WATCH: Coleman happy to put memories of ’95 to rest

By Stephen Barry and Shaun Cronin

It was a friendly criticised for a lack of incident but, if anything, that was a pleasing aspect for Seamus Coleman.

Firstly the lack of confrontation surrounding the game, the first Ireland-England friendly held in Dublin since the abandoned 1995 game, was a relief.

Plus nothing in the way of injury worries came out of the 0-0 stalemate, allowing for optimism in the lead up to Saturday’s crunch Euro 2016 Qualifier against Scotland.

So for all the build up, Coleman was happy with a quiet outcome:

“There was a big deal made before the game and rightly so, to make sure there was no trouble.

“But the Irish fans went over [to the Wembley friendly] two years ago and behaved brilliantly. From what I could see the English lads were fine as well – a bit of banter as you get at football matches.

“I’m happy everything went well and everyone goes home safely.”

It was a second consecutive scoreless draw for the Boys in Green, coming days after the training match tie with Northern Ireland, a sign that Coleman and his defensive colleagues and doing their job right.

“We kept a clean sheet first and foremost – as a defender that’s your job – so we’re happy with the clean sheet,” said the right-back, who kept his eye on Adam Lallana for much of the game.

“They’re full of top players but I thought we defended well and it wasn’t just them creating chances. We’d a few good chances in the first half and we put them under a bit of pressure.”

It was an apt turn of phrase by Coleman on a day in which Jack Charlton received an emotional ovation from the Aviva Stadium crowd. But it was also fitting because of the pressure Daryl Murphy caused Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill under the long ball.

Both England and Ireland supporters rise as one as Jack Charlton is presented to the fans on the Aviva Stadium pitch. pic.twitter.com/QlFCfgxaHt

— breakingnews.ie (@breakingnewsie) June 7, 2015

Murphy was one of many fringe players to get an opportunity to impress, which only adds to Martin O’Neill’s options ahead of the Scotland encounter.

“We got a good workout. A lot of boys got minutes and we’ve got a good week to look forward to, which is the main reason we’re here, with the Scotland game.

“We’ve had a good campaign meeting up the last couple of weeks. We’ve enjoyed it and [we got] a good result there today.

“We could’ve won it but I thought everyone gave it their all and we stuck together, which is a good sign.”

It is far from just another international coming up for Ireland, although Coleman insists there is pressure any time he puts on the green kit.

“Every time you play for your country there’s pressure. You’re representing your teammates and your family.

“But the Scotland game means a bit more than other international matches because it’s so important to the group and how we fare, so we’re going out to win the game.”