Ireland v Cyprus

[lynchbhoy]

I'm here in the Gresham at the moment no sign of the other two gimps!

was that you carrying a gola bag ?
I was on the phone and then Tony arrived after a wee while

[magpie seanie]

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 ? !!

O'Shea had a good game and got through a fair bit of work too so go easy. He got a lot of unjustified criticism for mixed performances for Ireland so when he's doing his job give him a bit of credit. Dunne's second half was savage alright. Its great comfort for Dunne though when he's going for a tough ball to know he has a good partner with him for a change. A bit like the Vidic/Ferdinand combo at United. There's no point in the two of them going for the same ball.

[donalmac99]

lets not beat around the bush, this performance was no where near good enough. It was a very unconvincing win against 'minnows'
I had ten euros on a 5-0 win. It's a disgrace, Gibson was awful, out of his depth and never in the game. As i've stated before  he is not good enough for this level, he is a League 1 player at best. On a plus side, Doyle was superb....just a pity idiots like Gibson can manage to trail the whole side down to his pathetic level, why oh f**king why did the p***k not choose the North.
Ah well, 3 points is 3 points I guess .

[full back]

Fcuk off night owl belfast owl

[donalmac99]

Fcuk off night owl belfast owl

I'll miss you when you're suspended 

[full back]

Why would I be suspended?

Who is belfast owl?? Who am I talking to? 

[the Deel Rover]

Is my memory playing tricks on me or did Dunphy not get on the same when Charlton dropped Liam Brady for Euro '88?

was thinking the same thing myself it was like deja vu . Is Reid even starting for Sunderland now ? i never heard Dunphy rating hime so highly before actually seem to recall him giving out about his condition. Did ye see apres match afterwards thought it was excellent

[Hardy]

I don't follow this stuff much any more, but I said to the Mrs when Dunphy was eulogising Trapattoni on his appointment "give it three qualifier matches".

Right on cue. He's great entertainment, though.

Oh and I assume it's not permittted to post about the "Republic of" Ireland team without mentioning Andy Reid.

So - Andy Reid.

[turk]

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.

Agree 100% Seanie.

People seem to forget Andy Reid played the 90 minutes against Cyprus in the last campaign and was useless! At least we don't have swarms of lads running through the midfield. Reid probably deserves a run off the bench at some stage, but the clamouring for his inclusion is nonsense.

[RealSpiritof98]

No harm lads, was out coaching minor hurlers last night and came in and watched the second half, think i fell asleep, it was dire stuff. Just glad I was out game for the 1st half and after watching that it just re-enforced my desire to further the small ball up here in the north.

P.s I still love Man utd though. 

[T Fearon]

Happy enough with last night. Team showed good energy, lots of shots on goal a few near misses alright, but Cyprus are no mugs, and we are second in the group. Best soccer game Ive seen in Croke Park to date

Thought Gibson had a very solid game, well built in the Keane mould,and resembled Neil Lennon in style, breaking down moves, always available for the pass and used the ball well.

Good old yarn and a pint with Lynchboy before the game as well

[ziggysego]

Good old yarn and a pint with Lynchboy before the game as well

Why did the both of you ditch LL?

[lynchbhoy]

I think its a team still finding its way under a new manager and we have been a tad lucky thus far.
However Trap sets out his side to not concede goals and it was through two mistakes that Ireland were almost caught.
Cyprus were slicker more skilful and played nice passing football, but did nothing in the final third of the field.
Ireland had an unspectacular but effective central partnership in the middle of midfield. Tackled , harried, won ball passed it away first time. Thats all they were required to do. We dont want them attemting to play with the flair they dont posess.
Thats what those tow wing men are for, and when Duff and McGeady got going - they really looked good. Duff almost back to his absolute blinding best, McGeady starting to shake off his lack of confidence and losing he ball less and less as he grows into this team.
All the good things came out of the 'striking four' - Duff, Keane, McGeady and the sensational doyle (he will def be snapped up in Jan by a bigger epl/euro club).
Central defence were great, given great and the two full backs tried hard but are not natural full backs and will always be on th eback foot because of this. Did far more positive things than bad though.
Ireland need to concentrate on finding an outlet for the ball instead of hoofing it up the field , retaining posession and working space for the two wing men will eventually turn this Irish side from a potentially good if not shaky team, into a potent counter attacking unit.
Andy reid (obligitory mention) does not fit into Traps plans ,as he wants two grafter tackler types in the centre - Stephen Reid does that and can also pass the ball fantastically well. Look forward to his return in the Iris side. Stephen Ireland would prob not get a game under Trap if he wishes to retain this system. However as time goes on and the team improve, he might look to replace whelan
with A.Reid or Ireland (when he declares for us again next season).

Italy found cyprus hard to beat and were rather fortunate to ecape with a lucky 1-0 win.
Last time Ireland played cyprus in croker, we were lucky to get a 1-1 draw.
Last night we should have won far more comfortably in spite of never really getting fully into our stride.
I think the future looks positive for Ireland.

Enjoyed a pint with Mr Fearon before the match, he is a soft spoken mild mannered chappie, and def not the megolomaniac people berate him on this board for supposedly being.
Poor chap didnt hardly get a word in edgeways - Sorry Tony, will allow you to talk more next time !
Thankfully we remained well hidden from that Laois fecker !

[magpie seanie]

Why did the both of you ditch LL?

Are you serious?

[Main Street]

Can't believe that LL could have failed to spot ye.
He must have forgotten to take out his earplugs.

Good win, could have done with a second, can always do with a second.
Gibson did well enough for a starting debut in such an important game.
Both him and Whelan would need a more experienced head beside them but they held the line unflinchingly, Cyprus did not get through the middle, unlike our last 2 performances against them.

Great to have Duff back and McGeady had his best game for us. We need Finnan.