Ireland edge Qatar on night of protests, red cards and debuts
Republic of Ireland's Nathan Collins celebrates scoring their side's first goal.
Tennis balls made their return to Lansdowne Road after a seven-year absence but all Heimir Hallgrímsson will care about is Nathan Collins hitting the net to extend the feel-good vibes around his team.
Collins has developed into a man mountain of the team since making his debut against Qatar in 2021 and against the same opposition provided a footballing storyline to a night dominated by off-field matters.
The spectre of Ireland’s scheduled games against Israel in the Autumn has intensified this week with politicians and players adding their dismay to the concept of hosting a nation found by the United Nations to have committed genocide.
John Delaney’s regime was the source of a tennis ball protest in 2019, 33 minutes into the win over Georgia, but a broad geopolitical cause motivated this demonstration, with the game interrupted on the 10th and 20th-minute marks.
A press release, issued on behalf of League of Ireland fans, confirmed the Israel games were the subject, exemplified by flags and banners visible within the crowd of 28,981.
The next 10-minute interval came without a repeat but Hallgrímsson himself cleared away the debris of a few on 40.
That was just five minutes before Jack Moylan’s crash-course international introduction reached a shuddering half.
From being the hat-trick hero on his debut against Grenada 11 days ago, he managed to mark his second cap in contrasting fashion by incurring a straight red card.
Fifteen years had passed since an Irish player, Kevin Doyle, was sent off at home.
It was 10-all in personnel with 12 minutes to go when Qatar’s top scorer, Almoez Ali, was also sent off for lashing out at Jayson Molumby off the ball.
Hallgrímsson flagged in advance that another bout of experimentation would be delayed until the last of four friendlies, against Canada in Montreal next Friday, leading to the strongest possible team being selected from the outset.
Teens Jaden Umeh and Mason Melia did make impressive cameos on their debuts later off the bench.
Troy Parrott led the line, supported by Chiedozie Ogbene, with Molumby deeper centrally too. All mainstays of the Ireland revival.
Indeed, the defensive six, led by goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, could well be deemed the first-choice for the opening Uefa Nations League fixture in Kosovo on September 24.
Liam Scales slotted in at left-wing back and we’ll never know if the suspension which ruled him out of the World Cup playoff in Czechia eight weeks ago cost Ireland given penalty culprit Ryan Manning got the nod.
For the first time in 18 years, Séamus Coleman will be an employee of a club whose name isn’t Everton then and once again he belied his age and rustiness to act as Ireland’s livewire from the off.
Within 90 seconds, he’d hared into the box to set up the first chance. Molumby’s header broke the Qatari press, allowing Coleman and Ogbene swap passes on the right side.
When Coleman landed into the penalty area with only a half-hearted challenge to thwart him, the loose ball spun to Moylan who swivelled from an acute angle to squirt a shot that Mahmoud Bersham turned around his post.
Ireland’s enterprising start soon accrued the breakthrough. After Moylan’s trickery drew a foul from Ayoub Al-Oiu on the left, the Lincoln City player lifted himself off the turf to telegraph the free-kick into the danger zone.
It was at the south stand end in October that a rehearsed set-piece struck gold to engineer a famous win over Portugal.
Another drill paid off as Moylan’s floated free enabled Collins to time his run perfectly to connect with a glancing header from eight yards that gave the ‘keeper no chance for his third international goal.
Football soon took a backseat with a barrage of small yellow balls getting flung from the stand but before the sequel on 20 minutes, Parrott went close following another Coleman drive into attack.
Spotting Parrott meandering into position, Coleman drifted inside before feeding the striker, whose first-time rasping curler whistled past the post.
Molumby was next to threaten, unleashing a 20-yard shot that Bersham spilt before gathering at the second attempt.
Control was within Ireland’s gift and bar a brief mix-up between Kelleher and Collins as the Corkman rushed from his box, the visitors were redundant as an attacking force.
Akram Afif’s speculative shot that blazed over was the summation of their first-half contribution.
In reality, Ireland ought to have extended their buffer by the break.
It took a last-ditch headed clearance by Fatehi seven minutes before the interval to deny Ogbene a clearcut sight on goal after Collins had nodded a cross into the six-yard box.
Then came a flashpoint that risked Ireland ceding their dominance.
Clearly, Moylan only had eyes on the ball when lunged for the loose ball but his high foot landing on Jassem Gaber’s instep gave Jamie Robinson a decision to make.
The referee from Northern Ireland didn’t hesitate to brandish a straight red card.
Playing a full half with a man less posed a test for Ireland, yet their resoluteness, coupled with a limited Qatari opponent, led to scarce scares.
Only once was Kelleher troubled and he still looked on easy street when confronting Yusuf Abdurisag’s attempt with 20 minutes left.
It helped that his shot as he ambled inside deflected off Collins but the reflexes of his Brentford teammate were required to contort and bat the looping ball away for a corner.
Ireland always looked comfortable and might have grabbed a second five minutes from the finish.
Once Qatar switched off from a free-kick, the towering presence of Collins was free to flash his header across the face of goal. Unfortunately, Parrott was a millisecond late in arriving for the connection.
C Kelleher; J O’Brien, N Collins, D O’Shea (J Abankwah 46); S Coleman, J Molumby, J McGrath, L Scales (C Ndaba 75); C Ogbene (J Umeh 75), J Moylan; T Parrott (M Melia 89).
M Bersham; P Miguel, B Khoukhi (A Madibo 59), I Laye; A Al-Oiu, A Fatehi (M Al-Mannai 59), L Mendes, J Gaber (K Boudiaf 59), Edmilson Junior (A Alaaeldin 59), H Elamin; Y Abdurisag, A Afif (Almoez Ali 60).
Jamie Robinson (NIR)
28,981
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