Match report: Gibraltar 0-1 Rep of Ireland
Ireland got there in the end, courtesy of a second-half strike from Jeff Hendrick that won them three points in Mick McCarthy’s first game back in charge.
FAI statement ahoy! Meanwhile, the word on Twitter is that the Football Association of Ireland will be releasing yet another statement tonight regarding the controversy surrounding an apparent “bridging loan” given by their chief executive, John Delaney, to his employers, the FAI (no, really) back in 2017.
It’s worth noting that the FAI have form in the field of releasing statements late on Saturday night, usually in an attempt to get in front of a story they know is going to be published about them in the next day’s papers. Indeed, they did the exact same thing last Saturday after Delaney failed in an attempt to get a High Court injunction to stop the Sunday Times publishing the story which revealed he had written a personal cheque to the association for €100,000.
This, below, from the Irish Independent’s Daniel McDonnell, who has forgotten more about the FAI than most people will ever know.
We're expecting a significant FAI statement this evening but there's still no certainty at all on the detail of it.
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) March 23, 2019
So, Ireland win: Having scored their first goal in five games to humble Gibraltar on their own (astro)turf, the Irish send a loud message across all of Europe. “We are not very good!” it says. Next up it’s Georgia, who will fancy their chances against Mick McCarthy when they meet at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday. In the meantime, Ireland’s search for strikers who can score goals goes on - as I mentioned earlier, their current four have one goal band 12 appearances between them.
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Full time: Gibraltar 0-1 Rep of Ireland
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeepppp! It’s all over and Ireland have won, albeit by the skin of their teeth and the lowest possible margin. They were dire tonight and it’s not unfair to suggest that Gibraltar deserved a draw for their fine effort. They had arguably the best chance of the game, only to be denied by a brilliant Darren Randolph save. Soon after, Jeff Hendrick scored the only goal of the game to give Ireland the win.
90+3 min: James McClean fires over the bar, moments after De Barr had been booked for a crude lunge on Robbie Brady.
90+1 min: Ireland are keeping the ball in the Gibraltar half as they try to run down the clock. That their hosts are still in with a chance of nicking a draw and the point that goes with it speaks volumes about the abject performance of the Irish.
90 min: The board goes up to signal three minutes of injury time.
89 min: Ireland win a free-kick, which Conor Hourihane lofts into the Gibraltar penalty are from deep. Shane Duffy sprints to get on the end of it with a late run and sends a powerful header wide. That’s a very bad miss.
88 min: Looking edgy on the touchline, Mick McCarthy inserts a couple of fingers in his mouth and whistles at one of his players like a farmer giving a sheepdog instructions on One Man And His Dog.
86 min: Five minutes plus extras left and Gibraltar remain in with a very good chance of bagging an equaliser. On Sky Sports , John O’Shea is now talking about the confidence Ireland will take from this game if they can see out the win. He doesn’t appear to be joking. They have been absolutely atrocious and are extremely lucky to be beating a team they should be absolutely monstering.
84 min: Ireland win a corner, then another courtesy of some Jeff Hendrick persistence. Conor Hourihane fails to beat the first man, after which Lee Casciaro outmuscles Jeff Hendrick to hoof the ball clear for Gibraltar.
81 min: Another half-chance for Gibraltar. Liam Walker creates space for a shot from just outside the Irish penalty area, but fires straight at Randolph.
79 min: Ireland win a couple of throw-ins in quick succession deep in the Gibraltar half. On Sky Sports, match analyst John O’Shea is talking about how Ireland need to “use their experience to see the game out”. Seeing out 1-0 leads against Gibraltar - has it really come to this?
77 min: Gibraltar substitution: Anthony Hernandez off, Alain Pons on.
76 min: Ireland win a corner, which Gibraltar clear.
74 min: A Liam Walker shot from distance takes a deflection off Richard Keogh, who had slid in to block. The ball loops high into the air, heading for the Irish goal. Darren Randolph catches comfortably, clutching it to his chest. gibraltar have had three scoring opportunities in this game and it would be anything but a travesty of justice if they were to equalise.
