Ireland manager backs teen striker Ferguson after penalty miss
John O’Shea remains focussed on his job as interim Ireland manager, batting away questions about his future last night after an encouraging 0-0 draw with Belgium at the Aviva Stadium.
“Ask me again on Tuesday,” said O’Shea when asked if he was looking for the job on a permanent basis.
And O’Shea dismissed Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco’s description of last night’s encounter as “boring”, saying he drew encouragement from his first taste of management.
Evan Ferguson missed a first half penalty in what Tedesco felt was a “boring game”.
“From both sides it was a slow rhythm, slow passes, no sharpness,” he said. “Look at the second half in particular, they didn’t have one shot on our goal and we had just one, that makes it boring but it was not easy for the players, there were no spaces between the lines.”
O’Shea’s assessment was different.
“What, no sharpness from his team?” was the surprised response of the 42-year-old when the comments were put to him. “We had the best chances. It’s a frustrating one. You’re playing Belgium in Dublin, you’d take a clean sheet but we are a little bit disappointed in the end too.”
The evening might have gone in
another direction if Ferguson had converted from the spot after a contested handball.
O’Shea said that the teenager was designated as the penalty taker before the match, but he lost his balance and shot straight at Matz Sels, missing the opportunity to end a goal famine dating back to November.
“When you have a top striker in your team it’s straightforward, he’s your penalty taker,” said O’Shea.
“It was just unfortunate, Ev had a little slip just before he knocked it so it would have put him off. A youngster stepping up like that, it shows the courage he has and he didn’t let it affect him, he knocked into the centre backs as soon as he could again and got his confidence going. It happens to top strikers. As soon as he gets on the goal trail he will be back on a run.”
Sammie Szmodics made his long-awaited international debut after being forced to pull out previous squads due to injury and personal reasons. He admitted it was “a lot to take in.”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for three or four years,” he said.