Full-time: Ireland 1-1 Holland
A heartening night for Ireland, all things considered. Harry Arter was the biggest plus, as he used his full debut to justify the hopes invested in him and should certainly be included in the final squad and, indeed, in the starting lineup against Sweden. Another deadly finish from Long, a commanding display by O’Shea and endless dangerous set-pieces by Brady were also among the positives. Duffy did very well at centreback until one lapse in concentration enabled De Jong to equalise for Holland, who were weak overall.
90+1 min: Promes wins a corner off Coleman and then goes to take it himself. Randolph punches it well clear.
89 min: Northern Ireland are now 3-0 up against Belarus, Grigg the scorer this time.
88 min: Ireland attempt to regain their lead. It’s an earnest but scruffy build-up, but McClean eventually digs out a cross from the left. Holland clear but Ireland work it back to O’Kane, who shoots on the spin from 16 yards. Easy stop for Cillessen.
GOAL! Ireland 1-1 Holland (De Jong 85)
Arggh! That’s an ugly blemish on an otherwise encouraging performance by Duffy. The centreback was caught out by a cross from the left by Willems, leaving De Jong unattended seven yards out. The striker leant backwards before demonstrating rare neck flexibility to steer a header into the net. That’s the concern with the Irish central defence: no matter who plays, a lapse in concentration always seems likely.
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84 min: O’Shea clips a decent ball over the top, and McClean scampers after it, doing a fine impression of Long, whom he has replace up front. But Veltman shows impressive strength to shunt McClean off the ball.
Holland substitution: De Jong on for Wijnaldum, who made no impact.
Ireland substitution: O’Kane on for Arter, who has surely booked his ticket to France.
80 min: Duffy meets the corner ahead of Bruma ... and glances the ball just wide of the far post!
79 min: Gibson flights an aimless freekick from half-way into the Dutch box. There isn’t a single Irish player anywhere near it ... but Bruma panics and heads the ball out for a corner anyway. That’s an indication of how frazzled the Dutch have been by Ireland’s setpieces.
77 min: Willems sends a long diagonal ball into the box. Dost gets above O’Shea but fails to direct his header anywhere other than wide.
Ireland substitution: Hoolahan on for McGoldrick.
Holland substitution: Dost on for Janssen. Meanwhile the crowd are doing Mexican waves, which tells you how much the intensity has dropped on the pitch.
71 min: Brady does well to dispossess Berghuis - but then lets the ball run out of play. That will give Holland a chance to recycle possession and reapply the pressure that they’ve been applying for the last few minutes. They’re got the upperhand in midfield since the changes.
Holland substitution: Van Ginkel on for Strootman.
69 min: Willens curls in a cross from the let. Janssen meets it at the far post and tries to head it across the face of goal. Randolph intervenes.
Ireland substitutions: McClean, Hendrick and Gibson and for Long, Quinn and Whelan.
64 min: McGoldrick plays his first loose pass of the night ... but Long nearly turns it into a good one anyway, partially because Bruma dawdled so much. But just as Long seemed set to race past him on clear on goal, Bruma stretches out a leg to tip the ball to safety.
61 min: This diamond formation is looking very handy for Ireland. It’s giving them real dynamism in midfield while allowing McGoldrick to display surprising guile at the tip, as Hoolahan normally would. Whelan has been decent at the base, though James McCarthy would surely be first choice there. Brady and Coleman provide the width with regular breaks from the back.
Holland substitution: Watford’s Berghuis comes on for his international debut, at the expense of Memphis, who put in one brilliant cross in the first half but was otherwise dreadful.
56 min: As Conor Washington gives Northern Ireland a 2-0 lead over Belarus, Holland rumble forward for the first time in the second half in Dublin. They work Willems into space on the right - but the winger’s ensuing cross is abysmal. Danny Blind will need to be the Dutch Roberto Martinez to find any positives for his team in this performance so far.
53 min: Another Brady freekick causes chaos in the Dutch box! The visitors are a shambles, in truth, and Ireland are intent on taking advantage. Three home players won headers in the Dutch box after Brady’s delivery, Long eventually nutting over from seven yards.
51 min: Another freekick to Ireland in prime crossing territory for Brady. Long won it this time, pestering Bruma into a lubberly foul. Brady duly provides a wicked cross. It flashes past several players before bouncing off Bruma and out for a corner. Brady delivers that too, of course. Duffy soars above Bruma but nods the bar over the bar.
48 min: Brady’s freekick is indeed menacing! Bruma beats Duffy to it but heads it only as far as Walters, who reacts quickly to nod it back towards goals, but not without enough power to get past Cillessen.
47 min: Nice move by Ireland, started by McGoldrick, who’s quietly pulling a long of string in midfield. Brady and Arter also got involved before Quinn was fouled on the left, giving Brady an opportunity to deliver another menacing freekick.
