European Championship 2020 Qualifying Group D: Denmark 1 Republic of Ireland 1
IF you’re going to draw with the Danes you might as well entertain the crowd while doing it. The last time the Irish were in Copenhagen, Martin O’Neill’s men ‘parked the bus’ and made sure a football match never broke out.
Last night’s Euro 2020 Qualifier was a far cry from that drab scoreless draw in the Danish capital 19 months ago.
Mick McCarthy rolled the dice – and it paid off.
A late equalising goal from the head of Shane Duffy sent the Green Army into raptures after it looked as though Ireland’s brave attempt at playing the Danes at football was going to end in a narrow defeat.
Substitute Pierre Emile Hojbjerg’s stooping header that flashed past Darren Randolph in the 76th minute looked every bit the winning goal – until Duffy popped up with a dramatic equaliser with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Given the bravery of Ireland’s approach, a share of the spoils was just about a fair result as McCarthy’s men look ahead to hosting Gibraltar in Dublin on Monday night.
The Ireland manager had the rare luxury of being able to select the same starting XI that negotiated a narrow win over Georgia back in March, with Robbie Brady perhaps under the greatest threat of losing his place to Matt Doherty, who was held in reserve.
Glenn Whelan was tasked with anchoring midfield as well as trying to keep a close watch on Denmark’s creator-in-chief and Real Madrid target Christian Eriksen.
There were no surprises in the hosts’ line-up either as veteran coach Age Hareide started with seven of the side that drew a blank against the Republic when the sides last played in the Danish capital in November 2017.
Adding more quality to the Danish midfield last night was Ajax’s midfield technician Lasse Schone, the best player on the pitch in the Nations League meeting between the sides seven months ago, which finished scoreless and turned out to be Martin O’Neill’s last game in charge.
From the first minute of last night’s Qualifier there was indeed a palpable sense of regime change in Irish ranks with the visitors playing higher up the field than O’Neill’s side ever attempted to do in their four meetings over a 19-month period.
To see Conor Hourihane and James McClean crash into Danish midfielder Schone in his own half in the opening seconds was a clear statement of intent.
The Republic definitely weren’t here to ‘park the bus’. Ireland’s ambition, however, seemed to be slightly too giddy in the opening 20 minutes as Whelan was left to look after Eriksen on his own, which was a big ask of the 35-year-old.
As the half wore on Hourihane moved off Schone and parked himself closer to Whelan to deny the danger man space.
Eriksen came closest to breaking the first-half deadlock when his spinning free-kick was turned around the upright by Darren Randolph.
Set pieces were Ireland’s best hope too when Shane Duffy made a nuisance of himself from a wicked Hourihane centre which caused some angst among the home supporters.
The best player of the first half by a country mile was Ireland’s central defender Duffy whose impeccable positional sense blocked Martin Braithwaite’s goal-bound drive and later his incisive tackle denied Eriksen the opportunity of picking his spot.
McCarthy’s men had good periods of possession in the opening 45 minutes without threatening Jasper Schmeichel’s goal. More importantly, they didn’t concede space to the Danes, pressing high and did a decent job of upsetting their rhythm.
The home support engaged in the ‘Mexican Wave’ before the break, which is usually a sign the game isn’t holding their interest.
Tired limbs more than anything saw a looser, more open second half with the Danes going close to opening the scoring on 54 minutes.
Yussuf Poulsen, a constant danger all night, slipped through on the blind side of the Irish defence. He left Duffy on his back-side but Randolph was like a human wall and his razor-sharp left hand kept it scoreless.
The tireless James McClean saw his angled drive saved while David McGoldrick was unlucky with a glancing header that breezed over Denmark’s crossbar.
Despite Whelan’s best efforts, Eriksen was always a danger in possession but was perhaps too far from Ireland’s goal to do damage.
A night wouldn’t be complete without some last-gasp defending from those sweat-drenched green jerseys. A combination of Duffy and Hourihane contained Poulsen’s driving run and shot and Delaney saw his back post header fly past Randolph’s upright.
And just when this absorbing clash seemed destined to finish scoreless – just like three of the last four encounters between the sides – Hojbjerg got on the end of Jens Stryger Larsen’s dangerous cross to put the hosts ahead. The Irish defence and ‘keeper could do nothing to prevent the goal.
But the indefatigable Irish kept going and their expansive approach reaped the richest rewards when Duffy powered home Alan Judge's free-kick to grab a priceless draw.
McCarthy's men are in the best possible position after three rounds of Qualifiers. You can feel the regime change in every sense.
Republic of Ireland ratings
Darren Randolph: Winning his 35th international cap last night, he performed well. Made two notable first-half saves before denying Poulsen from close range with a brilliant reflex save in the second half. Had no chance for Denmark’s goal. 7
Seamus Coleman: The Everton man at times didn’t know whether to stick or twist when Braithwaite pulled away from his flank and caused a fair degree of stress in doing so. Not as jet-powered as he used to be, but defended stoutly. 6
Enda Stevens: Lucky to escape without a first half booking for a rash challenge but an otherwise tidy first half. Poulsen slipped down his side early in the second half and should have scored. Overall impressive display. 7
Shane Duffy: Some brilliant defensive work in the first half, a bit ragged in the second half, but is so dangerous from set pieces and bagged his third international goal in 28 games. 7
Richard Keogh: The Derby County defender did well under pressure a couple of times and could really do nothing for Denmark’s goal. Good understanding with Duffy. 6
Glenn Whelan: It was scary to see the space either side of Whelan, especially with Eriksen hovering. Hourihane dropped deeper to help out before the break. The 35-year-old didn’t look for the short pass to build attacks. His singular focus was to stay with Eriksen and did well considering the size of the job. 6
Jeff Hendrick: Had a renewed energy about him and he didn’t allow Delaney, Denmark’s metronome, to find his rhythm in the opening half. Emptied the tank but wasn’t able to get on the ball enough. 6
Conor Hourihane: Winning his 12th cap last night, the 28-year-old Cork man picked up a first half booking. Instructed to play slightly deeper to help mind Eriksen. Set pieces were generally good but ran out of steam and was replaced after 83 minutes. 6
Robbie Brady: A quiet first half where he didn’t get a lot of quality possessions, but put in a great cross that McGoldrick came close to converting in the second period. Never going to last the 90 minutes and was replaced by Judge. 5
David McGoldrick: A thankless task playing as the lone striker but when the ball did reach the 31-year-old he was generally productive with it. Unlucky with a glancing header early in the second half. 7
James McClean: As ever, plenty of endeavour from the Derry man and his pursuit of lost causes almost paid off when his shot was turned away by Schmeichel after the restart. Had another effort well saved late on. 6
Subs:
Alan Judge: Some tidy passes and set up Ireland's later equaliser Appeared to pick up a bad arm injury at the very end. 5
Scott Hogan: Unable to get involved. 5
Callum Robinson: Dangerous on the break late on. 5
