FULL TIME: Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Republic of Ireland
And that’s that! A truly farcical second half comes to an end. In the thickest of pea-soupers, Ireland have come away with a very respectable draw, and a priceless away goal! It could have been even better but for Edin Dzeko’s late equaliser, but my goodness they’d have taken this at the start of the evening. It’s nothing more than the Irish deserved for a determined defensive performance, and a place at Euro 2016 is still very much within their reach. Monday night promises to be quite an event. Hopefully we’ll get to see all of it.
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90 min +3: Four extra and extra-foggy minutes, will be played. Three have already elapsed without incident. “Sara Jevo (75 min) might have a point,” writes Simon McMahon. “Look at how difficult England, Wales and Northern Ireland find it to qualify for major finals because they can’t pick players from Scotland.”
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90 min: For Dzeko, now read McCarthy. He’s already fortunately escaped one booking, and now, having bundled over Duric with extreme prejudice, has fortunately escaped another. He too would have missed Monday’s return. Both teams will be thankful the referee got out of the right side of bed today / wasn’t able to see any further than the end of his nose.
89 min: Dzeko slides in recklessly on Whelan. That’s from behind, and should really have been a booking. But the referee has been very lenient tonight, going against type, and he continues to be so. That’s quite a big non-decision, because Dzeko would have been out of the return leg in Dublin had he gone in the notebook there.
88 min: Lulic is replaced by Hajrovic. “Can’t say I saw either of those goals coming.” Ladies and gentlemen, Fergus Carroll. He’s here all week, try the Ćevapi.
86 min: McGeady comes on for Brady.
GOAL! Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Repubilc of Ireland (Dzeko 85)
The Irish goal exploded from the fog out of nowhere, and so did this. Vranjes scampers away from McClean down the right and whips a low ball into the box. Dzeko cracks a low shot home from the edge of the six-yard box.
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84 min: Ibisevic wins a corner down the right, but Pjanic’s delivery is headed clear at the near post by Whelan.
GOAL! Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1 Repubilc of Ireland (Brady 81)
A long whack downfield. Brady drops a shoulder to cut inside from the right, past a floundering Sunjic. He batters low towards the bottom right. It bobbles over Begovic’s hand, and into the net! That took a little bit of piecing together from 1950svision, but it did happen!
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79 min: ... nothing much happens. Pjanic sends a daisycutter into the box, perhaps hoping for some crazy pinball in the fog. The ball breaks to Spahic on the edge of the area. Spahic sends a gentle chip into the arms of Randolph.
78 min: Dzeko feeds Pjanic down the middle of the park. McClean rather clumsily attaches a high foot to the playmaker. Free kick, 30 yards out. From which ...
75 min: In the absence of anything to look at - though the football is still going on, we can hear it - here’s another marvellously entertaining treatise on the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina from Sara Jevo: “As a glass half-empty kind of guy, I’m fairly happy with the match so far. To be perfectly honest I was baffled, and in some perverse way insulted, by the coverage of these play-off games here on Guardian. See, we’re not really good at all this football stuff, no matter how much outsiders like to romanticize eastern European teams. Since the break up of Yugoslavia, apart from Croatia’s freak ‘98 WC campaign, we’re all actually quite shite without each other. Imagine Midlands for example, playing footie on their own and trying to qualify for World Cup if England fell apart, and everyone still talked them up as if they’re talking about old powerhouse that was England. Ahem. Yeah, it’s like that. We even have Ibišević - a homeless man’s Rooney.” Isn’t the current Rooney the homeless man’s Rooney?
72 min: Wilson brings down Ibisevic on the right. Before the free kick can be taken, Duric replaces ... Visca. Eh? He’s been the best player on the pitch by some distance today. Unless someone out on the far side has spent the last 20 minutes dribbling up and down the field like Garrincha, of course. There’s no way of knowing that hasn’t happened. But what a strange substitution.
