Late Robbie Brady goal ends Ireland's losing streak as they defeat Finland
WINNER: Ireland's Robbie Brady celebrates after scoring the winning goal. Picture: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Robbie Brady smashed home a late winner as Ireland ended their losing streak in style by mounting a second-half comeback to beat Finland.
Trailing to Joel Pohjanpalo’s goal off a Nathan Collins mistake, Liam Scales scored his international goal to equalise on 57 minutes before the elder statesman Brady clinched Ireland their first meaningful away competitive win for three years.
It was the first win at the third attempt for new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, a platform to build on for Sunday’s trip to Greece.
Having declared his reversion last time out to a flat back-four a success, continuity was inevitable by the manager. The only mystery was the identity of the right-back and Andrew Omobamidele was omitted to facilitate the promotion of Scales to centre-back and redeployment of Dara O’Shea to the wing.
Josh Cullen was unsurprisingly reinstated to midfield after returning from injury but he was partnered by Jason Knight, rather than his namesake Molumby, in the two-man engine-room.
Finn Azaz was sprung straight into the side from being out of the squad as central support behind Evan Ferguson, who was finally deemed sufficiently fit to start his first competitive game for 11 months.
This was the game Ireland had reason to be believe could stop the bleeding, yet the same assumption moreso applied for the Finnish playing at home.
Markku Kanerva has been feeling the pressure amidst their demise and whether by coincidence or not he promoted to his line-up a pair of fans’ favourites in striker Pohjanpalo and rising star Leo Walta.
Both were influential during a first-half blotted by a calamitous mistake by Nathan Collins and punished by Pohjanpalo’s clinical finish.
Otherwise, there was nothing to divide two middling nations separated by two places in Fifa’s rankings.
Azaz, on the back of solid recent form with Middlesbrough, provided the central outlet for Ireland’s passages of play to be channelled but as they trickled, a temptation to drop deep into midfield unfolded.
What Knight and Cullen lack in height is compensated by their grit and there was novelty to seeing Ireland gain the upper hand in an area they so regularly flounder.
Still, this was Finland and there was pride to be restored in the aftermath of a wretched run.
Brady is the only player in Ireland’s squad over 30 but remains an instrumental presence.
Lethal deadball deliveries, quick feet and quick thinking characterised his display, instigated from the fifth minute by spinning the ball down for Ferguson to chase.
Hallgrimsson has been pleading to inject width into the team since taking charge and it was from crosses where Ireland had the hosts most rattled.
Azaz found a pocket on the right to sling in a delivery that caused panic, while Brady provided the artillery from the opposite side.
They were doing so against the backdrop of conceding another sloppy goal. Passing across the backline is all good and well until someone blunders and a lapse in concentration from Collins on 17 minutes, by underhitting his pass back to Caoimhin Kelleher, enabled Pohjanpalo to pounce.
Even without his recent scoring streak in Serie A, a finish was anticipated and he sped clear to tuck the ball around the reach of the Corkman for the breakthrough.
A team so battered and bruised by their downward spiral, as the manager branded the sorry sequence, could have crumbled but their response was noble and nifty.
Within four minutes, Ferguson had prodded the ball home from close range. Celebrations of an equaliser however proved to be premature, for the ball was deemed to have crossed the endline when Collins nodded it back from Brady’s deep free-kick.
Both Collins and Scales were slow in reading flick-ons from Ferguson as Ireland gained a foothold while after a driving run by Azaz was halted illegally, Brady couldn’t clear the wall with his 20-yard free-kick.
It was better from Ireland and yet the familiar vulnerabilities always posed a risk of damage deepening.
On the half hour, one long ball over the top blindsided O’Shea and when Topi Keskinen squared the ball for Pohjanpalo, Kelleher was thankful for him scuffing his shot.
As the interval approached, Azaz and Ferguson unleashed attempts from acute angles, neither of which troubled Lukas Hradecky in the home goal.
Ireland sustained that pattern straight after the break, Knight’s low drive forcing the Bayer Leverkusen stopper to stoop low and save.
He was worked again by foiling a flicked close-range volley by Sammie Szmodics, evidence of Ireland gradually turning the screw.
Brady’s corner created that sight and his sweet delivery led to the equaliser, a curled free-kick telegraphed for Scales to ghost between two defenders and head high into the far corner.
With the game evenly poised, Glen Kamara almost restored the Finnish lead. Cullen's success in nipping the ball away from Pohjanpalo nearly backfired when the former Rangers and Leeds midfielder took aim. His first-team curler missed the upright by inches.
As did Tomas Galvez and substitute Benjamin Kallmann but Ireland survived and eventually thrived.
Bravery surrounded culling Matt Doherty but the justification of experimenting with Festy Ebosele was vindicated by his assist for the winner.
Drilling down the right flank, the Watford full-back spotted Brady bombing into the box and the stalwart took one touch before rifling his volley into the roof of the net.
Troy Parrott was close to adding a third with an audacious volley but a one-goal, any victory, will suffice.
: L Hradecky; A Stahl, A Hoskonen, R Ivanov, T Galvez; L Walta (B Kallmann 78), R Schüller (M Peltola 65); R Lod, G Kamara, T Keskinen (O Antman 66); J Pohjanpalo (T Pukki 78).
: C Kelleher; D O’Shea, N Collins, L Scales, R Brady: J Cullen, J Knight; C Ogbene (A Idah 80), F Azaz (J McGrath 70), S Szmodics (F Ebosele 80); E Ferguson (T Parrott 70).
: Aleksandar Stavrev (MKD).
: 16,105
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