From this point on, each World Cup Qualifying match gets bigger and bigger. Next up is top-seed Wales in Dublin on March 24th. I genuinely think that Wales have better players than us at present: Bale; Ramsey; Allen; Williams; Hennessy... If we don't work hard they could cause serious damage. We look particularly light up front , especially if Shane Long is short of match fitness, and at centre back as well. That said, Ireland have started the campaign very well, and a positive result here will give up a tremendous chance of getting out of the group. Hoping for a win, but a draw wouldn't be the end of the world. Here's the preliminary squad (will be trimmed before the players assemble in Dublin), Nice to see some new faces! Colin Doyle (Bradford City), Rob Elliot (Newcastle United), Darren Randolph (West Ham United), Keiren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday); Seamus Coleman (Everton), Cyrus Christie, Richard Keogh, Alex Pearce (all Derby County), Paul McShane (Reading), Andy Boyle (Preston North End), John O’Shea (Sunderland), Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United), John Egan (Brentford), Stephen Ward (Burnley), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers); Aiden McGeady, Daryl Horgan (both Preston North End), Glenn Whelan (Stoke City), James McCarthy (Everton), Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady (both Burnley), David Meyler (Hull City), Liam Kelly (Reading), Darron Gibson (Sunderland), Harry Arter (Bournemouth), Eunan O’Kane (Leeds United), Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Stephen Gleeson (Birmingham City), Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City), Anthony Pilkington (Cardiff City), Callum O’Dowda (Bristol City), Jonathan Hayes (Aberdeen), James McClean (West Bromwich Albion); Kevin Doyle (Colorado Rapids), Shane Long (Southampton), David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town), Daryl Murphy (Newcastle United), Adam Rooney (Aberdeen), Jonathan Walters (Stoke City).
Starting to look like a bit of an injury crisis. We'll be missing Hoolahan, Arter, McCarthy (probably), Clark, and others. Wales, meanwhile, will have all key their players fit and ready. Here are the players left standing: Darren Randolph, Keiren Westwood, Colin Doyle; Seamus Coleman, Cyrus Christie, Richard Keogh, Alex Pearce, John O'Shea, Andy Boyle, John Egan, Stephen Ward; Aiden McGeady, Glenn Whelan, James McCarthy, Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady, Conor Hourihane, David Meyler, Eunan O'Kane, James McClean, Jonathan Hayes, Daryl Horgan, Callum O'Dowda; Jonathan Walters, Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, Kevin Doyle
An ultimately frustrating 0-0 draw. We'll only remember it for the Taylor's horror tackle on Coleman. Had you offered me the draw before a ball was kicked, I would have taken it. The team was clearly picked to stop Wales playing, at a cost of sacrificing any creativity ourselves. Wales were marginally better until the sending off, but after they went down to ten men it seemed just a matter of time before Ireland scored. In the end we ran out of time. We're still well-placed in the group. So much will depend on Serbia's visit to Dublin in September. I'd love to think we can win the group from here, but a playoff is far more likely in my opinion. As it stands, we would be seeded (essential in avoiding Italy/Portugal/etc), but a lot can change there. On to tomorrow night, when we should see some new faces get their first taste of international football.