46 min: No substitutions so far, which is a little surprising. Long, for one, should have been taken off and sent straight to bed: it is essential that he is kept far from harm’s way for the next three weeks.
“Conclusions from the first-half: Ireland will be channelling the spirit of Greece at the tournament, it will be another generation before Holland qualify foranything, and Mourinho will need some serious jedi mind tricks if he’s going to turn Memphis Depay into a footballer again.” - Masha Bonfire, who adds: “And why does everyone think Virgil van Dijk is good?” Are you suggesting he’s bad just because he let John O’Shea get away from him once? OK, I admit that’s alarming, but I suggest it would be better to judge Van Dijk on matches that really matter to him, rather than an early-summer friendly. And he was superb throughout the recent Premier League season: dominant in the air, strong in the tackle, smart in his reading of the game, accomplished in the way he moves forward and, what’s more, a threat from setpieces, including the freekicks he sometimes takes himself.
Half-time: Ireland 1-0 Holland
After a sketchy opening, it’s been a fine half for Ireland. Long, who is being watched by Mauricio Pochettino, underlined his importance to his country by stabbing into the net after an excellent header by John O’Shea from a corner by Robbie Brady, whose set-pieces will also be crucial to Ireland. More interestingly, all of the fringe players given an opportunity to enhance their claims for a place in the final squad have done so, especially Arter and McGoldrick. Duffy has also been commanding in central defence. randolph hasn’t had a save to make.
45+1 min: Memphis miscontrols, allowing Arter to nip in and play a dainty offload to Walters. The Dutch are in disarray at the back - but Walters fails to beat the first defender.
45 min: There’ll be one more minute in a half that has been full of encouragement for Ireland.
42 min: Tidy play by McGoldrick, who chests down the ball deep in Dutch territory and then surveys his options before playing a simple but smart ball to Quinn. McGoldrick has done well enough behind the front two to suggest he would not disgrace himself if called on to deputise for Wes Hoolahan.
40 min: Arter flies into Memphis as if he’s been shot from a cannon: that’s one wild foul too many for the ref, who shows a yellow card. Arter’s determination to make an impact is admirable but if he doesn’t control it better he could be heading for expulsion, which would be a real blow for him and Ireland.
38 min: Memphis tries to beat Coleman down the left, then turns inside and pings in a vicious cross towards Promes. If the forward had got a touch, that would have been trouble for Randolph, but Promes missed it by inches.
35 min: There’s an actual swagger to Ireland now: they’re making the Dutch scamper about as they ping the ball around nicely, Arter very much involved and finally showing there’s much more to his game than the exuberant fouls he was committing in the first few minutes.
32 min: Willems throws some shapes on the left wing and then fires a cross into the box. Duffy sends it away. The Blackburn defender has been dominant so far and may even be edging his way into a starting spot in France, though Ciaran Clark and Richard Keogh have been better for their countries than for their clubs.
GOAL! Ireland 1-0 Holland (Long 30)
Brady delivers a wonderful in-swinger. O’Shea darts away from Van Dijk (yes, the world-class Van Dijk) and bangs a magnificent downward header towards goals from 10 yards. It’s stopped on the line by a combination of the goalkeeper and Janssen, but Long reacts swiftly to stab the rebound into the net!
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28 min: McGoldrick flights a delicate pass from the centre circle to Coleman near the right-hand corner flag. The cross is put behind for a corner, and Duffy and O’Shea strides up from the back ...
25 min: Pochettino, you may be interested to know, is sitting beside Pat Dolan, whose various occupations include being the agent of Shane Long...
23 min: Ireland have got a stronger foothold in the game now and starting to ask question of the visitors. But it’s more Family Fortunes than University Challenge. “This is the first time in living memory the Dutch don’t have a world class player in their starting XI,” reckons John McEnerney, who obviously needs to watch Van Dijk more.
21 min: Lovely from Long! He peels into space on the let and collects a pass, then turns and sprints past Bruma, who takes him down with a crude chop. The striker is left with a little gash on his knee but no cause for alarm.
19 min: The ball breaks to Arter at the edge of the area. Always quick to spot a scoring chance, he lets fly straight away. But his shot takes a nick off a defender, leaving Cillessen with an easy save.
18 min: Quinn intercepts a pass in midfield and lopes down the right. That’s exactly the sort of burst that could lead to Irish chances tonight. Long dashes into the box and calls for a cross ... but Quinn overhits it, and the opportunity fades.
16 min: The camera picks out Mauricio Pochettino in the crowd. Who’s he here to watch? Wijnaldum? Long? It’s O’Shea, isn’t it?
