Thursday, September 08, 2005
Sacre Bleu! Bollocks anyway!
Ah feck. They'll be guzzling back the frog's legs in France tonight. Beaten 1-0 by a magic moment from Henry. Probably the only good thing he did all night but that's football for you. Ireland can still qualify for the World Cup but France are in the driving seat and we'll have to hope for a play-off spot. Losing Keane, Reid and Morrisson through suspension doesn't help though as they miss the next game against Cyprus. Still, we must keep hope alive. I thought I'd rate the performance of the Irish players in tonight's game. So without further ado:
Shay Given (8/10) - Didn't have that much to do, although he did make a wonder save to keep out a free kick from Zidane. I don't fault him for Henry's goal.
Stephen Carr (6/10) - Not a great game and didn't do much attacking-wise which is presumably why he's in the team ahead of Steve Finnan.
Richard Dunne (6/10) - Had a bad start to the game with Henry causing him problems. Did better as the game went on but should have closed Henry down for the goal.
Kenny Cunningham (7/10) - The captain was Ireland's best defender on the night and kept tackling right until the final whistle. Solid display.
John O'Shea (5/10) - Gave the ball away far too often and looked exposed at the back. Not his greatest display in a green shirt.
Andy Reid (6/10) - Showed alot of heart and spirit and had perhaps Ireland's best chance with a free kick, but his distribution was not as good as it should have been and he rarely threatened. He also got himself booked for a stupid challenge and misses the game against Cyprus.
Roy Keane (9/10) - Alot was made of the battles he would have on the pitch, Keane won the battles...but France won the war. Keane had a dogged display and was quick to close down Zidane and Vieira. A pity that his teammates couldn't match his performance.
Kevin Kilbane (4/10) - Terrible game. Passing was poor, tackling was atrocious. As the pundits said in the studio, Keane was left all alone in the middle of the park.
Damien Duff (6/10) - Not his best game. Never really had a chance to have a go at the French defense. The French did their homework on him and never gave him enough space. Showed glimpses of the magic but nothing more. Disapointing.
Clinton Morrisson (6/10) - Showed alot of passion and got stuck in early in the match. Had two good goal-scoring chances but didn't get either on target.
Robbie Keane (6/10) - Worked hard but didn't really have alot of chances. Service to him was poor, in fairness. Had a strike on target from way out and also had a penalty appeal rightly turned down.
Subs:
Ian Harte (6/10) - Brought on late. Couldn't exactly make a mark on the game.
Gary Doherty (4/10) - Why he is even in the team is a mystery. Was shoved on in the last ten minutes as Ireland played route one football. He looked out of his depth. He is.
Manager:
Brian Kerr (6/10) - I think he got it wrong tactically tonight. France were there for the taking but we didn't go at them in the way we did against Holland in 2001. We didn't test them enough. His substitutions at the end were poor also. Doherty is not good enough to be a striker, never mind playing against the French! He should not have replaced Morrisson. A far better substitution for the last ten minutes would have been to take Kilbane off and put on Stephen Elliott and switch it to a 4-3-3 which is what they tried in the last game against Italy. At least that way we would have had three strikers on the pitch as opposed to one striker and one defender who thinks he's a striker! With that being said, I'm not calling for Kerr's head. The group isn't over yet.
Overall, it was a bad night. It was harsh to lose the game when both sides seemed so even but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and congratulate a moment of magic and that's what Henry's goal was. World Class. Unfortunately.
On another note, well done to the NI team for beating England. I've always felt the England team is way overrated with all this guff about winning the World Cup next year etc. When they're up against teams who bring the fight to them, as the battling Danes did a few months back, they look average. I imagine the North's players showed plenty of passion on Wednesday and clearly their spirit is far superior to their English counterparts. I imagine the only people happier than the North's fans right now are the British tabloid journalists. Poor Sven!
So, in closing, well done to the French team. You beat us. But just remember this France - there's one thing you'll never ever be able to beat us at - hurling. Not even you guys can qualify for that...
Shay Given (8/10) - Didn't have that much to do, although he did make a wonder save to keep out a free kick from Zidane. I don't fault him for Henry's goal.
Stephen Carr (6/10) - Not a great game and didn't do much attacking-wise which is presumably why he's in the team ahead of Steve Finnan.
Richard Dunne (6/10) - Had a bad start to the game with Henry causing him problems. Did better as the game went on but should have closed Henry down for the goal.
Kenny Cunningham (7/10) - The captain was Ireland's best defender on the night and kept tackling right until the final whistle. Solid display.
John O'Shea (5/10) - Gave the ball away far too often and looked exposed at the back. Not his greatest display in a green shirt.
Andy Reid (6/10) - Showed alot of heart and spirit and had perhaps Ireland's best chance with a free kick, but his distribution was not as good as it should have been and he rarely threatened. He also got himself booked for a stupid challenge and misses the game against Cyprus.
Roy Keane (9/10) - Alot was made of the battles he would have on the pitch, Keane won the battles...but France won the war. Keane had a dogged display and was quick to close down Zidane and Vieira. A pity that his teammates couldn't match his performance.
Kevin Kilbane (4/10) - Terrible game. Passing was poor, tackling was atrocious. As the pundits said in the studio, Keane was left all alone in the middle of the park.
Damien Duff (6/10) - Not his best game. Never really had a chance to have a go at the French defense. The French did their homework on him and never gave him enough space. Showed glimpses of the magic but nothing more. Disapointing.
Clinton Morrisson (6/10) - Showed alot of passion and got stuck in early in the match. Had two good goal-scoring chances but didn't get either on target.
Robbie Keane (6/10) - Worked hard but didn't really have alot of chances. Service to him was poor, in fairness. Had a strike on target from way out and also had a penalty appeal rightly turned down.
Subs:
Ian Harte (6/10) - Brought on late. Couldn't exactly make a mark on the game.
Gary Doherty (4/10) - Why he is even in the team is a mystery. Was shoved on in the last ten minutes as Ireland played route one football. He looked out of his depth. He is.
Manager:
Brian Kerr (6/10) - I think he got it wrong tactically tonight. France were there for the taking but we didn't go at them in the way we did against Holland in 2001. We didn't test them enough. His substitutions at the end were poor also. Doherty is not good enough to be a striker, never mind playing against the French! He should not have replaced Morrisson. A far better substitution for the last ten minutes would have been to take Kilbane off and put on Stephen Elliott and switch it to a 4-3-3 which is what they tried in the last game against Italy. At least that way we would have had three strikers on the pitch as opposed to one striker and one defender who thinks he's a striker! With that being said, I'm not calling for Kerr's head. The group isn't over yet.
Overall, it was a bad night. It was harsh to lose the game when both sides seemed so even but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and congratulate a moment of magic and that's what Henry's goal was. World Class. Unfortunately.
On another note, well done to the NI team for beating England. I've always felt the England team is way overrated with all this guff about winning the World Cup next year etc. When they're up against teams who bring the fight to them, as the battling Danes did a few months back, they look average. I imagine the North's players showed plenty of passion on Wednesday and clearly their spirit is far superior to their English counterparts. I imagine the only people happier than the North's fans right now are the British tabloid journalists. Poor Sven!
So, in closing, well done to the French team. You beat us. But just remember this France - there's one thing you'll never ever be able to beat us at - hurling. Not even you guys can qualify for that...
# posted by United Irelander @ 1:27 AM 
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