Full-time: Ireland 1-1 Scotland
An engrossing battle ends in a fair result, and the dancing and whooping from the visiting sections show who it suits more. A play-off place looks the least that Scotland should achieve in this group now. Ireland seem jiggered. And on that note, thanks and goodbye.
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90+2 min: Thins it’s fair to say Scotland are settling for the draw now: Strachan’s introducing Berrra for Naismith.
90 min: There’ll be at least three more minutes in Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualification campaign ...
89 min: Poland are 3-0 up at home to Georgia. Ireland need a winner here or the composition of the top three in this group will be all but decided, with Germany, Poland and Scotland having to fight over the order.
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88 min: McClean and Naismith booked for mutual stropping.
87 min: Foxy turn by Maloney to send Hendrick on a wild goose chase. Scotland building with patient purpose here. Eventually they send a dangerous cross towards Fletcher at the back post, but Brady does well to head it clear.
86 min: Long flicks on a mighty whack from Brady. Forsyth intervenes before Keane can profit.
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85 min: Scottish sub: Brown off, McArthur on.
84 min: Brady pings in a high-quality corner. McClean and Hutton compete for it at the neat post and it comes off the Scot’s head and flashes wide for another corner. Scotland deal with this one better.
83 min: Brady hurries over from the left to take a freekick on the right, about 40 yards. Heere comes as curling in-swinger ... but only after the ref lectures Walters and Brown for some preparatory shoving ... then Mulgrew nods Brady’s delivery behind for a corner.
81 min: Scotland nearly strike a late goal! From a corner the ball fell to Naismith, who spanked it goalward from 10 yards ... but Ireland are saved as it bounces off Fletcher and away!
80 min: Irish sub: Murphy off, Long on. Exactly the right change, if a little late. But Ireland have scored several goals in the dying minutes in this group already. Another one on the way?
79 min: Not saying Scotland have settled for the draw, but they’ve definitely dialled their adventure down a touch in the last few minutes. But they have began to take a tighter grip on the game.
77 min: McCarthy coughs up possession cheaply, and Brown shows commendable poise to deflate Ireland by instigating a bout of measured Scottish possession play.
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75 min: Keane gets his first touch when he receives the ball wide on the right. He waddles in-field, shapes to pass, and then unleashes a decent drive from 25 yards. But it never looked like beating Marshall, who gathered it with little trouble.
74 min: Irish sub: Hoolahan off, Keane on. All those people who claim Keane’s amazing international haul has been racked up against minnows do not know what they’re talking about: he has scored vital goals in the biggest games against the best opponents. Now would be an ideal time to extend that beautiful habit.
73 min: A bout of ping-pong in the Scottish box following the Irish corner, ending with Hendrick heading over while falling backwards.
71 min: Murphy harasses Hutton Long-style, and is rewarded by winning back possession. He tries to pick out Walters in the middle by Martin sticks out a leg to prod it behind for a corner.
69 min: This is cracking stuff. Both teams are hellbent on victory, and tear forward as soon as they get the ball. Anya has led most Scottish charges, while Ireland have no one with that pace. Murphy’s aerial prowess seems to be the reason that O’Neill hasn’t thrust on Long yet. But so far the Scottish defence have kept Murphy away from the ball pretty well.
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68 min: Irish sub: Whelan off, McClean on.
67 min: O’Shea becomes possessed by the spirit of Franz Beckenbauer, strides forwards, swaps passes with Coleman and tries to send a cross towards the penalty spot, but Forsyth puts an end to that plan.
65 min: Anya, who has made a big impact since his introduction, shuffles to create space down the left and then dinks over a cross that takes a deflection off Coleman and puts Given in a world of bother. The keeper scrambles it away with one hand and is fortunate that no Scot is there to prod in the rebound.
64 min: Maloney’s corner is cleared and suddenly Ireland have a counter-attack on. Hoolahan collects the ball and tries to turn to release a team-mate charging down the left, but he’s caught by a superb tackle by Morrison. Ireland bay for a freekick but that’s just desperation.
63 min: Mulgrew heads away a Hendrick cross. Scotland tear forward through Naismith and Anya, who scurries into the box but has to make do with a corner.
62 min: The need for both sides to win this has just been intensified, as Poland have taken the lead against Georgia.
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61 min: Hendrick catches Morrison with his forearm he both jumped for a ball in midfield. Again the Scots are aggrieved by the ref’s leniency.
