Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
QUALIFYING IS IN OUR HANDS, WE’LL GO FOR IT
SHANE LONG insists Ireland have the personnel to complete the job in Cardiff tonight and finish in the top two of World Cup qualifying Group D. First and second places are up for grabs in the final round of fixtures. The Republic or Wales could even top the group, but that would depend on Serbia losing at home to Georgia. “Obviously with the Serbia result, Georgia could do us a favour there but we knew coming into the week we needed two wins,” said Long. “We’re halfway there now and it’s going to be a hard test going to Wales to win but we’ve definitely got the squad of players to do it. “It’s going to be a hard battle, they’ve got everything to play for as well. One goal might nick it. “But it is in our hands. We can go there, really go for it and have nothing to lose. We’ve done well in the past when it’s come down to that.” The Southampton striker added: “I think both teams want to win. Both teams can take first from Serbia if they don’t get the right result. “Both teams have everything to gain and everything to lose, so it’s going to be pretty nervous for both teams. “But, you know, the best team will win on the night and I feel like we’ve got the squad of players to do it, we’ve just got to make sure we turn up on the night and cause them problems”. With Jon Walters again unavailable, Martin O’neill may decide to play a more conservative formation but Long enjoyed playing alongside Daryl Murphy and would like to retain that partnership. “Obviously ‘Murph’ is a big, physical presence and it kind of frees me up a bit if the ball does come along and I can test them behind,” he said. “I felt like I got hold of the ball and caused them a lot of problems. If you look back at it, you’ll see the chances that I missed and people think it’s a bad game. “But I know myself how I performed and it is frustrating not to get a goal, but it’ll come.”