Matt Doherty: Ireland not dead and buried in World Cup bid just yet

The odds are that the Group A horse has bolted in terms of reaching Qatar but not mathematically. There are still 21 points to play for

Matt Doherty of Republic of Ireland in action against João Cancelo of Portugal. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

The shadow cast by Luxembourg hangs heavy over the Aviva Stadium this evening.

Ireland’s last appearance in Ballsbridge ended with that mortifying 1-0 defeat to the erstwhile minnows. That it came on the back of such a brave but ultimately futile effort away to Serbia only adds to the sense of déjà vu for the visit of Azerbaijan three days on from the national team’s heralded efforts in Portugal.

Matt Doherty has reason to be extra vigilant as Stephen Kenny’s side goes in search of its first points in this latest World Cup campaign. The defender played that dreadful night last March, and for his club last month when Tottenham Hotspur lost out to an unheard-of Portuguese club in the first leg of a Europa Conference League tie.

Spurs played a weakened team that day but mentality counts too and Doherty admits that it will require a gear change between the ears as Ireland switch from a game against global superstars to a contest with a set of players whose names will be uttered in their presence for the first time this week.

“Yeah, I’d say it definitely is a little bit different. Like you said, you play against these players, you see them every week on TV, you know what their game is like, you know what they like to do with the ball, if they like to dribble, if they like to go left or right.

“It’s like at Tottenham, we played Pacos (de Ferreira) away and we lost the away leg because you don’t know the players, you don’t know what they are capable of. You’re kind of taken by surprise by certain things and then obviously it changes in the next round.”

The Ireland manager isn’t the type to leave much to chance so it’s not like the players will be shy of any necessary information today, but time and focus on the next opponent has been limited by the vagaries of another three-game window and the travel to and from Faro in recent days.

With time at such a premium, there really hasn’t been much opportunity to stop and take stock of a qualifying campaign that has left the side pointless through three games and at a point where, as Doherty admits, this is nothing less than a must-win affair.

The odds are that the Group A horse has bolted in terms of reaching Qatar but not mathematically. 

“We obviously know if we’d beaten Portugal it would have gotten us right back in the group but we are not dead and buried.

We’ve got a lot of points to play for and I think everybody’s feeling really good about themselves going into Saturday.

“We feel like we can really go and beat Azerbaijan and beat Serbia. Look, if we do that, I guess we’ll be back in the group and there are still lots of points to play for. We’re not thinking too much about that yet.” There is at least the sense that the progress being made is not reflected in the table.

Doherty spoke with a brutal honesty about the need for the players to start stepping up after what he termed an “embarrassing” defeat to England at Wembley last November and he agreed yesterday that the Faro performance is evidence of the team’s growth since.

That growth was actually evident in the concession of the penalty three days ago when Gavin Bazunu and his defenders muddled a short kick-out. Doherty’s response? Yes, there’s a time and a place but the practise is here to stay.

The summer get-together, when they trained for five days in Spain before a win and a drew against Andorra and Hungary, seems to have propelled the overall project forward although the Dubliner was straight up again when asked here what more needs to improve.

“Score more goals, I think it’s pretty simple. Like, our build-up play was good (against Portugal). If we were a bit more clinical the other night, then the scoreline could have been more than one at one point. We just need to put the ball in the back of the net. It’s the hardest thing to do in football.

“We seem to be getting up there and getting the chances, it’s just putting it in, it’s not easy. So if we can do that, or if we can get players who are really confident in front of goal, who feel like they are going to score every time the ball drops to them, that will make a huge difference.”