59 min: Walters flicks on a long boot from Given, straight into the path of Murphy, who doesn’t have the pace to really get free of the Scottish defenders ... and nor does he have a right foot, apparently, as he lunges at the ball awkwardly with his left. The result shot poses no problem to Marshall.
57 min: O’Shea concedes a freekick about 28 yards out with a witless shove on Naismith. Mulgrew leans back and lifts it way over the bar.
55 min: A beautiful zig-zag run takes Hoolahan past two opponents in midfield. He then plays a nice ball to Hendrik, who sends it wide to Coleman. Then Forsyth puts an end to Irish conniving.
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53 min: Murphy bustles his way into the box, but Hutton gets back in time to force him back out.
50 min: The tempo has been jacked up even higher and this game is starting to reach scruffy thriller territory. But there’ll be a pause right now as Wilson gets a booking for a late tackle from behind on Fletcher. Actually no he won’t, as the ref again opts for leniency towards the Irish. You can’t begrudge the Scots’ the lucky deflection for their goal when you consider the decisions that have gone in Ireland’s favour here.
48 min: Hoolahan threads the ball behind Hutton. Murphy gets the march on the full-back and fires low at goal from 10 yards. Marshall makes a fine save with his feet and then blocks the rebound from Walters. Corner to Ireland.
47 min: That was a remarkably fast-acting adjustment from Strachan! The nick off Coleman’s was lucky, but the build-up was excellent and the Irish defence seemed flat-footed in comparison.
GOAL! Ireland 1-1 Scotland (Maloney 46)
Lovely interplay by Scotland around the Irish box, culminating in a dinky one-two between Anya and Maloney and an 18-yard shot from the latter that takes a deflection off Coleman and drops into the bottom corner of the net past a nonplussed Given!
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46 min: Scotland sub: Anya on, Ritchie off. Had to be done. Scotland need to get Coleman going backwards instead of pinging in regular crosses.
Half-time: Ireland 1-0 Scotland
It’s been pulsating, and Walters’ goal sets up the second half nicely. It shouldn’t have been allowed, as Walters was a half a yard offside and standing right in front of Marshall when Murphy’s header came in. if that is the goal that costs the Scots’ qualification, perhaps the Scottish FA should seek some form of consolation from Sepp Blatter? But we’re a long way from that. A long way. Lots of twists, turns, jabs, hoofs and bangs to go in the next half. Surely Giffiths and Anya will be chucked on soon, and Ireland must be thinking about Shane Long ... and also fretting about a red card, with both McCarthy and Whelan on yellows and on edge.
44 min: What a chance! Brady’s corner came right across the goal, bouncing five yards out, but no one was sharp enough to apply a killer touch!
43 min: Brady fires over another dangerous cross from the left. Mulgrew, looking frazzled, heads behind for a corner, from the same side that the goal came from.
42 min: Naismith stretches out a telescopic leg to take the ball down with aplomb 25 yards out. He wriggles to his right in search of a shooting opportunity, but Ireland are in the zone now and usher him away from goal. The Scottish attack fizzles out.
GOAL! Ireland 1-0 Scotland (Walters 38)
Brady sends in an in-swinger. Murphy gets his head to it and Walters - standing right in front of the keeper! - pounces on the rebound from Marshall and smashes it into the net from two yards. The Scots are appealing for offside but the referee is uninterested! The Irish wheel away in jubilation!
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38 min: Whelan pings a diagonal ball from 30 yards out towards Murphy, who gets a soft looping header to it. Marshall is sufficiently worried to plan it over for a corner.
36 min: Scotland circulate the ball well for about two minutes. No sign of penetration but at least they’re moving the theatre of conflict forward.
33 min: Hendrick strides forward from midfield and then slips a nice ball behind the Scottish defence for Coleman to run on to. The Everton defender sends in another cross from the right but Scotland, even with Martin off the pitch receiving treatment, defend it well and clear the danger. Ireland are going to have ti find more precision in their crosses if they’re to unhinge this defence.
30 min: A ball bounces high in midfield. McCarthy and Martin leap to meet it. Martin gets his head to the ball, and McCarthy gets his elbow to Martin’s head! Martin is bloodied, his team-mates are outraged! Angry shoving and gesticulating ensues. The Italian referee decides that McCarthy deserves only a yellow. He could easily have taken a harsher tack, but it seems the fact that there was no thrusting motion from McCarthy has persuaded the ref to be lenient.