14 min: Brady shunts Promes off the ball as the young winger tries to skin him down the right. The freekick is curled in towards Van Dijk, but Duffy rises and head well clear. The defence has looked solid so far.
12 min: Got to feel sorry so far for McGoldrick, Arter and Quinn. All three are scurrying around desperate to impress but the Dutch passing is so crisp that the Irish can barely get a touch. The visitors have created no chances yet but certainly irritating their hosts.
10 min: Promes fires in a testing out-swinging corner. O’Shea heads clear with encouraging authority.
8 min: Holland are popping the ball about with increasing zip and Ireland have spent most of the early stages chasing. Which makes it a useful warm-up for the Euros, to be fair.
6 min: Ireland’s formation was not easy to predict from the lineups: the evidence on the pitch so far is that it’s a 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond - Mc Goldrick is at the top, with Long and Walters the front duo.
4 min: Holland stroke the ball around in familiar fashion. The old steady build-up as preached recently by Louis Van Gaal. It comes to an end when Memphis fails to control a clipped pass to him. That, too, is something we’re used to seeing recently.
2 min: Arter’s first involvement sees him crunch into Strootman around mid-way. Not the sort of tackle a player wants to cop just before heading off on his holidays, and a sign of over-eagerness from Arter. He’d be booked for that in a proper match.
1 min: Off we go amid a low-key atmosphere. Lansdowne Road - as it must still be called - looks about 60% full. Maybe that’s because Bruce Springsteen is playing at Croke Park tonight, or because people are savouring some pints elsewhere.
OK, so it turns out the Dutch are sticklers for tradition even if they can’t play football like they used to: their jerseys are orange, albeit with a blue satin trim.
The teams take to the pitch. Ireland are modelling their white away jersey and it’s rather natty, with the four green rings on each arm an elegant touch. Holland are still wearing their orange tracksuit tops to generate suspense before the big reveal of their jerseys: or perhaps they’re not wearing any jerseys, playing bare-top to highlight their fall from grace. These will be the first Euros since 1984 without the former champions.
Martin O’Neill has just been interviewed about the inclusion of Harry Arter, who’s making only his second appearance for Ireland tonight. It was a most illuminating conversation:
Q: What are you expecting from Harry Arter?
MON: I”d like him to play well.
Q: Will he start wide?
MON: I didn’t say he’ll start wide.
Q: Will he?
MON: No.
Q: WHere will he start?
MON: In the middle of the field..
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.@DundalkFC goalkeeper named amongst the substitutes this evening. #IRLNED #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/BrrOyiIUZl
— FAIreland (@FAIreland) May 27, 2016
Preamble:
How humbling for the Dutch to be reduced to the role of sparring partners for the big boys. Holland are in Dublin solely to help the Republic of Ireland limber up for Euro 2016 and to vent a little frustration, for all the good that’ll do them. Mostly this evening is about helping Martin O’Neill to make up his mind on a few close calls before he cuts his squad on Tuesday night from 35 players to the final 23. If he has not already decided to take Harry Arter, then hopefully he will be convinced over the next few days that the Bournemouth man needs to be cast not only into the travelling party but the starting XI for the match against Sweden at the Stade de France on June 13, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be subdued by a central defensive duo consisting of … er … well, that’s some food for thought that may be giving O’Neill indigestion at the moment: perhaps we’ll see something from Shane Duffy tonight to make that match-up seem more palatable. And will David McGoldrick seize his chance to take one of the forward berths? Will Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers be given a cap an opportunity to become the first domestic-based player to go with Ireland to a major tournament?
Point of order: It is unlawful to mention Holland being in Dublin without referring to that day in 2001 when Jason McAteer sent Lansdowne Road into delirium (and Louis Van Gaal, desperately seeking an equaliser, showcased a philosophy that involved smashing long balls up to a premonition of Marouane Fellaini). But Ireland-Holland clashes have also produced other classic moments, including Tommy Coyne’s finest night in green and Mark Lawrenson’s transformation into a right-winger capable of skinning Ruud Krol, no less, before teeing up Frank Stapleton for possibly the greatest Irish header not scored against England (go to 3mins15sec here). And the last time Holland went to Dublin, in 2006, they inflicted Ireland’s heaviest home defeat in 40 years – 4-0, fittingly – and gave persuasive evidence, if it were needed, that Steve Staunton was not the manager to inspire glory. Tonight we’ll be looking for more encouraging lessons. And, most of all, no injuries.
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Teams:
Ireland: Randolph; Coleman, O’Shea, Duffy, Brady; Walters, Whelan, Arter, Quinn; Long, McGoldrick
Holland: Cillesseen; Veltman, Bruma, Van Dijk, Wilems; Bazoer, Wijnaldum, Strootman; Promes, Janssen, Memphis
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