Paradise lost. After a raucous and spirited gathering of the clans in east Glasgow, it was Gordon Strachan's new model Tartan Army which owned the night in Celtic Park.
Shaun Maloney's goal after 75 minutes of pure battle was enough to guarantee a Friday night party in the city, with the Wigan winger finishing a cleverly worked Scotland corner with a gorgeous curling shot to create a Scottish roar which must have carried up to the remoter Highlands.
There was a tragic note to the evening when a Scottish fan fell from the upper tier of the stadium early in the second half. The male fan, believed to be in his early twenties, was rushed to hospital. The extent of his injuries was unknown.
But in footballing terms, it was a huge night for Strachan, the flame-haired folk hero from Muirhouse.
“As a football spectacle, pure football, it wasn’t that great. But as a spectacle of two groups of players not wanting to give an inch . . . it was mesmerising. They wanted to jump higher, tackle harder, run quicker. And the fans made it an occasion.”
That moment of finesse was enough on a night when the ball was as wild as the atmosphere in the stand.
It was as if tribal passions drifted down from the hooded stands to draw salty tackles from both players as they tried to impose some sort of order on the play.
“”I don’t think either team were able to get it down and play it,” sighed Martin O’Neill.
“Scotland didn’t get hold of it. We weren’t able to do so. And the game developed in that pattern. It is a tough contest. We have been talking about it for the last couple of weeks that this is going to be a derby feel, a derby game, a derby atmosphere.”
Ireland’s best chance came desperately late, when Robbie Brady’s teasing cross ended up skipping against David Marshall’s crossbar.
Keane dropped
There would be no repeat of the heroics in Germany. Martin O’Neill created history of sorts with his team announcement, electing not to start
Robbie Keane
, the first time the Tallaght man has not been chosen to start a competitive match since 2001 against Estonia. Ancient times.
“I make decisions for the good of the team,” O’Neill said. “Robbie accepted it. We were playing away from home and wanted to try and stretch them and Shane Long can do that.”
But by the end, the veteran was back in harness, sniping and poaching and still the focus of the visiting fans’ prayers.
Before half an hour had been played, the odds of the match finishing with two full sets of teams were shaky. First Grant Hanley clipped Shane Long just as he eyed up a clean run at the Scottish goal.
On quarter of an hour played, Aiden McGeady, lustily booed with every possession, sent Steven Fletcher rolling in agony. James McClean barged Scotland’s captain, Scott Brown, on to the grass. Jeff Hendrick provoked Scottish outrage after clattering into Steven Whittaker. The challenges were relentless: six yellow cards were issued over the match
Scottish pressure
Ireland
were just about surviving during this period, with Steven Naismith ghosting through the densely packed central defence and Andrew Robertson and Shaun Maloney whipping in a series of alarming crosses from the left and right wings.
Charlie Mulgrew steamed on to a perfect delivery from Maloney in the 33rd minute and a fleeting, slow-motion lull fell over Celtic Park as the ball somehow flashed past David Forde's cross. These were the half chances through a blizzard of high balls and thunderous collisions. Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan surveyed the field and tried to think their way through the maelstrom.
The crowd anthems echoed around the steeps stands. Every Scottish boo of McGeady drew an instant song of praise from the stunningly loud Irish corner of the ground, where the Ashbourne bowsies, the Camlough crowd and the Monaghan contingent draped their flags.
As the night grew colder, the home crowd continued its low song of disapproval at McGeady. It must have been a complicated night for the Everton winger, an Irish crowd favourite now but always a Glasgow kid.
Only rarely did McGeady get a chance to remind them of what they were missing, with a viciously whipped cross on 50 minutes and a left foot volley which skipped across the face of the Scottish goal. For Ireland, he looked like the player most likely to do something special.
“I think Aiden was a bit frustrated tonight. For the form he has shown in recent times for us, he had a frustrating time,” said O’Neill.
Scottish turf
As Strachan predicted, Celtic Park was Scottish turf last night. For O’Neill, it wasn’t really a homecoming as much as a winnable game lost.
“I thought it was a frenetic match, obviously stop start and littered with fouls. Just like a derby game in many aspects. And I thought we were going to get something out of the game. That is us and Scotland on seven points out and in truth I think our own fate will be decided by what happens in the Aviva stadium. We have four out of five games at home. It is going to be tough but we are still there.”
Home to Dublin, then, with the taste of the traditional Scottish farewell: “Tae think again.”
