Defeat for the Republic of Ireland in Vienna on Saturday would not be fatal in a group that appears destined to go down to the final set of games, but it would still represent a considerable blow, not least because Austria are stacked with problems of their own.
Martin O’Neill’s side have accrued a very respectable seven points from the first available nine without performing especially well. However, the bluntness in attack that pervaded the slender wins over Georgia and Moldova last month is unlikely to be good enough against an Austria team who are still smarting from their dismal European Championship and struggling to recapture the pre-tournament form that led to many hailing them as dark horses to win that title in France.
For O’Neill, the biggest concern against a team they have not beaten since 1963 is the absence of a reliable goalscorer in his squad. The first-choice striker Shane Long, who is hardly prolific, is injured along with Newcastle’s Daryl Murphy, and the secondary options are not inspiring much confidence. Jonathan Walters may be put up front, with Adam Rooney, Kevin Doyle and David McGoldrick held in reserve. In saying that, the Austria manager, Marcel Koller, shares a similar problem – he is over-reliant on the 33-year-old Marc Janko to lead the line, though Walters’ Stoke team-mate Marko Arnautovic has proven a menace from the wing.
Despite those shortcomings in attack, O’Neill is adamant his side will be going out to win against hosts who are bordering on desperation having lost to Serbia and drawn with Wales last month. “I don’t actually know how you play for a draw,” O’Neill said. “I don’t know how a manager can plan for one. Our attitude is to go out on the front foot, try and be positive and try and go for it.”
Elsewhere O’Neill has had to deal with the absences of his first-choice left back Stephen Ward and Everton’s James McCarthy, who is stuck between a rock called Ronald Koeman and a hard place called Roy Keane, due to a club v country row about the oft-injured midfielder.
McCarthy’s team-mate for both, Séamus Coleman, tried to play down the disagreement on Friday – “I’m not interested in making headlines out of it” – but O’Neill, bizarrely, muttered something about calling Donald Trump and “commiserations to Hillary [Clinton]” when asked if he would contact Koeman to discuss the situation.
On a brighter note, the addition of two Dundalk players, following their third League of Ireland title in a row and impressive run in the Europa League, has been roundly welcomed, and while Andy Boyle, a centre-half, is unlikely to appear, the chances of the exciting winger Daryl Horgan debuting from the bench are fair.
West Bromwich Albion’s James McClean may have trained in the past two days but he is not 100% fit following a back injury and, depending on the scoreline, Horgan may be a good option.
He could even come up against Austria’s star player David Alaba. The Bayern Munich player remains weighed down by unrealistic expectations and there have been whispers that Marcel Koller may make the odd move of switching his only first-rate player from central midfield to the left side of a leaky defence.
That would be good news for Ireland, who were sucker-punched in both Vienna and Dublin by Alaba when the teams met in qualifying for the last World Cup.
Koller, who celebrated his 56th birthday on Friday with a “nice breakfast”, has whittled off the usual cliches about Ireland being tough and his team needing “the right mentality” to succeed, but did admit he hopes to capitalise on the visitors’ list of absentees under forecasted heavy snow. “They have improved and got better,” he added. “On the other hand, three or four players are missing and most of them are regulars.”