71 min: Visca still appears to be the best home hope. He makes a bit of ground down the right for the nth time, but his hard and low cross is smothered by Randolph with blue indistinct blobs hovering.
70 min: This is preposterous. Will the referee’s patience run out? You couldn’t blame him if he calls this off. If the game’s abandoned, they’ll play out the remaining minutes tomorrow, or at some other mutually agreed time.
67 min: Ward is replaced by Wilson. Hats off to the referee for spotting the substitution board. The only other thing visible is the automated advertising hoarding. Uefa won’t be panicking yet, then.
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65 min: Cocalic comes through the back of Murphy. No booking, though there should be. Murphy takes an absolute age to get up, much to the annoyance of the crowd, who whistle and jeer like billy-o.
63 min: This is farcical. Some indistinct white shapes move up and down the far side of the pitch. It’s like watching football in Moominvalley.
60 min: Keogh and Hendrick combine to make an almighty balls up of a common or garden clearance. The ball breaks to Lulic, who has a batter at goal from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Randolph makes himself big to smother. A superlative save.
59 min: McClean comes on for Hoolahan. They might as well have just thrown him on without telling anyone, or taking anyone off. Who’s going to notice in this fog?
56 min: A weird atmosphere now at the Stadion Bilino polje. Quiet and brooding. Hard to know whether it’s because the home side are struggling to break down obdurate opponents, or simply because nobody can see a bloody thing. “Years of watching Ireland seem to be finally making me go blind,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “My mother warned me.”
54 min: Perhaps the best form of defence is attack. Brady finds a little space down the left, and his deep cross is met by Hendrick, coming in from the other flank. His header lands on the top netting, as close as Ireland have come.
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53 min: And danger here, too. Once again Visca makes off down the right. His cross is once again for Dzeko, and once again it’s poor. But the ball only comes back to Vranjes, whose whipped high cross causes a little more trouble. Ireland survive, but they’re being pressed back here.
52 min: Pjanic hooks a ball down the right for Visca. If the cross is good, Dzeko is tapping in from six yards. But it bobbles a bit, allowing Clark to slide in and divert the ball towards Randolph. Danger there.
51 min: Bosnia-Herzegovina make their first change: Mujdza is replaced by Vranjes.
50 min: This is like watching television in 1953. Marvellous.
48 min: A free kick just inside the Irish half, Whelan having handled needlessly. Pjanic launches towards a packed box. It’s deflected en route, and pinged harmlessly into the arms of Randolph. Much of that comes with a disclaimer: there’s a real pea-souper in Zenica. It’s probably more of a problem right now for the television cameras (and therefore us) than the players at ground level, but if it gets much worse we could have a problem.
47 min: Brady makes off down the left. His cross is easily cleared, but lands at the feet of Whelan, 25 yards out. He blooters it goalwards, but that’s only going to be any good in rugby.
And we're off again!
No changes for Ireland, who were back out nice and early. Martin O’Neill isn’t particularly happy at his side being kept waiting, and makes the point with force and feeling to a Uefa rep. Eventually the hosts turn up. No changes for them, either. It’s fairly foggy in Zenica all of a sudden, incidentally. Visibility might become a problem if things get much worse.
Half-time reading. A simply wonderful Joy of Six, in which Paul Doyle tells the story of some comical Republic of Ireland play-off ineptitude (off the park rather than on it).
HALF TIME: Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-0 Republic of Ireland
And that’s that for the opening 45. The hosts have been the better side, but haven’t got much on target, and Ireland will be happy enough with their work so far.
45 min: A bit of a scramble in the Irish area, allowing Dzeko to attempt a shot on the turn from the right-hand edge of the D. It’s blocked at source by Ward.
