ok, here we go Georgia V Ireland 3pm GMT 10am EST 7am PST Questions right now are: Will Robbie travel to Tiblisi? If not, will Duff play up front? Who will find Maiko over there?
Keane out for the Georgia game, should be available for Albania: http://www.ireland.com/sports/soccer/2003/0328/int6.htm
With Duff stupidly looking likely to be put up front, we've basically got to hope for a flukey goal, possibley off a set peice, to try and nick a 1-0 win because it wont be too much better then that, not with that mid field and strikeforce that most people are reporting we'll play.
Amazingly, I will actually be able to see this match thanks to a webcast from Setanta.com for viewers in North America. They are also showing the Croatia v Belgium match later this evening. I must say, I'm nervous. Ireland SHOULD win, but it's going to be tough. Really tough. If every player doesn't play to his best, a 0-0 draw or even possibly a Georgian win as Ireland push forward late is likely. Still, I'm going to be optimistic (for once), and say that the lads have what it takes and will come out with a hard-fought 1-0 victory. Kilbane the scorer.
Ireland lineup (according to RTE) Given Carr Cunningham (capt) Breen O'Shea Carsley Holland Kinsella Kilbane Doherty Duff
I'll do a player by player run down, making them out of ten. Given (6) didn't have alot to do, and would share blame for their goal, but the fault was mainly with the wall looking at the replay. Otherwise he had little to do. Carr (9) Absolutley brilliant through out defencively and going forward, made one mistake where he should have released it earlier, but otherwise nobody got through his side and going forward was a threat, setting Duff up for a sitter he should have scored from with a great cross. O'Shea (8) Also very good defencively and going forward, including a sublime nutmeg. Lost a mark for being the one who gave the free away for the goal, otherwise defencively solid and always a thorn in the opponents side going forward. Breen (7) Had a very good game, espically his fantastic tackle towards the end which could easily have led to an equaliser. Given had little to do which is always a good reflection on the centre halfs. Cunningham (7) Same goes for Cunningham, who coped with the attacking threat very well. The lack of a real clear cut chance for the opponents says it all for the centre halfs. Kilbane (7) Started off very well, looked a treath, but faded after the knife incident. Good industrious preformance by him, and made some good runs. Carsley (7) I thought he played very well, his touch and shot was brilliant for our goal, but a bad miss puts his rating down a bit. Worked very hard and was always making tackles, very good passing and linking with Carr too. Kinsella (4) Yet again our central mid field was our weakest position by far, the Georgians dominated that part of the park and there is just no excuse for that. I'm afraid Kinsella is past it, he was trying, but he was barley noticeble. Holland (5) I was encouraged by his start, making tackles, but then he just vanished. Allowed the mid field to be dominated with little oppisition and when we needed a leader, he was lacking. Captain material? I very much doubt it. Doherty (6) The referee didn't help him, gave him nothing all night, but his overall preformance was still not great. Got marks for his goal though, and also should have won a penalty after a good turn, but overall wasn't brilliant. Duff (8) Probably his best preformance as a striker, but his sitter underlines why he shouldn't be there. Good positioning for the goal, and his shooting and skills were impressive, but he always looked dangerous when drifted out to the wing. Was a bit in and out of the game for me, but that's what you get when you put him up front. Man of the match would goto Carr, we needed someone to drive us forward, our central mid field sure as hell wasn't going to do it so Carr took it on himself, defencively like a rock and inspirational going forward too. For Albania, with Keane back, I'd say drop Kinsella, put the impressive Carsley central, play Duff on the right and Keane upfront. That should mean we'll get more of a grip in mid field and will have the firepower in both full backs, Keane, Duff and even Kilbane to cause damage.
