals in 2014-15 caught O’Neill’s eye. Back then, the Euros looked an unlikely port of call for Murphy, but he’s here now and itching to be unleashed against France tomorrow.
‘This is what it’s all about, this is what you play international football for, to play in games like this, at this stage against teams of this calibre. ‘You couldn’t wish for any more,’ he said. ‘Of course we can take them, we have to believe we can.
‘You take the game the other day, for instance, probably not many people thought we’d beat Italy but we believed we would and we have done that.
‘It’s a different story now, France, the home nation, and it’s going to be very hard but we believe we can beat them.’
Murphy won’t know if he is starting until he arrives at the Stade De Lyon as O’Neill likes to have all his players on their toes.
‘I don’t think the manager will change that. I think he likes to keep his cards close to his chest and let the lads wait.’
When it comes to waiting, Murphy knows the score.