Seamus Coleman happy game had ‘a bit of bite’

Seamus Coleman is adamant last night’s bruising battle against Switzerland was just what Ireland required for their Euro build-up.

Kevin Doyle was stretchered off, Daryl Murphy hobbled off and some other Irish players were on the end of stern challenges as the home side recorded a confidence-boosting victory.

With crucial club games approaching on the Premier League and Championship run-ins, the nature of the game might have worried cross-channel managers but not the players, according to the Ireland captain for the night.

“I’d rather a bit of bite than a needless friendly,” was the Everton man’s assessment of the workout.

“We’re playing football, we’re men so it was good. Kevin’s was a bad cut but hopefully he can recover because I thought he was looking good until he had to go off.

“The tempo of training during the week was good, so everybody was up for the game. We got a clean sheet, which was important for us, defensively.”

As expected, Coleman revealed the winner was hatched on the training ground. Any edge Ireland can gain during the Euros against top-class opposition is vital and Robbie Brady’s set-pieces, such as the corner he flung in for Ciaran Clark’s early goal, will be relied upon.

“We had worked on that one by putting ourselves in the right positions,” explained Clark, after scoring his second international goal in the second minute. “It was a case of getting from the back post straight into the middle onto Shane Duffy’s knockdown and then put it in the net. It was a great move.

“We needed to concentrate all the time. We didn’t have as much possession as we would have liked but we got the goal, sat in and I felt we were quite comfortable in the end.”

On a night scarce of goalmouth action, Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph was hardly troubled.

Much like his last outing in November, when a talented Bosnia-Herzegovina side were nullified by the Irish defence, his task was helped by the solidity of his back-four, which this time included Shane Duffy for just his second cap.

“Shane did very well and got the man of the match,” said the West Ham United stopper, now in pole position to retain the position for the Euros opener against Sweden on June 13.

“Clarkey and Seamus did very good too, so a lot of positives to be taken from tonight’s game.

“Overall, I thought we played quite well. Switzerland had quite a lot of possession of the ball without cutting us open and having clear-cut chances, so another goal or two would have made it a lot more comfortable for us. But we hung in there and dug deep and managed to grind out that 1-0 win.”

Randolph has been a constant between the sticks during the Hammers’ FA Cup run which takes them back to Upton Park against Manchester United to determine whether they’ll be off to Wembley for the semi-finals.

“I’ve been quite lucky that the cup games have been every two or three weeks between the games themselves and the replays so I don’t feel as though I’m having to wait ages for a game,” he explained.

“I’ve had some difficult games, Blackburn, then Manchester United then here with Ireland.

“Now I’ve got United to face in a replay in the next couple of weeks so it’s not like I’m having to wait months and months for a game.”

On the tackle which saw his teammate Doyle taken to hospital, the goalkeeper admits he was concerned from early on about the Swiss tactics.

“I know it was only a friendly but there were some tackles flying in,” he said. “It’s never nice to see anyone go off on a stretcher, let alone Doyler in a supposed friendly game. Hopefully, it’s not too serious.”