28 min: Another Irish corner, their third of the match, for those of you like counting these things. It’s another decent delivery by Brady. Martin tries to clear but his header is more of a flick-on, and Ritchie is forced into the concession of another corner at the far side. Whelan’s delivery is cack.
25 min: This is brilliant! Players from both sides are launching themselves into tackles with wholesome fierceness. No pussyfooting here, and not much pretty passing, but it’s invigorating fare.
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23 min: Whelan puts his foot on the ball in midfield, surveys his options, then spanks it into the stands. Not sure what he was seeing in his mind, there, but it looked mighty silly in real life.
21 min: Frantic harrying (a good name for a detective in a thriller series, that) leads to Ireland winning a corner, as Coleman’s cross is put behind in a panic by Forsyth. The corner yields nothing.
18 min: Walters’ power is troubling Scotland. The Stoke stalwart collects the ball from another long boot, holds off his man and then feeds Coleman, who’s charging down the right. Coleman sticks over a decent cross, but Murphy fails to connect. His timing has been a little off so far, Murphy,. as it was against England last week. Nerves, most likely, from a player who probably though his international days were behind him until recently. “McGoldrick on in the last 30 minutes will win this for Ireland,” bellows NW5Blue, a man of faith.
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16 min: Whelan gets a glimpse of goal from 30 yards and tries his luck. He struck it with power but no accuracy.
15 min: Scotland are settling. They looked shaken in the first few minutes but they’ve steadied themselves since then and ping the ball about confidently when they get it. And when Ireland have it, the visitors’ organisation is denying openings. It’s tight, tense, and gripping.
13 mins: Brady races down the left with menace for the first time. Hutton is unimpressed by his jigging so the left-back, unable to beat his main, hoiks in a cross. But he over-hit it and Marshall is happy to wave it past.
10 min: Danger from Scotland! Maloney feeds Fletcher, whose crack from 20 yards is tipped over by Given. A clever corner follows, with the ball cut back to Ritchie (I think), who clips a teasing cross towards the back post. Ireland clear in extremis.
8 min: Forsyth looked shaky on his first couple of touches, but he did well just now to ward off Coleman, who was foraging for an opening down the right as Ireland continue to enjoy territorial supremacy.
6 min: Marshall shows poise to claim the game’s first corner at the edge of his six-yard box. It was a reasonable delivery from Brady, whose deliveries were awful against Poland in the last qualifier, but the keeper showed whose boss in his box.
4 min: A shoddy pass from Wilson enables Morrison to lead a Scottish counter-charge. He gallops forward 20 yards and then nudges the ball on to Naismith, whose shot from distance is weak and off-target.
3 min: Walters stomps past Forsyth down the left but his pass to Hoolahan is mislaid. But this is an encouraging opening from Ireland, who are rattling the visitors early doors.
2 min: The long ball nearly brings early joy for Ireland, as a punt from Given bobbles into the path of Hoolahan. He tries to help it on to Walters, but the Wessi’s touch was unusually awkward.
1 min: We have lift-off! Scotland work the ball quickly to Hutton, who bogs it downfield straight away. Ireland regain possession and soon there’s a fleeting hint of a chance after a minor mis-step from Russell Martin. But Scotland tidy it up. The first 60 seconds have been pleasingly hectic.
Before kick-off, a moment’s applause for the late Bill O’Herlihy and Robbie Keane’s two cousins who died in a tragic accident earlier this week.
Point of order from Billy Williamson: “I wasn’t happy about Wales last night ‘cos I’m still bitter about Bale’s diving in the last set of Scotland-Wales games!” Never forget.
Lansdowne Road (as it must still be called) is absolutely heaving with noisy anticipation. This is the stuff!
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Anthems:
Oh dear, here we go again: this particular pre-match ritual is usually another source of Irish embarrassment. Most of the population, you see, only know the first and last lines of national anthem, where opponents always sing lustily along to the entirety of theirs, as the Scottish crowd have just done. Having said that, Amhrán na bhFiann has just been sung with uncharacteristic gusto by a decent chuck of the home crowd. So that’s another thing I may have to retract. Heck, the way things are going, my pessimism with regard to the result could soon prove unfounded too, and that’d be dandy.
Gordon Strachan speaks: “Looking back to the match at Glasgow, it was intense but it didn’t get emotional. Both managers will probably looking for the same thing again.”
