Ireland avoid big guns as early away ties await
After an agreeable Saturday in St Petersburg, yesterday brought less welcome news for Martin O’Neill and Ireland as the Uefa-controlled match calendar saw the 2018 qualifying campaign, like the current Euro ‘16 route, front-loaded with away games.
Ireland will be on the road three out of four times next year, heading to Belgrade to play Serbia away in the first qualifying game on September 5, 2016 and, after just one home game against Georgia – hardly what the depleted FAI coffers would have been crying out for – travelling again to play Moldova in October and Austria in November.
