Reality bites at the back

Emulating Chelsea is impossible without getting the basics right in defence.

There was talk of the Republic ‘doing a Chelsea’ when they arrived here in Poland; the theory being a highly experienced side that has stuck by its veteran players could overcome the tag of underdogs to match the kind of achievement Roberto Di Matteo’s men produced in Munich through sheer determination and organisation.

But such sentiment already looks over-optimistic.

Certainly Ireland arrived in Poznan with the oldest squad at the Euros (an average age above 28) and with some of the most experienced and trusted internationals in European football (Shay Given won his 123rd cap last night, Robbie Keane his 118th, John O’Shea his 76th). But the comparison doesn’t go much further.

The truth is Chelsea had Didier Drogba, Chelsea had defensive solidity (even with a makeshift back four) and Chelsea had plenty of good fortune. Sadly the Republic last night had none of those on a hugely disappointing night which makes their next two matches in Group C all the tougher.

Not that Giovanni Trapattoni’s men didn’t put in a shift, they worked as hard as ever and battled to the end as you would expect of any Ireland side; and they were backed by a wonderful crowd that lit up the tournament as usual.

But although they were woefully short of luck on a night when nothing went right it’s hard not to reflect that most of that misfortune was brought on themselves through a sheer lack of defensive stability.

Yes, you could say Croatia’s crucial second goal had an element of offside about it; Jelavic was a long way ahead of play when Luka Modric shot and it’s a nonsense of a rule these days that prevents linesmen raising their flag in such situations. But the ball only reached the Everton man because poor Stephen Ward made such a hash of his clearance, and that summed up Ireland’s night.

There was bad luck, a huge slice of it, when Given inadvertently diverted a Mandzukic effort into his own goal after the ball struck the post and lamentably hit Ireland’s record caps holder on the head before landing in the net.

But why was Modric allowed to cross so freely? Why was St Ledger beaten so easily in the air and with such little support from his colleagues?

Then there was the first goal; Darijo Srna allowed to reach the byline with far too much ease just three minutes in — and Mandzukic allowed to steer a header home from all of 16 yards. Those were the moments that cost Ireland dear in the end; moments that Chelsea, with greater focus and organisation, were able to avoid.

Much will be made perhaps of Ireland’s lack of quality in midfield (some reports suggest their pass completion rate was only 70% in the first half, the lowest in the tournament so far).

But up against a technical side such as Croatia, who possess players of immense quality such as Tottenham’s Modric, that was always to be expected. What Trapattoni’s men needed to do to succeed in Poland was to defend properly and allow their natural competitive spirit and wonderful team ethic to shine through in the end. Unfortunately the first part couldn’t be achieved, so the second part of the equation was impossible.

Their tournament is not over, of course. But can anybody imagine the Irish producing a better result against world champions Spain or 2006 champions Italy unless their defending is completely transformed over the next few days?

Richard Dunne and his colleagues need to remember the kind of defending and organisation that earned a goalless draw in Russia; and remember it quickly.

It’s not too late to ‘do a Chelsea’ but in truth it will take an even greater miracle than Di Matteo’s men performed in the Champions League to progress this time. In this year of astonishing results and incredible turn-arounds let’s hope it is not one miracle too many.