43 min: It threatens to kick off for a couple of seconds, as Mujdza and Clark both slide in on a 50-50 ball. In truth, both challenges are a bit useless, rather than reckless or vicious, and in the resulting tangle of legs, it’s Mujdza who comes off worse. A boot crumps in his chest. But it’s accidental, and while a few players congregate for a bit of a frown and a shout, it all calms down quickly enough, and everyone’s all right.
41 min: Lulic dribbles with purpose down the left, but his low cross is deflected back to his own keeper by Keogh. A slight sense that the hosts have lost a bit of confidence after failing to turn their early dominance into something tangible.
39 min: Another free kick for Ireland, out on the right. Brady floats it into the box. Begovic rises highest, drops the ball, then flops on it. Danger over. Keogh was close to latching onto that loose ball, though. This is a little better from Ireland, certainly in territorial terms.
38 min: Lulic nearly plants his boot inbetween Whelan’s eyes. Highkick! A free kick near the centre circle, and a chance for Ireland to load the box. Ireland earn a corner on the right after hoicking it forward, but Hendrick’s clever low fizzing kick, which finds Whelan on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, is miscontrolled.
36 min: Visca has been Bosnia-Herzegovina’s star man so far. He’s sprung clear into the area by a pass down the right from Pjanic. But he’s a stride offside, and his weak shot is blocked by Clark and bounces off to the right of goal anyway.
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34 min: Dzeko flicks a header on for Lulic, who goes down in the area after a light shove from Coleman. The home hero was looking for that one, going down very easily, but you’ve seen them given by whistle-happy referees.
32 min: They’ve got something on target now. Dzeko sends Visca skittering off into acres down the right. The resulting cross is only half cleared by Keogh, dropping to Zukanovic on the edge of the area. He attempts to guide a header into the top right, but he’s too far out. No Steve Nicol he. Randolph claims, though he’d have been in a bit of trouble had Ibisevic, in front of him and onside, managed to flick his eyebrows onto Zukanovic’s effort and loop it over the keeper.
30 min: Visca slides a pass down the right for Mujdza. The ball rears off the turf at a right angle milliseconds before reaching the full back. His attempted cross therefore becomes a strange shinner, which flies towards the bottom right. Randolph claims easily enough. It should be noted that, for all Bosnia-Herzegovina’s dominance, that ludicrous mishit is their first effort on target.
28 min: Dzeko and Visca combine down the right. Dzeko reaches the byline and pearls a low fizzer into the Irish six-yard box. Coleman hooks it out before Ibisevic can clank home, though the ball breaks to Visca on the edge of the area. He’s got more time than he thinks, and pulls his shot harmlessly wide left of goal.
26 min: The impressive Visca nutmegs Whelan down the right, and scampers along the wing. He’s tugged back by Ward, who is booked for his trouble. He’s not one of the four Irish players on a yellow, so that’s only a problem for this particular game. But that’s enough, because Visca is a busy menace on his flank.
24 min: Hoolahan is robbed in the centre circle by Pjanic, who rolls the ball quickly forward to Ibisevic. The striker nearly finds his partner Dzeko with a round-the-corner pass that would set him free down the inside-right channel, but Clark steps in to put a stop to the nonsense.
22 min: Visca drops a shoulder and makes off past Brady on the right. He whips in low and hard. Ibisevic steps ahead of Clark on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, and hammers a low first-time shot into the side netting. Very close. Close enough for half the stadium to celebrate a goal. Nope! But unless Ireland get their act together, it might only be a matter of time.
20 min: The hosts are getting on top. Ibisevic very nearly connects with a right-wing cross, but his effort at a Mark Hughesian bicycle kick doesn’t come off. Then a corner’s won out on the other flank. Pjanic curls in another teaser, but Ibisevic handles as he attempts to chest down, swivel and turn from eight yards.
17 min: Ah hold on, something does come of that Irish corner, sort of. The hosts flood up the other end, and would have opened Ireland up had Dzeko’s pass out to the right not been miscontrolled by Visca, who nearly fell over backwards in the slow-motion, silent-movie style. Visca then feeds Zukanovic on the overlap. He goes over in the area under a lame challenge by Brady. There’s a half-arsed shout for a penalty, but nobody’s heart is in it.
