O’Neill pays tribute to a ‘fantastic talent’

"The only player on the pitch capable of scoring that goal."

That’s how Martin O’Neill paid tribute to Aiden McGeady for the audacious slice of sorcery which delivered three points for Ireland at the 11th hour in Tbilisi last night.

Later, O’Neill amended that to “the only player in our team who could have scored that goal,” something which will hardly ruffle any other feathers in the Irish camp after the winger, with two goals, had resoundingly answered all those critics who have charged him with invariably promising more than he delivers.

“Maybe he thinks at his age, he should have been up with the finest players and he showed that tonight, he’s a fantastic talent,” O’Neill went on.

“There’s been a lot of talk about his ratio of goals to games played — but at least that’s improving now.”

Yet, for all that he was delighted with a victory in his first competitive game in charge, the manager wasn’t overlooking the problems in Ireland’s overall performance.

“I thought we had plenty of possession, plenty of passes and sometimes maybe away from home that’s okay,” he said.

“I thought we were in control and probably at our most comfortable when they scored. It was a good strike, yes, but I still felt that we could have done more to prevent it in the build-up.

“And that goal changed the momentum of the game. It gave them confidence, it gave the crowd something to shout about and there were moments in second half which were worrying. We might not have been fruitful in our attempts to get the second goal and there was some wayward crosses when we needed it most just before McGeady scored. And you didn’t want to lose a game that you had been in reasonable control of.

“But we’ve seen it through. We’ve won away from home and that’s terrific. But there’s definitely improvement in the team.”

With all Ireland’s group rivals still to visit Tbilisi, O’Neill is also hoping that the same applies to Georgia.

“Georgia allowed us at times to have the ball,” he observed, “although when they scored they got some momentum. But I was a little surprised in the second half that it looked as if they were settling for a draw. But it was also their first game and players get tired. Perhaps they were thinking that if they secured a point it would be an okay way to start the competition.

“I was very impressed with them when they played France and they have a lot of talent, but I don’t think tonight was their best night.”

Georgia manager Temur Ketsbaia said that Ireland’s winning goal “was the only moment of quality in the second half — perhaps a draw would have been a fair result and left both teams happy.”

He continued: “Our performance is not what we want to see and we definitely want to see better games and results. We have limitations in the team and in Georgian football in general.

“That is the reality we have to face. We cannot fault the players’ effort and they stuck to the task for 99% of the time. Ireland have 25 players who play at the top level, with most in the Premier League.”