How Ireland rated: Parrott delivers, Ogbene dazzles and Ireland's defence holds firm
FAMOUS NIGHT: Troy Parrott, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his second goal. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Took 25 minutes to be called into meaningful action when gathering Ruben Neves’ long-range shot. Spilled an unorthodox effort from Vitinha closer to half-time and he had little to do in the second half until a fantastic dive to deny Goncalo Ramos late on.
Smartly used his body to disrupt Cristiano Ronaldo from attacking an early cross, setting the tone for another performance that defied his age. The sight of him winning the ball from Diogo Dalot before being fouled out of frustration was a highlight. He did not put a foot wrong; then again, no one on the team did.
No nonsense and faced no major problems. Got his head, body and legs in the way of everything Portugal tried to produce and sought to set the forwards away with a series of quick, direct passes.
Captain marshalled the backline brilliantly with not even a hint of the carelessness that got this campaign off to such a bad start. They may still rue those opening two fixtures but Collins deserved this result and a moment to celebrate.
Delivered a smart ball over the top for Troy Parrott to make it 2-0 and defended brilliantly throughout, making more successful tackles than anyone. Clattered by Joao Cancelo, who was booked, and then took Ronaldo’s elbow into his back to produce a quite remarkable red card and meltdown.
Appeared dazed and confused when facing very early attacks but his headed assist across the face of goal for Parrott’s opener was brilliantly executed. That moment also seemed to extinguish any sign of individual nerves and he defended gamely from that point on.
Took the corner that led to Parrott’s first. He put himself about without making too many distinguished actions in open play but that is no surprise considering how Ireland were set up to bypass midfield. Â
Harshly punished for a ball-to-hand situation on the edge of the penalty area in the opening stages but he gradually began to make more and more impact in what ended up being his most impressive international performance. When Ireland began to enjoy more possession once afforded a man advantage, he dictated the tempo.
Looked to have squandered an early chance when he failed to find Chiedozie Ogbene, who was unmarked, in the box but he made himself a nuisance on several occasions despite a couple of rough touches. Wrongly booked for a challenge on Joao Felix in which he won the ball. Â
What a joy to see him performing so sharply again following last season’s horror achilles tendon injury. The Corkman caused chaos from early on and came so close to making it 2-0 with a curling shot that came back off the post. Entering the final stages he was still a source of constant movement.Â
Outstanding. The first goal was about being in the right place at the right time, nodding in from a couple of yards. The second was a remarkable combination of composure and clinicality that Ireland have so often lacked in the past few years. After years of waiting and wondering, this was the night he properly arrived on the international stage.
(for Parrott, 68) His arrival seemed odd since Parrott, chasing a hat-trick, still looked full of life.
(for Taylor, 68) Offered more of a shielding presence in front of the back five not long after Ronaldo’s red.
(for Azaz, 79) not on long enough to be rated Mikey Johnston (for Ogbene, 86) not on long enough to be rated Jimmy Dunne (for Scales, 86) not on long enough to be ratedÂ
Not used Gavin Bazunu, Mark Travers, Johnny Kenny, Kevin O’Toole, Andrew Moran, John Egan, Jamie McGrath.
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