16 min: Deep on the Irish left, Ward slides in on Pjanic. He slips over as he makes the challenge. Pjanic has done nothing, but that’s a free kick for Ireland, and a chance to load the box. This referee’s having a very strange game already. From the free kick, Brady wins a corner down the left, but nothing comes of a poor set piece.
14 min: ... Bosnia-Herzegovina should score. Pjanic curls in a teasing corner, landing it on the head of Zukanovic, free on the penalty spot. The goal’s at his mercy, but he wafts his header weakly to the left. It doesn’t even go out for a goal kick.
13 min: Dzeko slides a pass down the right for the busy Visca, whose low cross is bundled out of play by Clark. Corner on the right. From which ...
11 min: Visca makes off down the right and reaches the byline. He brilliantly hooks back to Pjanic, on the right-hand edge of the D. Pjanic opens his body and looks to power one home, but gets far too much air on the shot, and Randolph doesn’t have to move. Nice move, though.
10 min: Lucky boy, James McCarthy. He should be in the book for a clumsy late clank into the back of Lulic, who was in the business of turning him. The referee, with a reputation for flashing yellow, takes pity on him. Which is just as well, as he’d be suspended for the second leg otherwise.
9 min: Ireland really are struggling to keep hold of the ball right now. Whelan needlessly bangs the ball out of play twice, under no pressure, within 30 seconds. Fortunately for them, the hosts are doing nothing with all their possession.
7 min: Dzeko turns on the burners and makes off down the left. He very nearly bests Keogh on the outside, and if he does that he’ll be heading towards the box clear on goal. But the Irish centre back stays firm, and doesn’t even concede a corner, forcing the striker to run the ball out of play.
5 min: The hosts ping it around awhile. Ibisevic feeds Visca down the right, but the move fizzles out quickly enough. Ireland not seeing too much of the ball right now. Meanwhile here’s the marvellously monickered Sara Jevo with an email titled “Meh”: “Seeing Ibišević in the starting lineup, welcoming back Edin Džeko doesn’t really mean much for us as we’re effectively starting with ten men. Yes, he scores an occasional tap-in but he’s way past his prime and is literally hanging around only on past glories. Plus, we’re playing without a recognized left-back and with that weird diamond in the middle again, and if Pjanić has an off night we’ll look like an incoherent bunch of amateurs. On the plus side, we’re playing Ireland.”
2 min: Now it’s Bosnia-Herzegovina’s turn to hit it long. Pjanic, playing deep, pings it down the inside-right channel but there’s nobody there and Randolph is out quickly to claim. An agricultural start, shall we say.
And we're off!
The hosts get the first half under way. A huge roar as they do so. The ball’s soon lost, and Ireland pump it long down the middle. The hairs on the back of Big Jack’s neck will be standing up somewhere. Murphy very nearly gets the better of last man Sunjic in a power tussle, but he bundles his man over and that’s a free kick to the home side. What a start that would have been.
The teams are out! Bosnia-Herzegovina wear their first-choice blue shirts with yellow trim, while Ireland will play in their second-choice white. Green shorts, mind. One hell of an atmosphere for such a small stadium. National anthems are parped out, players pretend to look interested because it’s more trouble than it’s worth not to, hands are shaken, fists are bumped, pennants get exchanged, and coins are tossed. We’ll be off in a minute!
Here’s a softly spoken Martin O’Neill: “The important thing for us tonight is to play it as tightly as possible. On the other hand, you can’t just sit in all night long, otherwise you’ll get done. So I think we’ve gone with some attacking players that might be able to create something for us. We’ll try to get a goal, but the most important thing is to stay in the tie.”
And this from Andy Turner: “That Frank Sidebottom has let himself go.” He has, he really has.
