Miguel Delaney: Defence to the fore once again
It was actually fitting that Ciaran Clark and Shane Duffy combined for the game’s only goal, even before they bound together to keep Switzerland at bay. Whether this is the start of a future central defensive partnership remains to be seen but, either way, it is the continuation of a theme with O’Neill’s team: Defenders going beyond what should be fairly expected.
In that regard, there has also been something of a contradiction to Ireland’s backline too. Even though it is the thinnest area of the squad — as illustrated by the low numbers of defenders in the squad sheet and the fact a winger has been converted into a first-choice full-back — it has often been the strongest and sturdiest part of the team. Literally and figuratively.
Moments like Shane Long’s goal against Germany apart, it is not a stretch to say qualification was built on that backline, having only conceded 10 goals in seven games.
That is the eighth-best record out of all 52 teams involved — behind Romania two, England and Spain three, Wales four, Croatia and Belgium five, Iceland six — but is arguably the more impressive feat when you consider that it came out of a group with world champions Germany and possibly the best striker in the world in Robert Lewandowski, not to mention a side of similar ability in Scotland.
That’s fairly elite stuff.
It is even more impressive when you consider the status of so many of the players right now, since they are certainly not elite.
John O’Shea, Clark and Robbie Brady are all in relegation fights with their clubs, the goalkeeper Darron Randolph only plays in cup matches for West Ham United and Seamus Coleman is in a Roberto Martinez Everton team that hardly prioritises defence and can often look a shambles there.
As if to illustrate what “should” be a concern, O’Shea’s replacement Duffy comes from Championship Blackburn Rovers.
And yet, it all just about comes together.
Even if there are occasional moments of doubt, the backline holds together.
The entrance of Duffy in the absence of defensive leader O’Shea didn’t see any drop in cohesion, and that against a creative and light-footed Swiss attack. So many delicate opposition touches were met with meaty challenges, of the type you don’t see with that much frequency in international football.
There was a high frequency of them here, all the more notable because this was a friendly match. It must not have felt like that to some of the Swiss attackers. Every one of them at one point suffered the effects of a strong tackle, and every single Irish defender put in at least one.
One of the heftiest was from a player formerly considered a light-footed winger himself. Brady went in impressively strong on Admir Mehmedi early on.
It wasn’t so much ‘letting him know he’s there’, as leaving the Swiss winger in no doubt he was there, as well as his body on the floor.
There was much more to it than old-fashioned defensive physicality though.
The Swiss usually have impressively swift movement in attack, orchestrated by Arsenal target Granit Xhaka, but the Irish back four closed ranks incredibly quickly when that showed. In the second half, Clark showed supreme speed — both mentally and physically — to get across and so cleanly clear just as Breel Embalo seemed to be lining up for a shot.
It was a story of the game. Other than one early free header from Michael Lang, albeit from a difficult angle, the Swiss didn’t exactly get much space or enjoyment from set-pieces either.
That is the value of Duffy in that regard. At six-foot-four, he is the tallest central defender available to O’Neill, an inch taller than O’Shea and more than two taller than Clark and Richard Keogh.
It is not just about his height, though. There is a muscularity there too, and that again fit with a theme of the evening, as so many Swiss attacks suffered under the sheer physical presence of Irish defensive players.
There was one scare when a Shani Tarashaj a bobbled just wide on 83 minutes but that was by the time the game had become a free-for-all with so many subs.
It is no reflection on a defence that is so resilient.
Whatever about who comes into the squad, it seems to be one thing O’Neill can bank on for France. The defence will band together.
