Swiss defeat means Irish hopes will go down to wire
A Haris Seferovic strike and Shane Duffy’s own goal left the Republic of Ireland needing to beat Denmark to secure automatic qualification for the Euro 2020 finals as Switzerland got right back into the race last night.
Seferovic’s 16th-minute effort and Duffy’s misfortune at the death secured a 2-0 win for the home side on a night when skipper Seamus Coleman was sent off for two bookable offences.
Had it not been for goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who saved Ricardo Rodriguez’s second-half penalty after denying Seferovic a second with a smart save, and the post which kept out a Fabian Schar header, the Swiss might have won much more comfortably, with Ireland rarely looking like claiming the victory which would have booked their place at next summer’s finals.
Even a first start for teenager Aaron Connolly did not provide the spark required as Mick Mccarthy repeatedly tinkered with both his system and personnel in an ultimately vain battle for a foothold in the game.
The pitch, which had passed an inspection around two hours before kick-off after torrential rain throughout the day, proved sticky as the sides set about their business, but the Swiss made the perfect start. On 16 minutes Seferovic latched on to a half-clearance, took a touch and then fired across Randolph and inside the far post to open the scoring.
The Swiss were in complete control and it took the Republic, who had switched to a 4-1-4-1 system from their initial 3-5-2 in a bid to stem the flow, 41 minutes to put Swiss keeper Yann Sommer under any pressure. Duffy’s powerful header nestled into his midriff after he had met Glenn Whelan’s corner.
Ireland’s night got worse when Coleman was adjudged to have blocked Breel Embolo’s shot with his arm and was shown a second yellow card. Randolph got down superbly to turn Rodriguez’s spotkick on to the post but it only delayed their misery.
In the final seconds Duffy could do nothing to keep out substitute Edimilson Fernandes’ goal-bound effort. It was the last kick of the game. SWITZERLAND: Sommer, Elvedi, Schar, Akanji, Lichtsteiner (Freuler 70), Xhaka, Zakaria, Rodriguez, Embolo (Steffen 88), Seferovic, Mehmedi (Fernandes 28). Subs not used: Omlin, Benito, Landry Mvogo, Comert, Drmic, Gavranovic, Sow, Lang, Mbabu. REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph, Egan, Duffy, Stevens, Whelan, Coleman, Hendrick, Browne, Mcclean, Connolly (Hogan 70), Collins (O’dowda 46). Subs not used: Long, Cullen, Robinson, Williams, O’hara, Maguire, Doherty, Travers, Judge, Hourihane.