We need to be tighter in defence
John Egan says goal against Bulgaria was ‘bitter pill to swallow’
‘EVERY TIME YOU CONCEDE A GOAL, YOU DISSECT IT TO BITS’
AS JOHN EGAN sat in the Abbotstown boardroom yesterday, where the walls are framed with black and white drawings of former FAI presidents, he was taken back a year to September 5, 2019.
That evening, the Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 with Switzerland in a vital Euro 2020 qualifier to stay on track for the finals.
Shane Duffy and Richard Keogh were Mick McCarthy’s first-choice pairing in the centre of defence with Egan and Kevin Long as cover on the bench.
Egan might have been entitled to a grumble as Sheffield United, unbeaten four games into the Premier League season at the time, were already turning heads.
Yet, less than three weeks later, Keogh’s season was over after a car smash and fate threw Egan the green jersey. Since then, he has become a defensive rock.
At the time, was his omission starting to gnaw?
‘I’m not one to be bitter and say it should have been this way or that. I was coming away, working hard, hoping for my chance and it came against Georgia.
‘It’s unfortunate what happened to Keysey (Richard Keogh), he was brilliant for Ireland and we’re good mates.
‘Look, every footballer with Ireland wants to play. If you’re not playing you’re not going to be happy about it but you have to be patient, keep your head down and work hard.’
Approaching his 28th birthday, Egan is very much part of Stephen Kenny’s plans and, so far, he likes what he’s heard and is buying into the evolution.
‘It’s not going to happen overnight. At club level you’ve pre-season, then four or five pre-season games to try to get up to speed whereas here, you’ve two or three days and you’ve a competitive game.
‘To get the messages across in that short space of time is really tough but the way we’ve done it, be it on the training pitch or with our analysis meetings, has been brilliant.
‘You could already see in Bulgaria the kind of style we’re adapting to. From all of the players, it’s been a really positive experience.’
In harness with Duffy, Egan will probably play every competitive game on Kenny’s watch.
‘We played a lot together at underage level, so it’s nothing new to us,’ said Egan.
‘With every partnership the more games you get the better you get together. I enjoy playing with Shane, we complement each other, and hopefully we can keep getting better together.’
There was no avoiding the inquest into Bulgaria’s goal on Thursday, for which Duffy and Egan were prepared to take much of the rap.
‘Every time you concede a goal as a centre-half, you dissect it to bits. We know it was a poor goal to give away. Myself and Shane spoke about it immediately and watched it back a couple of times.
‘We know we need to be tighter there and narrower. As centrehalves we hate conceding goals, no matter how they go in.
‘It really is a bitter pill to swallow, we’ve obviously learned from that, we just have to move on and make sure we get better from it.’
There is an irony in Egan’s preferred position as a protector of the penalty area when his late father, John, was the scourge of defenders as he illuminated the green and gold, winning six All-Irelands.
If there had ever been a two v two ‘Father and Son All-Ireland’, you’d have backed the Egans to go all the way. At this time of the year, the GAA traditionally turns its focus to All-Ireland finals and Egan, born and reared in Cork, is very much of Kingdom kin.
‘I would be a staunch Kerry football supporter. And Cork in hurling, I know a few of the boys who play. Maybe if Kerry becomes a senior hurling powerhouse that will change,’ he smiled.
In Sheffield, steel holds sway over the ash, but that doesn’t stop Egan and Enda Stevens, who played for St James Gaels in Dublin as a teenager, from pucking about in their spare time.
‘I have a few hurleys over in Sheffield and play quite a bit. Enda is handy, I didn’t think he would be great because he’s from Dublin.
‘When I saw him pick up the hurley I said to him, “You’re from Dublin you won’t be able to swing this” but to be fair he’s quite good. He still holds it the wrong way though!’