SHANE SHINES TO SAVE IRISH
But draw may prove better for Scotland
REP OF IRELAND 1
Long 90
POLAND 1
Peszko 26
YOU need a degree of good fortune to succeed at thi s qualification l ark and, in that regard, Gordon Strachan has good reason to believe his stars are aligning as the home straight towards France 2016 beckons.
For Poland to have left Dublin last night with a maximum return would not only have floored Ireland’s hopes of troubling next year’s final — it would seriously have hampered Scotland’s.
As it was, Shane Long climbed off the bench to heroically salvage a deserved point for Martin O’Neill’s side that truly left neither nation wholly satisfied.
For all the Southampton man’s late intervention keeps Irish hopes afloat, defeat to Scotland here in June still remains unthinkable for the hosts.
Poland, too, while still unbeaten in the section, will feel wounded by the nature of this outcome.
They l ed through Slawomir Peszko’s goal at the interval and ought to have had the game well won before O’Neill typically dragged his side towards a respectable outcome.
But make no mistake, privately, this result is precisely the one Strachan would have wanted.
If the returns of James McCarthy and Robbie Keane to the Irish side were entirely expected, O’Neill’s decision to recall Shay Given in goal did raise eyebrows in that the Aston Villa man has played only five games for his club this season.
A journey that had started so well with a win in Georgia and a point in Germany had hit the buffers in Glasgow in November and there was a palpable sense among Irish fans that this was now the defining point in their campaign.
In contrast, Adam Nawalka’s Poles had stormed to the top of Group D with just one draw in their first four games. Their fans marched on the Aviva Stadium in their droves, fully expecting to see that happy sequence continue.
Their raucous backing energised their favourites right from the off. Seamus Coleman seemed unnerved by the wall of red and white noise but Arkadiusz Milik f ailed to punish his early fluffed clearance.
When Jon Walters was taken out by Kamil Glik, Glenn Whelan’s quick free-kick to Wes Hoolahan seemed smart thinking. Less so the midfielder’s decision to try his luck from 20 yards with better options to his left and right.
In what was always going to be a fierce physical battle, Swedish ref Jonas Eriksson had his work cut out. The Irish were outraged when he penalised John O’Shea for his part in an aerial tangle with Robert Lewandowski. Grzegorz Krychowiak headed Peszko’s freekick wide with the goal gaping — yet the near thing lifted the visitors.
Robbie Brady, the Hull City winger, had spoken this week of his desire to make his mark on this crucial fixture although it can be taken as read that his part in gifting Poland an opener on 26 minutes was not what he had in mind.
Deployed at left-back by O’Neill, the positives he offered in the final third were continually undermined by a succession of errors on the back foot.
Momentarily caught in a trance, he failed to spot the danger posed by the nimble feet of Maciej Rybus in his defensive area. Marc Wilson tried to amble across to negate the initial error but it was too late. The ball ran to Peszko who arrowed it across Given for a spectacular finish into the far corner.
Hoolahan and O’Shea were yellow carded either side of the goal, the latter for taking out Lewandowski as the Poles countered. Rybus curled the resultant free-kick a yard wide of Given’s goal.
As at Celtic Park four months ago, Aidan McGeady struggled to make an impact. Yet, of all the men in green, he was the closest to a goal during an uninspiring first-half display. Having exchanged crosses with Jon Walters, the Everton man spotted Lukasz Fabianski had wandered off his line. The idea was good but the execution didn’t match it. His floated chip had the elevation but not the direction to fashion an unlikely equaliser.
Coleman’s complaint at becoming the third Irishman to see yellow on the cusp of half-time had some merit but i t would have done nothing to lessen the growing sense of exasperation i n the home dressing room as they plotted a way back into the contest.
When O’Shea was again penalised in a j oust with Lewandowski, O’Neill made his disgust plain by remonstrating with Eriksson on the touchline. A yellow card for Glik for crashing into Keane was met with sarcastic applause by all in green.
A sense of injustice did them no harm, however. Much the better side as the hour mark approached, Brady’s cross took a wicked deflection before bouncing back off Lukasz Fabianski’s bar.
Atonement did not come easy for Brady. Handed a free-kick opportunity after Lukasz Szukula had crudely taken out Walters at the cost of a yellow card, he squandered the opening by curling the ball high over the top.
McGeady made way for James McClean with 22 minutes left and the impact was instant. The Wigan man’s acceleration bought him space down the left and his cross seemed perfect for Keane. Only the upright denied him international goal No 66 with a flashing header.
Long was thrown on for Glenn Whelan in the dying embers and his involvement was priceless. Brady’s corner dropped deep at Hoolahan’s feet. He calmly guided it to Long who matched the composure to clip the ball over Fabianski.
Both sides remain very much in the qualification hunt but the outcome is equally as pleasing for Scotland and Germany.