Ireland v Cyprus

[Tankie]

Anyone know what the attendance was tonight? i heard this morning on the radio that they had 60k+ sold.

[The Real Laoislad]

Anyone know what the attendance was tonight? i heard this morning on the radio that they had 60k+ sold.

Yeah was only bout that, still around 25k more than would have fit in Landsdowne all the same 

[Tankie]

Anyone know what the attendance was tonight? i heard this morning on the radio that they had 60k+ sold.

Yeah was only bout that, still around 25k more than would have fit in Landsdowne all the same 

Just got the official attendance and it was only 53,500, poor enough really!

[BallyhaiseMan]

Very little of Hill 16 was full, or was that all given to the Cypriots?

The Novelty has worn off

Cant see anymore than 50K for any of the other games with the exception of the Italy and maybe the Bulgarian game.

[The Real Laoislad]

Anyone know what the attendance was tonight? i heard this morning on the radio that they had 60k+ sold.

Yeah was only bout that, still around 25k more than would have fit in Landsdowne all the same 

Just got the official attendance and it was only 53,500, poor enough really!

Not really when you consider apart from Man U and Arsenal most Premier League clubs get up to 45k
Yes it was down on normal games but €70 a ticket is a lot these days and a lot of people who normally go might not be able afford it now

[kickingmule]

Always one who has too chip in with the get this shite out of Croker line...Would ye ever get over it 

there's more than one son ... you need a soh. to watch that crap!!!

[The Real Laoislad]

Always one who has too chip in with the get this shite out of Croker line...Would ye ever get over it 

there's more than one son ... you need a soh. to watch that crap!!!

I'm not your son
Whats a soh 
And don't watch it if you don't like it

[The Real Laoislad]

The match might have been poor but I was happy with my nights work 

[Norf Tyrone]

Dunphy overdid the ould mickey fit he had. The team is playing with committment and passion and they are elements that were completely absent in recent years. The way lads are going on you'd swear Andy Reid was Pele! Yes - he should be in the team and I would say he will be if the workrate he allegedly showed against Arsenal is replicated week in week out. Its all about workrate and I'll settle for that. The amount of running Kevin Doyle was an embarrassment to his fellow professionals. Never knocked a feather out of him either, still flying at the end. For all that Whelan and Gibson may have lacked we were not cut up by the Cypriots. Dunne was immense - a guy who was criticised harshly early in his career and who got his act together to become a top player. Fair play to him.

So not brilliant but things are going in the right direction. Plenty to work on but loads to build on too. Results are the most important thing and the team has 7 points from a possible 9. We are capable of taking something of the Italians too so it could be a good campaign.

Totally agree with that re Dunne Magpie. I have never seen a footballer turn an average ability into a very impressive career as well as he has. He is no Messi but he provides one thing that all fans- well me anyhow- love......heart and effort. Great block at the end tonight.

[Rav67]

The sad thing about Dunphy's rants is that a lot of idiots seem to listen to take on board the crap he comes out with.  Trap should be immune from criticism they way he's turned Ireland around.  Not an outstanding display but I didn't expect more than a one-goal win, with Bulgaria drawing Ireland sitting nicely in second now with a few points to spare.  

[kickingmule]

thank f**k for that!!!

whats a  soh.  .... haha!!! ... for  sure you ain't  got one anyway ....  

[dodo]

As stated above, good result but not a performance to shout about. Scoring in the first few minutes should of set us up for a comfortable win against a limited Cypriot side. These lads supposedly should have beat the Italians (world cup champions) in Cyprus so it just goes to show that there are actually very few sides about that are way above the rest.
Given very good as usual, had to make one save that he didn't know a lot about when he was hit with a shot. Dunne was very good and stands up all the time to take responsibility. How can he be so busy and his partner O'Shea on the other hand is hard to notice for long periods of the match ? !!
Kilbane did very well, tackled soundly and linked up well with Duff. McShane was poor, will be poor and is just not up to this level.
Gibson and Whelan had a mixed evening, little composure at times but wouldn't complain about either too much as they are short of regular competitive gametime. Duff was very good, had the beating of his markers, drew frees and worked hard right through. McGeady mixed the good with the bad, beating his man and then giving possession away. Made a few good breaks and had one rasper of a shot saved. Will get better I feel.
Kevin Doyle worked tirelessly all night, tackled and harried winning back possession at times and kept the Cyprus defense busy. Won many flick ons and was an effective target man. Had a shot well saved in the second half too. Robbie Keane scored his 35th goal for Ireland but still was on the periphery for much of the match. If he doesn't get ball to feet he is a frustrating/frustrated player.
The big positives besides the 3 points are that Finnan will come back in at right back and Steven Reid at midfield which should make a big difference.
€70 for a ticket is damn expensive I think, manys a comment about pricey GAA tickets at championship time on this website.

[kickingmule]

sssshhh ..... 

[The Gs Man]

McGeady does my tits in sometimes.  He does a magical bit of skill one minute and the next minute he's running straight into a player or tripping over himself.  Thought he was poor enough last night.

As for Dunphy, saying that he needed Giles to back him up because everybody else thought he was nuts was comedy gold.  I thought Giles was gonna cry at one stage when he thought Dunphy was accusing him of backing down.  Some craic!

[The Watcher Pat]

McGeady does my tits in sometimes.  He does a magical bit of skill one minute and the next minute he's running straight into a player or tripping over himself.  Thought he was poor enough last night.

As for Dunphy, saying that he needed Giles to back him up because everybody else thought he was nuts was comedy gold.  I thought Giles was gonna cry at one stage when he thought Dunphy was accusing him of backing down.  Some craic!

Yeh does my tits in too!  He actually got man of the match in the Daily Mirror....Loses the ball far too easily for my liking...They went for the break at the wrong time on RTE...Dunphy and Giles were warming up nicely...You could actually hear them still going as the break was starting!