PERHAPS OUR BEST hope is that France will dedicate their preparation time for Monday’s Euro 2024 qualifier merely trying to understand this Irish team.
If so they will arrive in Dublin frazzled and baggy-eyed; utterly broken, surrendering themselves to the unconquerable, shapeless chaos of the universe because Ireland are truly one of the most unusual football teams in Europe. Foucault could have added another chapter to The History of Madness if he was around to study our boys’ ability to concede from long range.
There was lots of good stuff in this ultimately deserved win over Latvia: three goals, one of them Evan Ferguson’s first; a fabulous debut from Will Smallbone; an impressive audition from Callum O’Dowda and an electric cameo Mikey Johnston.
And yet Ireland contrived to throw away a two-goal lead against a bad team – just as they had against Armenia last September – and again they conceded their goals from outside the box. Tonight Latvia joined Azerbaijan, Luxembourg and Armenia in the rank of small nations to have scored a screamer against Stephen Kenny’s Ireland.
It is an utterly inexplicable trend.
Ireland, however, will take heart by the fluid quality of their attacking in the first half and the individual energy Johnston injected to it for the final half-hour.
Ireland’s began with a superiority complex, confidently popping the ball between each other, and led after only six minutes. After some desultory possession, the key pass was Nathan Collins’, who slightly overcooked his into Jayson Molumby’s feet. Molumby’s pass was typically a kind of tackle, hooking the ball into Ferguson’s feet. Ferguson spun the ball wide for Doherty, who slipped the ball back for Will Smallbone, whose sweet cross was met by a diving Callum O’Dowda.
The second goal began down Ireland’s right-hand side too, but this time it was Doherty’s cross that the Latvian goalkeeper could only steer to Michael Obafemi on the end line. Obafemi instinctively laid the ball back across goal to be met by WhoElseBut Evan Ferguson, who hooked the ball in from the six-yard box. It was flinty, scrappy, unspectacular and precisely the type of goal Ireland need Ferguson to score.
Teams of Latvia’s level have come to the Aviva before and been made to look like Greece 2004, but Ireland continued to pick them apart with ease. Key to it all was the fabulous Smallbone, who floated off the right-hand touchline, constantly linking with Doherty. It was a convincing audition for the main event against France on Monday.
Ireland had threats elsewhere, and Alan Browne should have done more than shoot tamely at the goalkeeper after he was set clear by Obafemi’s deft, round-the-corner flick.
But with Ireland coasting, the predictable but no less unfathomable happened. Matt Doherty lost the ball on the right flank but there seemed little danger when Roberts Ukdrikis stood with possession 30 yards from goal. But then Caoimhín Kelleher went scrambling across his goal and everyone else saw the net bulge. It was a stunning goal, and a dumbstruck stadium then gave way to applause.
Stephen Kenny has long-since spoken of changing Ireland’s style but he is having more trouble snapping his team out of their own, baffling trends. Few sides have ever done so little to earn complacency.
Ireland blew a two-goal lead against Armenia in September, and they did it again tonight, conceding to yet another strike from outside the box just before half-time. Unlike the first, this was preventable. Ireland flailed about and failed to clear a long free-kick, and when the ball broke to Arturs Zjuzins on the edge of the box…well, you know the rest. His shot flicked off Collins and then skidded off Kelleher’s chest on its way into the net. Kelleher should have kept it out, and with that mistake likely went his hope of replacing Gavin Bazunu against France on Monday.
Ireland come out and spent the first 20 minutes of the second half looking numbed by the equaliser. Nothing of note was achieved until Stephen Kenny made his first trio of changes, and two of them combined to put Ireland back in front within a minute. The first thing Mikey Johnston did when he was introduced was to pounce on a loose ball in midfield and simply run; sprinting directly at the Latvian defence and seeing his shot cannon off the post and across the face of goal. Ferguson wasn’t in the right place but another substitute, Chiedozie Ogbene, was, and couldn’t miss.
Only Johnston prevented the rest of the game ending like a slow puncture, and only a brave block denied him a quicksilver individual goal, cutting in from the touchline and beating two Latvian defenders with one slick move before seeing his shot deflected behind.
Ireland defended a last-minute corner to see out a win that was again filled with encouragement but carrying with it the now-customary, ‘but…’
Republic of Ireland: Caoimhín Kelleher; Andrew Omobamidele (John Egan, 62’), Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea; Matt Doherty (captain) (Chiedozie Ogbene, 62’); Will Smallbone (Jeff Hendrick, 81’), Alan Browne, Jayson Molumby; Callum O’Dowda (James McClean, 76’) Michael Obafemi (Mikey Johnston,62’), Evan Ferguson (Troy Parrott, 72’)
Latvia: Pāvels Šteinbors; Roberts Savaļnieks, Daniels Balodis (Marcis Oss HT), Antonijs Černomordijs, Vladislavs Sorokins; Jānis Ikaunieks (Alvis Jaunzems, 65’), Artūrs Zjuzins (Aleksejs Saveljevis, 71’), Kristers Tobers, Andrejs Ciganiks (Renars Varslavans, 71’); Roberts Uldriķis (Davis Ikaunieks, 81’), Vladislavs Gutkovskis (Raimonds Krollis, 56’)
Referee: Andrei Chivulete (Romania)
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