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IRELAND, ADORNED IN BLUE in recognition of their history, tonight took a lengthy stride toward the future envisaged by Stephen Kenny.
Sometimes it felt like Kenny was the only person who could forsee it: six months ago his side were humbled here by Luxembourg and could only draw with Qatar, and a besieged manager insisted through the stirrings of tears that, “I don’t care what anyone says, I am clear in what I want to do.”
The wait for his first victory might have felt every bit as long as the 100 years tonight’s blue jersey commemorated but, at the end of it all, and in front of a Covid-capped sell-out crowd of 25,749 people, it seems Kenny was very much right.
This was Ireland’s biggest winning margin here since Oman were beaten by the same scoreline in 2016, and it was the biggest win either home or away since, well, Saturday.
But unlike the weekend Callum Robinson did get his hat-trick, with Shane Duffy adding a fourth from a corner. Qatar were admittedly ramshackle but Ireland made them look so.
Plus, they are ranked within Fifa’s top 50 nations, and Ireland have been making heroes of teams outside the top 100 in recent years.
Tonight It took Robinson all of three minutes to score from outside the box: collecting a throw-in, he played a neat one-two with Conor Hourihane on the edge of the box and then let fly, seeing his shot flick off a defender and loop over Meshaal Barsham. Stephen Kenny stumbled in celebration and then pumped his arms to the crowd; Robinson almost ended up in among them.
Ireland started fabulously and didn’t let up as once they had the lead, with the labour of Stephen Kenny’s dark Covid winter finally flourishing.
They pressed Qatar ferociously while moving the ball with slick conviction in a whirring, blurring series of kinetic triangles, leaving their opponents befuddled.
Ogbene should have made it 2-0 shortly after Robinson’s opener but miscued in the six-yard box from a stunning, fizzed Hourihane cross but no matter – the second goal arrived shortly after.
It was, of course, scored by Robinson, as he rolled the ball past Barsham from the penalty spot after Jamie McGrath was fouled by Karim Boudiaf. Robinson became the first Irish player to score in successive games since Jon Walters did so in June 2017, and in doing so ensured Ireland scored more than once in two-straight games since they did so against Oman and Serbia more than five years ago.
Not all Irish starlets at Liverpool make it at Irish senior level – the Qatar physio at tonight’s game, Richie Partridge, is testament to that fact – but tonight Caoimhin Kelleher did make that leap, though it took 15 minutes for him to have his first touch and realise it. Such was the extent of Ireland’s early dominance.
From there some of the pace ebbed from the Irish play but they remained dominant, and Ogbene saw his header from another perfect Robinson cross bounce off the crossbar.
The final quarter of the first half saw Ireland take another notch from the pace of the game and occasionally they again looked too easy to play through in midfield, though the outstanding McGrath appeared in his own penalty area in the first half’s closing stages to ensure Ireland weren’t punished for a rare moment of indolence.
Eight minutes into the second-half, the stats needed an update: now Robinson was the first hat-trick scorer for Ireland since Robbie Keane in 2014, and Ireland had scored three goals in consecutive games for the first time since Noel King’s temporary brief blended into Martin O’Neill’s maiden game eight years ago.
If there is to be a definitive Stephen Kenny goal, then this may have been it. After a lengthy sequence of 38 passes pulled the Qataris this way and that, Robinson arced a run across the Qatari back three and Jeff Hendrick found the right pass, sliding the ball through at the right time for Robinson to slip the ball beneath Barsham.
A fully-fit and confident Robinson is giving Ireland’s play a more improvisational and ultimately effective quality.
Minutes later it was 4-0 by more traditional means as Duffy nodded Hourihane’s corner past Barsham, then approaching the lesser-seen ‘hapless goalkeeper’ status at Lansdowne Road.
Kenny embraced his coaching staff after each of the goals, as unified chants of his name fell from the stands.The goalscorers left to the crowd’s acclaim with 15 minutes to go, replaced by Troy Parrott and Nathan Collins, making his senior debut.
Jeff Hendrick, whose performance deserved a goal, saw a shot fly wide of the near post as the game drew to a close.
The opposition were tired and limited and the game was only a friendly, but take all the caveats into account and you’re still left with something unalienable and slightly thrilling…something is happening here.
