Sometimes in football you make a good decision that ends up looking like a bad one. Martin O’Neill made two big calls last night and if the 1-1 result was ultimately frustrating, at least Ireland are now taking a more enterprising route towards frustration.
O'Neill's big decisions on the night were to choose Shay Given ahead of David Forde and Robbie Brady at left back.
O’Neill was asked before the game why he’d gone for Given over Forde, since the incumbent goalkeeper hadn’t made any mistakes.
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“I’ve gone for experience in this sort of game, that’s all,” he said. Maybe Forde, who played so well in the 1-1 away to Germany, had paid the price for his club’s poor recent form – Millwall are without a win in nine Championship games and Forde has had to pick the ball out of the net 16 times.
Given, meanwhile, had sat out most of Aston Villa’s games but played well in their run to the FA Cup semi-finals. The decision in the end was brutal: O’Neill thinks Given is the better goalkeeper. But the choice was not without risk for the Ireland manager. He was trusting that Given’s big-match temperament is a quality that doesn’t rust.
If O'Neill prioritised experience in goal, his selection of Brady was saying something different. Marc Wilson, as a natural defender, was the safer option at left back, with Richard Keogh coming into the team in central defence alongside John O'Shea.
Keogh has fewer international caps than Brady but has played nearly four times as many professional games. By going with Brady, O’Neill was taking a risk. Brady is no defender but he had given a devastating performance in the friendly against the USA last November.
Giovanni Trapattoni would always have gone with the more experienced defensive option. But Trapattoni's aversion to risk was one of the reasons why Ireland struggled to win home games during his tenure. Brady's selection was a gamble that said O'Neill was going for the win.
After 15 minutes, Brady was robbed by Slawomir Peszko after trying to dribble past the Polish winger with most of his team-mates having already advanced beyond him into the Polish third. He got away with it that time. But as Brady was about to learn, you’ll be lucky to get away with two mistakes in international football.
On 26 minutes, pinned back by Polish pressure, Brady turned and played a pass back inside towards Wilson that was just a little bit too casual. Wilson, slightly wrong-footed, was caught by the onrushing Maciej Rybus, and as the two tussled for possession Peszko swooped opportunistically on the loose ball and hammered a fierce shot across Given and inside the far post.
Bad mistake
Brady’s mistake had cost Ireland a goal, and by the logic of scoreboard journalism the manager’s gamble had already backfired. Now the match had become an ordeal for Ireland’s young left back. At every set piece, the crowd’s attention focused on him. His first corner after the mistake was a bad one. There followed a free-kick that was also below his usual standards.
But Brady kept looking for the ball. On 43 minutes, he advanced, cut inside and chipped a pass to Aiden McGeady in the box whose turn and chip was the best bit of football Ireland played in the first half.
At half-time O’Neill had a decision to make. Did he cut his losses on Brady, or give him the chance to redeem himself? Considering the likely fatal consequences of another defensive error, it must have been tempting to get the young man out of there. But taking Brady off would also deprive Ireland of the left-footed crossing ability that is one of the side’s few real attacking weapons.
O’Neill kept the faith, and Brady reappeared for the second half. Within a minute he’d fired over a cross that passed just over the head of Jon Walters at the far post. Another whipped ball was inadvertently diverted on to the woodwork by Lukas Szukala. As the half developed, Brady’s left side was the source of most of Ireland’s most dangerous moments. On 72 minutes he crossed for Robbie Keane, whose header bounced back off the base of the post, the closest Ireland had yet come to a goal. Brady was gradually repaying his manager’s faith.
O’Neill had sent on James McClean to replace McGeady, and on 73 minutes he flattened Arkadiusz Milik with the kind of challenge the young forward has not experienced too many times in the Dutch league. Milik departed the scene soon afterwards, in a substitution that sounded unpopular with the Polish fans. O’Shea and Wilson had kept him under control.
As the match ticked into the last quarter-hour it was all happening in Poland’s half. The Poles were getting nervous, dropping too deep in the manner Ireland often do when trying to protect a lead. Yet an Irish goal looked unlikely. The best chance came on 82 minutes, as McClean crossed from the left, and Keane left it for Coleman running in at the far post. The Everton man slashed a wild shot high and wide.
O'Neill gambled again as Shane Long replaced Glenn Whelan. One early involvement saw him run down the right but miscontrol the ball. This sort of touch is the reason why Keane is still in the team.
But Long is nothing if not persistent, and his moment wasn’t far away. The stadium announcer had just announced there would be five minutes of injury time when Brady slung over a high, hanging corner.
The ball fell beyond the far post to Wes Hoolahan, who prodded a quick pass towards Long, moving into a pocket of space in the crowded six-yard box. He made no mistake with the finish.
Long needed that goal almost as much as Ireland did. Avoiding defeat at the last means Ireland’s qualification chances are still alive. But only just.