Good win for us, and with Albania beating Russia 3-1, we'll be well back in the picture if we can win on wednesday
I'm afraid I have to disagree with your ratings, Slash, especially in the centre of midfield - how you can say that Kinsella was barely noticeable is beyond me. For my money he was industrious,hard working and he got around a bit, as well as providing a few incisive passes. He was one of the players who stood up when Georgia had their spell in the second half and helped to steady the ship. He impressed me more than he has in any game recently, not least for the amount of ground he covered. Holland, while not being as effective as Kinsella, has also been undersold in your ratings. Georgia definately had control of the midfield for long spells, but IMO that was due more to their numerical superiority (3 central midfielders + a deep forward) than any fault of Kinsella and Holland's. Their play almost invariably broke down once they encountered serious resistence anyway. I'd rate them as follows: Given (7) - Didn't have much to do, and couldn't really be blamed for the goal. Carr (8) - A couple of dodgy moments, but usually managed to recover and atone. Grew in influence as the match progressed, and had a few superb moments on the offensive. Cunningham (7) - Solid, and was never really troubled. Breen (8) - Solid at the back, with one or two crucial challenges to avert shots on Given's goal. Set up Doherty's winner. O'Shea (8) - Like Carr, had a few dodgy moments, but he grew in confidence as the game progressed and started to run the touchline, while still producing well-timed tackles. Gave away the free kick. Carsley (7.5) - Provided a useful outlet on the right, and generally used the ball well whenever he got it. Hit the post in the run up to Duff's goal, and was unlucky not to score himself in the second half. Kinsella (8) - His most effective game in a while, and impressed me (for the reasons above). Holland (7) - Flitted in and out of the game, but did produce some crucial tackles and blocks to redeem himself. Kilbane (7) - Not spectacular, but effective in slowing the black tide. Crossed well for Duff's goal just after having a chance himself, and went on one good run in the second half. Got hit by a knife. Duff (9) - Slash is doing him a disservice, IMO. Didn't play as a conventional striker, but had a free role to wander around the pitch, and did it to great effect. Saw a lot more of the ball than he would have hugging the left touchline, and yet neither was he confined as he was when McCarthy played him forward. Was a constant thorn in the Georgian side, and provided relief for the defence. A very mature performance. Doherty (7.5) - Gave away a lot of free kicks, but a lot of that was also due to the ref's pettiness. Held the ball up well when he wasn't penalised, should have had a blatant penalty, and scored the winner. MOTM - Duff. One goal, one assist, and a constant menace, as well as linking the play up well. He's made that free role a viable option in the future IMO - could come in very useful in away games if Kerr wants Kilbane to keep things tight in midfield. Overall, a very mature and composed team performance. They didn't panic when Georgia equalised, and we were always in control, apart from one or two moments.
Game of opinions and all that, but it's funny, because I pasted exactly what I said here on another message board in a match thread and someone from Norway, where the game was being boradcast live for no apparent reason, said my 5 for Holland was too high! Said he and Kinsella were awful. you just can't win sometimes
was it just me or did anyone else see the georgians take a throw from about 8 feet INSIDE the field of play with about 3 minutes to go and the ref let it stand.
Yeah I rememeber that. It must have been a problem with the touchlines as I am sure O'Shea did the exact same thing in the first half. Or maybe it was the seventh pint going down badly!
Actually, a lot of that had to do with the camera angle. The touchline on that side of the field was faint and the camera angle made it look as if the top of the fence (which was white) was the touchline. So it did look like the actual touch line was well inside the field of play.
I have to agree with Leto's ratings here. How anyone could say that Kinsella was ineffectual and had a poor game is beyond me. I think Slash must be attributing some of his important tackling to Holland, who did indeed flitter in and out - and this is coming from an Ipswich fan. The midfield was only ever in trouble due to being outnumbered at times. The one other point I want to make might raise some objections from people on here. Stephen Carr - magnificent player, there is no other full back in the world I'd pick ahead of him - did not have that brilliant a game in my opinion. Yes going forward he was excellent, but on a number of occasions he left himself in real trouble defensively, a better side than Georgia would have taken advantage of this. Maybe he felt he could take such chances as the opposition was weakish, but I'd be far happier, as would my team of cardiac surgeons, if he was a bit more cautious at times. Defensively, he was the weakest of the back four.