Republic of Ireland: Caoimhin Kelleher; Andrew Omobamidele, Shane Duffy (captain) (Nathan Collins, 76′) John Egan; Matt Doherty (Cyrus Christie, HT); Jeff Hendrick, Conor Hourihane (Harry Arter, 87′); Enda Stevens; Jamie McGrath (James Collins, 87′), Callum Robinson (Troy Parrott, 77;); Chiedozie Ogbene (Jason Knight, 68;)
Qatar: Meshaal Barsham; Tarek Salman, Bassam Hisham Alrawi, Abdulkarim Hassan; Pedro Miguel; Karim Boudiaf, Abdelaziz Hatim; Homam Elamin; Hasan Alhaydos (captain), Akraf Afif, Almoez Ali
Referee: Keith Kennedy (Northern Ireland)
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Well done Stephen Kenny ye deserved that.
@Paul Gorry: here here.
@Vonvonic: or even “hear,hear”!
@Desmond Lyons: Yes Des pedantic. Congratulations you genius you. You must be very proud.
@Desmond Lyons: I think that “ here here” is more appropriate given the fact that the game was played in Ireland.
@Vonvonic: here here!
Anyone know how to get unvaccinated?
@Hugh: go down to Limerick City for a weekend and you’ll have the vaccine coming out of your sweat as you get chased!
@Hugh: imagine how many more goals he would have gotten with the vaccine:-)
@Stanley: are you for real with a comment like that? Have you ever even been in Limerick?
Absolutely delighted for Kenny. A great Irish football man who believes in his players. I’ve been involved in the west cork league my whole life. To say that we don’t have guys who can play is only defeatism. We’ve always had super players. Just look at the team tonight; abundant with talent. Come on you Boys in green and F the begrudgers.
@Vonvonic: it’s Qatar mate
@Genera L Consensus: not your mate, mate.
@Genera L Consensus: maybe, but they are ranked above us.
@Genera L Consensus: I wouldn’t usually get involved with a comment like this, but tonight I’ll make an exception. If you can’t enjoy a result like this, you will never enjoy any result Irish ball will give you. Whether it’s Kenny or Pep. We won. We won playing good ball. Enjoy it. We’ve suffered enough. 4 nil at home of a Tuesday? I’ll take it.
@Ronan O’Healy: nail-head
@Vonvonic: Boys in Blue!
Terrible opposition, but I really did enjoy it, 4-0 up in injury time and still keeping the ball.
@Tom kenny: Ranked 7 places above us somehow
@Damien Byrne: Because they’ve played 23 Friendlies in 2 years against farmers
@Hugh: Won the Asian Cup in 2019 and semifinalists in the Concacaf Gold Cup this year. It’s no 2011 Carling Nations Cup or 1986 Iceland Triangular Tournament mind.
Great atmosphere good result come on Ireland!!
Nice jerseys
Jeff Hendrick playing himself into the Saudi’s VIP list. He was a sublime
@Sam Murray: Pirlo in disguise.
@Sam Murray: Best he’s been since 2016. Hopefully he plays like that more consistently going forward
The future’s bright. The future’s, erm, blue
2 great results and a lot of goals! This is what we want and need to see!
I was not a big fan of Kenny but he’s definitely turning me, he deserves more time IMO. Fair play to him and the boys!
Callum Robinson can be a real star for the national team going forward!
@Local Ore: great results, against horrific opposition – pipe down
@Wessss: nothing good to say no?
That headline is a damning indictment of how poor our expectations have become.
@Jonathan Regan: Yeah but but but the headline is spot on Johnathan. It said what’s said on the tin.
COYBIB.
That Robinson seems a monumental thicko – even by normal footballer standards. He couldn’t even explain why he had refused the vaccine.
@Mark Reville: Nobody’s business but his.
@Mark Reville: 5 goals in 2 games. STFU
@Mark Reville: that Mark reville seems like a right knob!!
@Mark Reville: mark Reville seems a monumental thicko-even by normal journal comments standards. But as a professional footballer Robinson has scored 5 goals since last Saturday at international level. Jayus wept mark. I d I o t .
@Mark Reville: he did explain. He has had covid recently so is immune.
@Mark Reville: You’re just being nosy , it’s none of your business why. The “thicko” has scored 5 goals in two games for his country, what have you done recently, apart from being the Covid vaccine police? There is only one thicko & it’s not Robinson.
@john smith iv: Yes, he has caught it on two occasions now so you think he would have more sense. COVID is a virus, like the Flu. Catching it once does not make you immune from catching it again. Only getting vaccinated can prevent that.
@Mark Reville: its worth knowing the vaccine does NOT prevent you from catching covid.
Ah cmon this was a nothing match against a bunch of amateurs from a non-footballing nation who’ve bought their way to hosting a World Cup, it’s a bit rubbish really but at least we’ve had a few wins I suppose.
@Hotirish: no pleaseing some people is there…
@Hotirish: Take the win enjoy the football and stop f-#-$%-ing whinging.
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