An Ireland game where you wish it could have gone on all night? It’s not so long since that idea would have sounded insane. But Stephen Kenny’s team left the crowd wanting more. Stephen Kenny’s team left the 50,000 crowd wanting more.
For the first time in forever that big-match feeling was back, buzzing in the packed bars and streets as a capacity crowd streamed towards the stadium. A mass of a few dozen Ireland fans sang and jumped up and down at the crossroads of Shelbourne Road and Lansdowne Road, billowing green smoke from their flares. Imagine how big that huddle could have been if people weren’t halving their social contacts.
The tickets had sold out in minutes and there was always a question as to how much of this reflected excitement over the Ireland team and how much reflected people wanting to see Ronaldo on what will surely be his last appearance in Dublin. It’s unlikely Ronaldo will want to rush back. He was booed by the whole stadium every time he touched the ball, he got roughed up at various moments by Shane Duffy, Matt Doherty and Séamus Coleman, he misplaced nearly 40 per cent of his passes and screamed his frustrations at several team-mates, he had five shots and two very near misses, but in the end his third appearance in Dublin for Portugal or Real Madrid ended goalless like all the others.
If the match had gone on another few minutes Ireland surely would have won
The match had been in a tense equilibrium until the 82nd minute when Pepe lashed out in frustration with his arm as Callum Robinson closed him down and earned himself a second yellow card, to go with the one for deliberate handball he had picked up a few minutes earlier. He angrily remonstrated with the Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano, but it was clear that he had caught Robinson, who had gone down like a man who knew the guy who’d just hit him was on a booking. It’s not Robinson’s job to assist with Pepe’s anger management: at 38, he should know better.
It made a mockery of Portugal coach’s Fernando Santos’ careful management of his squad’s precarious disciplinary situation for their decisive match with Serbia on Sunday. Six of his players were one booking away from suspension and the general Portuguese attitude to this game could be gauged by how many of them Fernando Santos left out. The answer was: nearly all of them. The defensive midfielder João Palhinha was the only one who started, the team showed six changes from the starting XI that faced Ireland in the Algarve, with Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, Ruben Dias, João Cancelo among the stars dropped to the bench. They’ll be back for Serbia, but Pepe won’t.
Santos clearly felt his reserves were capable of getting the draw Portugal needed but the defence looked vulnerable. Three of the four first-teamers were absent and the reserves included a right wing-back, Diogo Dalot, playing on the left and a midfielder, Danilo, playing in the centre. First-team regulars screamed at reserves: Ronaldo at Gonçalo Guedes, Pepe at Dalot, Palhinha at Nelson Semedo.
But in a cagey first half, there were few real chances for Ireland other than at set-pieces.
That contrasted with the chaos of the last 13 minutes: Pepe’s sending off had reduced Portugal to effectively eight outfielders without the ball: five defenders, three midfielders, and Ronaldo watching from the centre circle.
If the match had gone on another few minutes Ireland surely would have won. Indeed, with Premier League refereeing they would have won with a Matt Doherty goal in injury time. All the substitute Will Keane did was get himself between Rui Patricio and the ball. Unfortunately for Ireland, Gil Manzano doesn’t believe in letting it flow when it comes to roughing up goalkeepers and he had blown the whistle before Doherty had volleyed the recycled ball into Patricio’s empty net.
Doherty, who played his first Premier League minutes since the opening day of the season in Antonio Conte’s first match in charge of Spurs last weekend, continued his excellent recent form for Ireland with another powerful performance down the right flank. He had more touches than any Ireland player, and it could have been even better if his team-mates had been able to find the crossfield pass that could have exploited moments late on when Doherty was the only man on his side of the pitch, opposed by only Atletico Madrid’s young striker Jo?o Felix, pressed into action as an emergency wing-back.
Maybe the balance of the team was weighted too much towards defence, but when Ronaldo popped up to lash in one last shot at Bazunu, you could understand the caution
Callum Robinson had showed some lovely touches and repeatedly got away from his marker with deft pieces of skill. Jamie McGrath, until he was withdrawn, was constantly available in support of the player on the ball. Ogbene, after misreading a couple of early situations, worked himself into the game and was always willing to run in behind Portugal. The burst down the right that forced Danilo to get himself booked was a typical moment. The cheers from the crowd as he was substituted at the end showed their appreciation for his work.
But the best chance of the second half fell to Enda Stevens on his less-favoured right foot, and in the end Ireland did not have quite enough in attack to make it happen. In some moments a little quality was lacking, but more often they were short of numbers in the box. Maybe the balance of the team was weighted a little too much towards defence, but when Ronaldo popped up to lash in one last shot at Bazunu, you could understand the caution.
On Sunday they play Luxembourg for third in the group. The regret is that if they had started the qualifiers in the form they’ve showed since the summer, they would have more to play for. The Stephen Kenny contract “debate” is not really a debate, it’s just a talking point to fill airtime. The progress since last year is clear. Let’s keep it going.
