THE PAIN GAME
Ireland end a grim year with another blank
THE Republic of Ireland have their backs to the wall in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers after their place among the third seeds in the draw on December 7 was confirmed last night.
Needing to beat Bulgaria and bank on two other results going their way, Stephen Kenny’s team fired blanks for the seventh game in a row as they compiled the nation’s worst results in half a century — not since 1971 have Ireland gone a year without winning a game.
A drab 0-0 draw at the Aviva Stadium extended Ireland’s record run of 11 hours without a game and left Kenny without a win in his eight games in charge, the worst start for a manager since Mick Meagan.
Slippage into Pot 3 means Ireland could be drawn against the likes of Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, Euro play-off conquerors Slovakia and Nations League foes Wales.
With only the ten group winners guaranteed to go through, the odds are against Ireland plotting
a route to Qatar. One small plus from the final Nations League round-up was Russia’s 5-0 tanking by Serbia which dropped them into Pot 3. As a Pot 3 team, Ireland can’t be drawn against Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Finland, who beat Ireland twice in this Nations League competition. Kenny pointed out that the team that wasn’t available for various reasons was stronger than the one he picked last night. ‘We’re disappointed. We know we didn’t play well in the first half, our passing was erratic. ‘It was very important we weren’t relegated. It’s not something to celebrate. ‘We used the Nations League to blood a lot of players, some of them by design. I feel we have greater scope and more options for the qualifiers in March. Morale will be high for the World Cup games. ‘What the players have had to endure with Covidrelated issues nearly every day, was very unsettling.’ Kenny revealed that James McCarthy’s father, Willie, has sadly passed away. On a more positive note, Portsmouth winger Marcus Harness has been cleared for selection. Striker James Collins, who came close on a couple of occasions, blamed himself for not bagging a goal. ‘We had the better chances to break them down. We said at half time we had to stop giving the ball away cheaply and in the second half we looked a threat. ‘We work hard; in training, the movement was good, the finishing was good. But when we get to the game, it just wasn’t quite there. I should have had a couple tonight. I hold my hands up,’ he said.
Asked was he glad to see the back of 202o, the Luton Town striker responded: ‘Yeah you could say that.’ The campaign has not been what we wanted. We didn’t get the results we wanted, and we were knocked out of Euro qualifiers as well. ‘It’s been a difficult campaign with Covid and injuries but you can’t use that as an excuse. That’s life at the moment. I feel sorry for the manager.
The lads are all fighting hard for him. ‘We can go away now, back to our clubs and come back fresh in March, raring to go. I hope I’ve done enough to impress the manager and stay involved for the World Cup.’ New cap Ryan Manning said it was time ‘to show a bit of resilience and battle through it’. He predicted if Ireland scored one goal, ‘then more goals will flow’.