It’s a depleted Irish XI, with Jonathan Walters, John O’Shea and Shane Long missing for reasons various. Ciaran Clark of Aston Villa steps in at centre back. Leading the line: Daryl Murphy, yet to score for Ireland. Stephen Ward comes in at left back, while up the other end Wes Hoolahan gets a rare chance to do his creative thing. Meanwhile it’s better news for the home side, who welcome back Edin Dzeko.
The teams are in
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Begovic, Mujdza, Sunjic, Spahic, Zukanovic, Visca, Pjanic, Cocalic, Lulic, Ibisevic, Dzeko.
Subs: Sehic, Bicakcic, Kolasinac, Vranjes, Hodzic, Medunjanin, Susic, Djuric, Hajrovic, Hadzic, Salihovic, Buric.
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, Keogh, Clark, Ward, Hendrick, McCarthy, Whelan, Brady, Hoolahan, Murphy.
Subs: Forde, Wilson, Pearce, McGeady, Keane, McClean, Judge, Doyle, Christie, Gibson, Arter, Henderson.
Card-happy referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
While we’re waiting for the team news, here’s the latest sighting of Super Victor, the overly intense and in no way deranged Euro 2016 mascot. He’s a busy boy, posing next to the Coupe Henri Delaunay in Paris, and so won’t have time to barge the sandman out of the way and come at you with extreme prejudice while you sleep. Not tonight, no sir.
Good evening, dobro veče, tráthnóna maith duit
Nobody knows play-offs in the European Championships quite as well as the Irish. In the very first tournament, back in 1959, they had to contest one just for the right to compete in the qualifiers. They lost that to Czechoslovakia. Then in 1995, they were defeated in the first-ever qualification play-off, comprehensively so, against Holland at Anfield. And then their attempts to get to Euro 2000 were scuppered in the play-offs by Turkey. A few bruises after a brouhaha were all they took home from that one.
Last time round, however, they broke that unhappy sequence with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Estonia to make it to Euro 2012. So they’re looking to build on that with Euro 2016 in mind. Can they make it two in a row against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and book a ticket to France next summer?
It’s a tough ask. Bosnia-Herzegovina are in form, having finished their group campaign with a three-win sequence that secured a place in the play-offs at Israel’s expense. That happy finish included a patient but ultimately thorough demolition of an otherwise upwardly mobile Wales. They’ve got Edin Džeko up front, his Roma team-mate Miralem Pjanić pulling the strings in the middle of the park, and Asmir Begović keeping goal. Their team is likely to include players from Sampdoria, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Lazio, Roma and Chelsea. It’s a tough ask.
Ireland meanwhile will be missing John O’Shea and Jonathan Walters through suspension, and striker Shane Long through injury. West Ham reserve Darren Randolph is likely to be in goal, while Darryl Murphy will lead the line. The team is likely to include players from Ipswich Town, Derby County, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. It’s a tough ask.
And yet Ireland are better than the sum of their parts. Much better. They should be high on confidence right now, too, having swashbuckled magnificently to snatch the play-off spot in their group from Scotland. For a while it didn’t look on; in the end, thanks to three wins from the last four matches, it was easy. As was swatting aside the world champions Germany in a victory for the ages.
Ireland will also take heart from history. There’s only been one match between these two countries before, and they won it, Shane Long settling a friendly in Dublin back in 2012. Meanwhile Bosnia-Herzegovina will approach the play-offs with some trepidation: they’ve played off for spots in major championships twice before, losing out to Portugal both times as they attempted to make the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. If Ireland can dig out any sort of result here tonight - narrow defeat, draw or, what the hell, a surprise win - Bosnia-Herzegovina won’t fancy going to Dublin on Monday one bit. This promises to be a belter, as two teams high on hope reach out for a place at Euro 2016. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.45pm local time at the Stadion Bulino polje in Zenica; 7.45pm back in Dublin.
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