Tbilisi terror McGeady saves the best for last
The old Celtic mutual appreciation society reconvened in ultimately glorious fashion in Tbilisi, just when Ireland looked like they were about to surrender two points after McGeady had given them an early lead.
But, eclipsing even Georgia’s fine equaliser, the visitors’ most impressive performer on the night finally produced a moment of winning magic right on the stroke of full-time, bamboozling his marker with an audacious trick on the edge of the box, before hitting the sweetest of rising left-foot shots to the back of the net.
And so a player who had previously scored only three times in 69 appearances almost doubled that tally on the occasion of his 70th cap — and the meaning of it all was evident in the explosion of joy on the Irish bench as he delivered the killer blow.
The three points were all the more welcome since Ireland, though dominant in possession, struggled to find the necessary cutting edge in a game which, especially in the second half, was played almost exclusively in the Georgian half of the field.
To that extent, McGeady’s winner masked a number of worrying if hardly unfamiliar deficiencies but the beauty of how last night’s game ended is that O’Neill now has time to address the negatives while basking in the immediate positives of a win on the road in the first game of European Championship qualifying.
That’s what they mean when they talk about the difference a goal makes. After all the talk of a new managerial broom, O’Neill’s first starting 11 in a competitive match hardly swept away memories of the Italian era, the absence of Wes Hoolahan an echo of Giovanni Trapattoni whenever the previous manager was confronted with a potentially testing assignment, especially away from home.
Stephen Quinn — awarded a first competitive start — is an inventive player who can pick out a pass but he’s also something of a terrier which, in addition to Jon Walters playing wide right, reinforced the sense that getting a result in Tbilisi would be a matter more of fire than finesse for Ireland.
At the back, the debate about the goalkeeper was abruptly ended by the appearance of David Forde on the team sheet — the Galwegian later revealing that he’d been told of his selection earlier in the week — while Stephen Ward had done enough in the manager’s eyes to retain his place at left-back, leaving Marc Wilson to partner John O’Shea in the heart of the defence.
Beneath a full moon on a sultry, airless night in a stadium whose attendance of around 30,000 fell a good way short of its 55,000 capacity — with the travelling contingent of just under 500 Irish fans wedged tightly together behind one of the goals — the local hardcore in the stands still contrived to create plenty of what a large Ultras banner, helpfully printed in English, called ‘Red-White Noise’.
The textbook on playing away from home always advises on the value of silencing the crowd early, and plenty of early Irish possession soon had the Georgian supporters whistling their disapproval. The big drawback for the visitors was that they were making little headway with the ball, early forays up the right by Seamus Coleman and Walters foundering on a lack of quality in their crosses. Then at the back, Coleman had a nervous moment, getting caught in possession and giving away a free which, fortunately for the Everton man, came to naught.
And with the notoriously goal-shy Georgians not doing much better in attempting to work the opposition goal, the football becoming increasingly scrappy as the first 20 minutes elapsed.
Then, in the space of a couple of minutes, the game simply exploded into life. First, Georgia twice came close — Forde getting a touch to deny Nikoloz Gelashvilli, before the Irish defence narrowly survived the resultant corner. But, from that double reprieve, Forde’s kick out instantly turned defence into attack, Walters winning the ball in the air and, after an astute pass from James McCarthy, the unmarked Aiden McGeady was ideally positioned to supply the cool finish.
That should have been the signal for the visitors to consolidate from a position of strength but instead, the lead only lasted 14 minutes, impressive Georgian midfielder Tornlike Okriashvillie conjuring a moment of individual quality to leave Forde flat-footed with a shot out of the blue which flew into the Irish net and sent the Dinamo Arena into raptures.
Now it was Georgia with the wind in their sails and the roars of the crowd in their ears so that, having seen their advantage so stunningly wiped out, it was with relief as much as disappointment that the Irish sought the sanctuary of the dressing room at half-time.
Georgia manager Temur Ketsbaia was forced into a goalkeeping change for the second half, Roin Kvaskhvadze replacing Giorgi Loria after the latter had required lengthy treatment following a collision with Stephen Quinn towards the end of the first period.
Virtually all of the second 45 was played in Georgia’s half but Ireland simply couldn’t find a way through their massed defence. While Robbie Keane struggled to make an impact — snatching at one half-chance at the far post from a lofted Walters cross — McGeady had come close a couple of times before O’Neill sent on Shane Long and Robbie Brady with 15 minutes remaining.
But it wasn’t the fresh legs who made the crucial difference. Instead, in a classic case of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’, McGeady saved his very best for the very end — and his wonder goal was enough to mean that Ireland left Georgia with those precious three points.
GEORGIA: Lorla; Lobjanidze, Kverkvella, Kashia, Khubutia, Kankava, Daushvili, Glashvili, Anaidze, Okriashvili, Xvirkvelia.
Subs: R Kvaskhvadze for G Loria (45), D Targammadze for Ananidze (61), L Mchedlidze for Okriashvili (87).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: D Forde; S Coleman, J O’Shea, M Wilson, S Ward, J Walters, J McCarthy, G Whelan, S Quinn, A McGeady, R Keane.
Subs: S Long for R Keane (75), R Brady for Quinn (75), D Meyler for McCarthy (89).
Referee: Kevin Blom (Holland).
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