71 min: Nothing is happening. Nothing. Ah ... hold on – some excitement. Ireland substitution: Sean Maguire goes off, Harry Arter comes on. Maguire remains without a goal for Ireland, which is a shame. I was fairly confident he’d get off the mark with a confidence-booster or two in this match but he was far from impressive, much like most of his team-mates.
67 min: Another needless yellow card for the Irish, as Enda Stevens gets booked for kicking the ball away.
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65 min: Gibraltar substitution: Adam Priestley on for Louie Annesley. It’s a great day for Ossett United of the Northern Premier League Division One East, as their exotic fancy dan foreign import adds another international cap to his collection.
64 min: Gibraltar go close again, shooting low and diagonally across the face of goal. His shot goes wide, but not by much. I think Randolph had it covered anyway, but the Irish defending in the build-up to that was atrocious.
62 min: Liam Walker laughs and waves a hand apologetically in the air after trying a ridiculously ambitious shot from just inside the Irish half.
59 min: Gibraltar get the ball into the Irish penalty area from the left wing, but James McClean hacks clear. This is a quite staggeringly awful game of football and I’m not sure I have the requisite vocabulary to do the awfulness of the spectacle justice without rummaging around in my Big Box Of Effs and Jeffs for some words that simply wouldn’t be appropriate in a family minute-by-minute report.
57 min: Ireland win a free-kick on the left flank for a foul on Sean Maguire. Hourihane curls the ball into the penalty area, where Gibraltar clear after a mini-scramble. Lying on the ground injured after a collision with Joe Chipolina, Shane Duffy requires medical attention and there’s a break in play while he gets it.
56 min: Ireland substitution: Robbie Brady on for Matt Doherty.
53 min: Gibraltar win a free-kick just inside the Irish half for a Richard Keogh indiscretion but as they attempt to get something going through the centre, James McClean sticks out a leg and hacks clear.
52 min: Liam Walker tries a shot from distance that sails over the Irish cross-bar.
50 min: Ireland appear to making a more concerted effort to keep the ball on the floor in this second half, having spent the first half playing it out from the back and then hoofing high balls into a strong wind to little or no effect.
GOAL! Gibraltar 0-1 Rep of Ireland
Ireland lead! Jeff Hendrick puts Ireland ahead with his second international goal, getting on the end of a McGoldrick pull-back from the left to slot the ball into the bottom corner from about 14 metres out.
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Second half: Gibraltar 0-0 Rep of Ireland
46 min: Gibraltar get the second half started and immediately win a corner off Richard Keogh. They very nearly score from it with the best chance of the match. Darren Randolph saves brilliantly from a Roy Chipolina bullet header. This is dire from Ireland, who could very easily have gone behind.
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Half-time: Gibraltar 0-0 Rep of Ireland
A half in which Ireland’s best chance was missed by one of Gibraltar’s defenders comes to an end and Ireland are just 45 minutes away from their greatest humiliation yet. They’ve dominated possession for 40 minutes of the 45, but are severely lacking in cutting edge or anything approaching innovation as they try to unlock this Gibraltar defence.
45+1 min: James “Nice But Dim” McClean gets booked for a daft and completely unnecessary act of retribution on Lee Casciaro, who tripped him a couple of minutes ago. That’s classic, McClean.
44 min: Not long until half-time and goalshy Ireland, who have failed to score in their past four games, have yet to break the deadlock in this one. Against Gibraltar. Who are ranked 194th in the world. Out of 211 countries.
42 min: Gibraltar’s Lee Casciaro is booked for whipping the legs from under James McClean out by the touchline.
42 min: With the ball at his feet and the goal apparently at his mercy from seven or eight yards out, McGoldrick is denied by a great recovery tackle from Jack Sergeant before he can unleash a shot.
38 min: Shane Duffy sends a long diagonal cross-field ball arcing towards James McClean on the left wing. Jack Sergeant is on hand to head the ball out of play for a throw-in.
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40 min: Coleman, Doherty and Hendrick combine well down the right flank and the Wovles man sends in a decent cross. One of the Chipolina brothers gets his head to the ball. There are only two of them on the field, but there seem to be a lot more. They’re defending very stoutly in deed, heading everything that comes there way here.