The subs:
Ireland: Forde, Westoowd, Keogh, McGeady, Long, Keane, McClean, Meyler, Christie, Ward, Quinn, McGoldrick
Scotland: Gordon, Samson, Whittaker, Anya, Fletcher, Adam, Greer, Robertson, Forrest, Griffiths, Berra, McArthur
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Sky are showing lots of footage of Scottish fans parading around Dublin with pints, bagpipes and kilts.
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“Afternoon Paul,” greets Simon McMahon. “I’ve not been as excited as this about a Scotland qualifier since, well, I can’t remember, I’m that excited. What’s worrying me most, though, is that even though I should know better by now, I fancy us to win. And as we all know, it’s the hope that kills you.” You’re optimistic, I’m pessimistic: both of us can’t be right. Oh bugger, we can.
Here’s Joe Meredith with another question: “I wonder, is there one England fan who’s genuinely more excited about tomorrow’s game than this fixture? I’ve always felt this is football’s advantage over rugby - that home nations matches are so rare that everyone’s sort of supporting everyone else. Except for England, obviously, and that’s absolutely fine.” I don’t know, Joe, but I certainly haven’t met any Scottish, Irish or English person today who wasn’t delighted for Wales last night.
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By way of pre-match entertainment, how about a sermon, ladies and gentlemen? Well tough, you’re getting one anyway., Hark:
It’s going to take something spellbinding from Ireland this afternoon to dispel the sense that Scottish football is more deserving of a place in the European Championship than Ireland at this point. It’s popular for people south of Hadrian’s wall to scorn Scottish football, but that’s not really fair or sensible, is it? Forget about the English Premier League, far better to compare the Scottish domestic scene with that of a country of roughly similar size – such as Ireland. Despite it, too, being next to the most mediatised league in the world, and even with its current struggles, the Scottish league has a vibrance to be proud of compared to the League of Ireland. Scotland has plenty of clubs with solid local anchoring and international respectability. Ireland have clubs with heritage and passionate followers, too, but ones that are neglected or mocked outside small circles in their own land. The combined total attendance at League of Ireland matches every weekend is less than the number of Irish fans that travel to Britain every weekend to watch football. And when it comes to player development, you can’t deny that that the FAI effectively tends to outsource a lot of that to English clubs. It’s a dismal state-of-affairs. And John Delaney hasn’t done much to brighten it up, despite his extravagant salary and that embarrassing windfall from Fifa. So, in the grand scheme of things, who merits a place in the European Championships more? Know that I am partially using this logic to console myself in advance of a match that I don’t expect Ireland to win, alas.
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Preamble:
Hello and welcome to a clash that will leave boot-prints on the memory no matter what happens. This is pivotal, folks, as the outcome will go a long way towards determining the course of Europe’s tightest group and defining an era for each nation and manager. Brace yourselves!
A win for Scotland would almost guarantee them at least a play-off spot as they attempt to reach a major tournament for the first time this millennium and – with their remaining games against Poland and Germany both at home – they’d have a fair chance of going through automatically. Even a draw would leave Gordon Strachan’s side nicely placed. Either of those results, then, would royally banjax Ireland, for whom today is a case of victory or oblivion. The line-ups are fascinating: does the inclusion of Dayrl Murphy and Jonathan Walters ahead of Shane Long and Robbie Keane suggest Martin O’Neill is going for the hurly-burly bluster that failed so lamely in Glasgow? Perhaps not, as Wes Hoolalan is also starting, so looks the manager’s banking on a blend of guile and mayhem. Is today the day that O’Neill finally stamps an identity on this team? Or will Strachan’s side show themselves to be smarter and all-round superior again? It’ll be interesting to see how Matt Ritchie does, given that he has been selected instead of Ikechi Anya, whose speed on the counter-attack was expected by many to be one of Scotland’s chief weapons. So there is intrigue, people, and there will be thunder, too.
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Line-ups
Republic of Ireland: Given, Coleman, Brady, Wilson, O’Shea, McCarthy, Whelan, Hendrick, Hoolahan, Walters, Murphy.
Subs: Keane, Meyler, Ward, Forde, McClean, Keogh, McGoldrick, McGeady, Long, Westwood, Christie, Quinn.
Scotland: Marshall, Hutton, Forsyth, Martin, Mulgrew, Maloney, Morrison, Brown, S Fletcher, Naismith, Ritchie.
Subs: Gordon, Whittaker, Anya, D Fletcher, Adam, Greer, Robertson, Forrest, Griffiths, Samson, Berra, McArthur.
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Paul will be here shortly.
