One to relish as Ireland get mix of passion and power just right
The record shows that the 1-0 win in Vienna was our first victory over Austria since a famous European Nations Cup game in Dalymount Park in October 1963.
Although I was only seven at the time, it’s a match and an experience which remains vivid in my memory, since not only was it my first time being brought to see Ireland play but, to complete my excitement, my brother Ray was playing in a side which won a thrilling contest 3-2 with a last-minute Noel Cantwell penalty.
With a fever-pitch atmosphere at Dalymount, it wouldn’t be any exaggeration to say that this was the game that turned me totally football crazy.
Ray isn’t enjoying the best of health at the moment so Ireland’s result on Saturday night, coming all of 53 years after he helped us secure our last win against the Austrians, will have cheered him up no end.
And I’m pleased to say that, even though it was hardly a thriller on the same scale, Ireland’s win in Vienna almost gave me as much pleasure as that storied game back in 1963.
First and foremost, I thought it was a really good, fighting performance from Ireland — and it needed to be, because Austrian were quite physical and aggressive. But we stood toe to toe with them and, in the end, we emerged the stronger team, both mentally and physically. We relished the challenges more and generally competed better in terms of the hard side of the game.
True, it all made for a scrappy match that wouldn’t have amounted to much of a spectacle for neutrals but, having ridden our luck a little in the first half — not least when Marcel Sabitzer hit the bar — the footballers we’ve got in the team popped up to make all the difference.
First, there was that moment close to half-time when Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady combined brilliantly, and Jon Walters really should have scored from Brady’s beautiful cross. And even though that was one that got away, I’m sure the players went in at half-time thinking, ‘this is what we can do and they’re not that great — not only can we get out of here without losing, this is a match we can win’.
And, sure enough, we didn’t have to wait for long after the restart to see Ireland’s growing confidence rewarded. David Meyler, who’d come on as a sub for Glenn Whelan, is a confident lad anyway, and it showed in the way he robbed Kevin Wimmer and played a good pass to Wes to set the winning goal in motion.
Wes found himself in a lovely space in the middle of the park and, instinctive player that he is, he didn’t dwell on things before releasing James McClean, who was bombing down the left, with a perfect pass. McClean has said that he’s been working on his finishing, and he certainly did everything right at that moment. His intent was to keep his shot on target, and he hit it early enough and with sufficient power that the keeper hadn’t time to adjust his position and was left helpless as the ball flew between his legs.
It was a tremendous counter-attacking goal, worthy of turning the match in Ireland’s favour. True, Marc Janko’s miss right at the death was inexplicable but, while we might have been fortunate in a few instances, you’d have to say, overall, Ireland thoroughly deserved it.
In goal, Darren Randolph was a solid and reassuring presence behind a defence which, for all my pre-match worries about the Shane Duffy-Ciaran Clark combination, was disciplined and decisive throughout. There were none of the silly mistakes we’ve seem from the centre-halves in the past, so this was a real positive outing for them as individuals and as a pair.
If there was one area of disappointment for Ireland, it was in midfield, where the players we hoped would provide a creative dimension failed to do so — at least not until Wes Hoolahan’s quality shone through just when we needed it most.
I hoped for more from Harry Arter but, on what was his competitive debut, he seemed to be burdened with anxiety so that, instead of getting on the ball and dictating the play, his most effective work was done in getting in tackles, closing down space, and tracking back.
In the first half, when the Austrians were on top, Wes was a bit disappointing too. I don’t think the bumpy pitch helped anyone’s first touch but Wes certainly lost possession a couple of times and, like Arter and Jeff Hendrick, his most meaningful contribution for a long period was in helping stop Austria play rather than getting Ireland playing.
That was important work in its own right, of course, but the reason Hoolahan should always be in the team was encapsulated in that inventive one-two with Brady which should have led to Walters opening the scoring coming up to half-time, and then, on the other side of the break, the sweeping pass which put McClean in for what turned out to be the winner.
McClean was deservedly named Man Of The Match. His commitment and work-rate — his sheer bloody-mindedness at times — are real assets to the team. The fact that he needed an epidural to overcome back pain and play on Saturday summed up his passion for playing for his country. And now he’s adding really important goals to his armoury as well.
His latest secured what was a great result for Ireland, sending us top of the World Cup qualifying table and giving Austria, perceived to be one of our main rivals at the start of the group, a real problem— they simply can’t afford another setback because, already, it’s near enough to a three-horse race between ourselves, Serbia, and Wales.
That first point we got in Belgrade is looking more valuable with every game. The way the Serbians celebrated their late equaliser in Cardiff on Saturday showed how much salvaging an away draw meant to them — they really seem to be up for this campaign now. So to get the start we have is brilliant and it sets everything up nicely for the visit of the Welsh next March.
Unfortunately, the one moment of Irish ill-discipline in Vienna means that Robbie Brady will miss that game but, on a more optimistic note, the way the group has gone so far suggests that, despite shining at the Euros, Wales are not a brilliant team, though they can, of course, boast a brilliant player in Gareth Bale. What Ireland’s results in the group so far have done is establish a really good platform for further progress towards a top two finish. And if this team plays as well as it is capable of, then I would back them to beat Wales in Dublin.
But that’s a long way off. For now, we should give credit to the team and to the manager for the way they have finished up 2016. That was a real Martin O’Neill result in Vienna, the kind we’ve seen from other teams of his in big matches: dogged, well organised, with that dollop of top quality needed to hurt the opposition on the break and then the resilience to keep a clean sheet and ensure the win.
Like I said, it was a night for all generations of Irish football fans to relish.