36 min: James McClean tracks back to monitor a run by Anthony Bardon, who sends his attempted cross into the side-netting.
34 min: Gibraltar get the ball out of their own half for what seems like the first time in aeons, with Lee Casciaro advancing towards the Irish penalty area. He’s dispossessed by Matt Doherty and Ireland go on the offensive again.
32 min: Ireland win a free-kick halfway inside the Gibraltar half. The ball’s sent into the gibraltar penalty area by Conor Hourihane, where Joe Chipolina clears.
29 min: Yet another corner for Ireland, who are really turning the screw. Coleman in behind his man and sent into a cross. His delivery hit Roy Chipolina and was heading into the Gibraltar goal, only to be clawed away brilliantly by Goldwin. Nothing comes from the ensuing set piece.
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27 min: Another corner for Ireland. Hourihane sends the ball into the mixer again, where it’s cleared by Blackburn’s Louie Annesley.
25 min: Anthony Hernandez intercepts a Seamus Coleman cross and puts the ball out for a corner. The ball’s sent in from the right and it’s half a chance for Sean Maguire at the far post, who can’t quite get enough power on his header.
24 min: David McGoldrick lofts a high ball into the Gibraltar penalty area, but he appeared to be aiming for nobody in particular and the ball is plucked from the sky by Goldwin.
22 min: Jeff Hendrick curls a cross into the Gibraltar penalty area, which Kyle Goldwin punches clear under pressure from James McClean. The flag goes up for offside.
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20 min: Good tackle from Jayce Olivero, who puts a stop to a promising attack down the right flank where Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty were linking up well. Ireland are completely dominating possession now after a slightly ropey opening five minutes.
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17 min: It’s all fairly scrappy so far, despite Ireland’s attempts to keep the ball on the deck and play it out from the back. It’s a weird atmosphere in a very open stadium with no seats or standing area at either end and a giant, world famous rock hulking over the goal Ireland are shooting into.
14 min: Jack Sergeant handles the ball to give Ireland a free-kick wide on the left. Hourihane zips a diagonal ball through the Gibraltar penalty area, which manages to elude the inrushing Shane Duffy at the back post.
13 min: Ireland win a throw-in, halfway inside the Gibraltar half. The ball’s thrown down the line for Sean Maguire to chase. The Preston striker shakes his head in frustration as it clanks off his shin and out of play for a throw to the opposition.
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10 min: Ireland win a corner and the ball’s swung into the penalty area by Conor Hourihane. In the ensuing melee, Richard Keogh pokes the ball goalwards, but it’s easily saved by Kyle Goldwin in the Gibraltar goal.
This pitch, as I mentioned before, is under the flight path of the local airport, which means planes tend to fly very, very low overhead.
Second half could be the first time in Irish soccer history that the quality of our shooting brings down a passenger jet. #GIBIRL
— Ewan MacKenna (@EwanMacKenna) March 23, 2019
8 min: A shot from the edge of the area by McGoldrick and the ball flies high over the bar. He was teed up by Sean Maguire, who, standing with his back to goal, chested the ball down for him.
6 min: David McGoldrick and James McClean try to make ground down the left flank and the ball is eventually squared across the edge of the penalty area by Richard Keogh. Ireland seek an opening in the hinterland surrounding the edge of the penalty area.
5 min: Five minutes into to this game and Ireland are being bossed by a big rock. The home side will be very pleased with the manner in which they’ve started.
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3 min: Free-kick for Gibraltar after Conor Hourihane trips Anthony Hernandez as he tried to advance into the penalty area. Liam Walker to take the free-kick from a good position. He fires over the bar from about 30 metres out.
2 min: With the wind already making conditions difficult, Gibraltar have an early appeal for a penalty after a ball is driven into the box and cannons off Shane Duffy. His arm was tucked in by his body and it would have been a harsh call.
Gibraltar v Rep of Ireland is go!!!
1 min: Their players wearing white shirts, shorts and socks, Ireland get the ball rolling. Well represented by the law, boasting a prison officer, a policeman, a customs official and a man named Sergeant among their ranks, Gibraltar’s players wear red shirts, shorts and socks.
