Ireland overcame a stodgy first-half to win 3-0.
IRELAND’S EUROS QUALIFYING campaign may be beyond resuscitation but Ireland at least heeded the first step of any resurrection: it begins by rolling over the Rock.
The extent to which repairs the damage of Friday’s defeat in Athens is dubious – Kenny’s name was sung for the first time in the 86th minute and with much less vigour than previously – but this game did not make anything worse, which was the aim of the exercise. Ireland were better when they popped balls into the feet of their forwards, although Michael Obafemi’s touch was maddeningly random. Their best opportunity after the first minute again fell to McGrath: it came from a ball to Obafemi’s feet which was flicked onto Ferguson and then to McGrath.
Stephen Kenny and his staff have too often failed to change the flow of games from the touchline but they happily won this game at half-time. Not starting Johnston was an error but it was corrected, and he was introduced for Nathan Collins as Ireland slipped to a traditional and uncomplicated 4-3-3. And it soon led to Ferguson’s first competitive goal for his country. It was gloriously simple: James McClean crossed from the left and Ferguson rose to head in at the back post.After that the Mexican wave could ripple its way around the ground, nobody more delighted to see such an expression of calm and ease as Kenny himself.
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