2022 World Cup Qualifying Group A: Republic of Ireland 0 Portugal 0
From Brendan Crossan in Dublin
IF there is such a thing as a glorious nil-all draw, then this was it in Dublin last night. To a man, the Irish played the shirts off their backs to deny Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in what was easily their best display under manager Stephen Kenny.
It was the kind of performance that absolutely silenced the manager’s lingering critics and what he’s trying to achieve with this work-in-progress Republic of Ireland team in difficult times.
Holding Portugal is no mean feat. Desperately unlucky to lose in Faro back in September, the Irish might have nicked all three points last night when Matt Doherty’s late ‘goal’ was disallowed - but, as far as job satisfaction goes, there was plenty of it for the coaching staff and players to enjoy.
Reduced to 10 men towards the end of last night’s qualifier when veteran defender Pepe was given a second yellow card for a flailing arm into the face of Callum Robinson, the home side turned the Portuguese into a bag of nerves at times.
That said, Ronaldo still could have won it for the visitors with a hat-trick of chances in the second half, but the Irish were full value for their point as they look to round off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a win against Luxembourg on Sunday.
A draw wasn’t the end of the world for Portugal, though, as a share of the spoils at home to Serbia on Sunday night will be enough for them to automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Chiedozie Ogbene got the nod ahead of Adam Idah, the only slight surprise in Kenny’s starting line-up, with Enda Stevens getting in ahead of James McClean who performed well in the wing-back position in the Sheffield United man’s absence, while the evergreen Seamus Coleman returned after injury.
Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, Portugal’s leading goal-scorer in this campaign, was held in reserve in Dublin last night with RB Leipzig’s Andre Silva and Ronaldo floating across the front line, ably assisted by Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes.
Played in front of a capacity crowd, a large swathe of the Irish support were probably enticed by the presence of the watching the great Ronaldo in the flesh.
The Manchester United striker got the kind of welcome reminiscent of Marc Overmars back in 2001 when Roy Keane clattered into the back of the Dutchman in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road.
Only last night they kept leaving a bit on Ronaldo for the entire night. The Irish players seemed to take it in turns to put the striker out of his stride.
Coleman had a nibble of the great man’s ankles in the opening seconds, big Shane Duffy tried to exchange jerseys midway through the first half, Matt Doherty made an untidy challenge into the back of the Portuguese superstar, leaving him in a painful heap.
That’s the way it played out for CR7 with each hefty challenge greeted by the Green Army like a goal to their team.
Credit, though, to Ronaldo, he still got himself into a great position in the 17th minute but his angled shot from 12 yards was superbly blocked by Coleman.
This shameless disrespect the Irish players displayed towards their illustrious visitors was, in many ways, tactical perfection.
Portugal were sufficiently ruffled with Ronaldo throwing his arms in the air on umpteen occasions, not just at Ireland’s muscular approach but to Bruno Fernandes who hit him with the ball which ended another promising attack in the first half.
But there was more to the home side’s approach than merely trying to physically and mentally demoralise Portugal’s leader.
The Irish played a smart game. A core principle of Stephen Kenny’s philosophy is for his players to trust themselves and each other in possession, and that the days of kicking the ball 70 yards up the field and strikers wasting priceless energy are over.
It was no coincidence, too, that front pair Callum Robinson and Ogbene looked fresh as daisies when they gained possession because they hadn’t spent the previous chunk of the game running after lost causes.
Robinson looked every bit the striker who had bagged five goals in his previous two games and although it took him a while to settle, Ogbene was more than holding his own against PSG’s central defender Danilo and beat him in a memorable foot race.
The Irish showed nerve to play out from the back and through the lines, and as the game progressed the visitors really had to work for their chances.
In the 67th minute, Andre Silva found Ronaldo with a brilliant cross from the right but his header missed the target by inches.
At the other end Enda Stevens ghosted in for a chance after super approach play from Ogbene.
With 12 minutes remaining, Ronaldo’s curling effort from the inside left position just missed the far post and a few minutes later Pepe’s indiscretion and red card drew rapturous applause from the 50,000 crowd.
Debutant Will Keane was adjudged to have fouled ‘keeper Rui Patricio as Matt Doherty planted the ball in the net before Gavin Bazunu – fast becoming a national hero – denied Ronaldo in the dying seconds.
Josh Cullen, Robinson, Coleman, Duffy and Ogbene were arguably the pick of the Irish bunch.
The Irish tried at times to kick Ronaldo out of the Irish capital last night but he showed true grit by going close on three occasions and displayed plenty of class at the end when he embraced a young Irish fan who escaped the steward cordon and gave her his sweat-drenched jersey.
Stephen Kenny's Ireland well and truly experienced lift-off in Dublin last night.
Republic of Ireland ratings
Gavin Bazunu: Incredible ascension since Darren Randolph opted out of a couple of camps and looks unbelievably assured. Some of his restarts were a little hairy but wasn’t extended apart from denying Ronaldo in injury-time. 7
Seamus Coleman: Let Ronaldo know from the opening seconds he was in a game and made a brilliant block to deny the Manchester United striker a certain goal. Won several duels against Ronaldo. 8
Shane Duffy: The big Derryman played like Franz Beckenbauer last night. Always looked for the short pass rather than the traditional punt, the Brighton man answered a few critics about his ability to play out from the back. Solid. 8
John Egan: A couple of small blips and had a lot of grass to cover down his flank in the second half but a decent night defensively. 6
Matt Doherty: Brilliant shift down the right flank. Lucky to get away with a clattering challenge into the back of Ronaldo in the first half that could have been a penalty. Assured in everything he did. Up there with his best performance against Denmark a couple of years back. 8
Enda Stevens: Offers great width to the Irish attack and actually ghosted into the penalty area midway through the second half and could have scored. His run shows the licence he’s been given to attack under Kenny. 6.5
STAR MAN: Josh Cullen: His best game for Ireland. Just got better as the game developed and was brilliant at breaking up Portugal attacks and playing simple passes left and right. Never panicked when in tight spaces. Best midfielder on display. 8
Jeff Hendrick: More evidence of his rebirth under Stephen Kenny. Lost all the tentativeness previously in his play. His passing was assured and wasn’t afraid to take risks with the ball. 7
Jamie McGrath: All the play was down the other flank so you could have counted the touches the St Mirren man got in the opening half. Chased back and forth to keep the home side’s high press in good shape before being withdrawn on 61 minutes. 6
Callum Robinson: Goals change the gait of strikers – and the West Brom striker carried himself as one of the leaders of this Irish team. Had a couple of efforts on goal, won free-kicks and his touch play was assured. 8
Chiedozie Ogbene: Took a while to settle but was so brave in his play. Put Danilo under a serious amount of stress and was completely unfazed by the occasion. Good choice by the manager to start him. 8
Subs:
Adam Idah: Held the ball up well and looked sharp. 6
James McClean: Offered energy down the left flank. 6.5
Conor Hourihane: Heavily involved and passed well. 6
Will Keane: The debut man. Was harshly adjudged to have fouled Rui Patricio that saw Doherty put the ball in the net. 6