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The conditions: It’s a windy evening in Gibraltar, where the eponymous rock looms large and imposing over one end of the stadium. The match will be played on an artificial pitch.
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Interesting fact: The four strikers in the current Ireland squad have scored one goal in 14 appearances between them. Here’s hoping they can add a few to that tally this evening.
Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch at the Victoria Stadium, where 750 travelling Irishmen have taken up their allocation, with more several hundred more who were unable to get tickets apparently watching in bars around Gibraltar.
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Elsewhere in Group D: Switzerland have beaten Georgia 2-0 in Tbilisi to go top after the opening game of these qualifiers.
Gibraltar v Rep of Ireland line-ups
Gibraltar: Goldwin, Sergeant, Annesley, Roy Chipolina, Joseph Chipolina, Anthony Hernandez, Bardon, Walker, Olivero, De Barr, Lee Casciaro.
Subs: Cafer, Garcia, Jolley, Styche, Pons, Barnett, Mouelhi, Andrew Hernandez, Britto, Coombes, Priestley, Coleing.
Rep of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Keogh, Stevens, McClean, Hendrick, Doherty, Hourihane, McGoldrick, Maguire.
Subs: Westwood, Whelan, Brady, Byrne, O’Brien, Egan, Collins, Judge, Cullen, Long, Arter, Travers.
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)
Team news
Richard Keogh is named Mick McCarthy’s first starting line-up despite the defender breaking his hand in his last game. The Derby player was cleared to play wearing a lightweight cast, and McCarthy finds room for both Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty, as well as strikers David McGoldrick and Sean Maguire, in his team to face Gibraltar.
McCarthy’s opposite number Julio Ribas blended experience with youth as skipper Roy Chipolina marshalls the defence. The 19-year-old striker Tjay De Barr will lead the line.
So farewell then, Jonny Walters
Yesterday, the 35-year-old Republic of Ireland international announced his retirement from football with immediate effect after failing to overcome persistent problems with his achilles tendon.As a Stoke player, the striker was handed his international debut by Giovanni Trapattoni and has since made 54 appearances for Ireland, scoring 14 goals and having one notable falling-out with former assistant manager Roy Keane. Renowned in football circles as a good bloke, the response to his announcement on Twitter yesterday could scarcely have been more warm.
Isn’t it ironic...my Achilles heel has literally been my Achilles heel and finished me off!
— Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) March 22, 2019
I am now retired from playing football
It’s been epic
Veni vidi vici pic.twitter.com/ZC3m0LmYn5
Team news ...
Seamus Coleman will win his 50th international cap for Ireland tonight and will remain in the side as captain, despite the excellent form of his Wolves counterpart Matt Doherty, who is expected to play in a more advanced role Robbie Brady is fit, but may have to settle for a place on the bench due to a lack of recent game time at Burnley. Derby County defender Richard Keogh may start despite having a broken hand.
Liam Walker remains Gibraltar record caps holder (35) and scorer (2) and will be a familiar name to fans of Portsmouth and Notts County. The 30-year-old midfielder made 26 appearances for Pompey in the 2012-13 season and played 11 times for County in 2017-18. The work of Gibraltar striker Reece Styche will be familiar to supporters of another English club, Alfreton Town in the National League North. Currently on a hot streak, in every sense of the word, he has scored four goals and picked up two red cards (and four yellows) in his past five games. With a top-knot and no shortage of ink adorning his body, he’ll be one to keep an eye on, if selected.
Group D: Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland
The 2,300-capacity Victoria Stadium is the venue as Gibraltar host the Republic of Ireland, who will play their first game under Mick McCarthy since his reappointment as manager four months ago. Ranked 194th in the world, Gibraltar should prove anything but stiff opposition, even for a team that has won just two of its past 12 competitive matches and failed to score in any of it’s past five. After seeing Scotland demolished by Kazakhstan on Thursday, however, McCarthy has warned against complacency.
“We have to give them the respect they deserve,” he said. Julio [Cesar Ribas, Gibraltar’s manager] has got them playing and they will be right bang at it, like we see in the old FA Cup ties in England all the time. We saw what happened to Scotland on Thursday night, so we have be ready.”
