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Ralf Rangnick’s half-time changes proved pivotal on a night where the crowd protests barely registered
Nations League B, Group 3: Republic of Ireland 2 Austria 2 Troy Parrott scored twice before Austria reeled in the Republic of Ireland as a crowd of 45,874 were only concerned by the football on display in this gripping Nations League tie.
Last week, Ireland’s new captain Dara O’Shea spoke about shutting out the “external noise” and the Irish team have succeeded admirably in doing that over the last two games. Next stop Bačka Topola in Serbia next Sunday to face Israel again in the fourth and final game of an unforgettable international window. Parrott’s goal in the 12th minute showcased the best qualities of Irish football.
Caoimhín Kelleher gathered a weak cross, dropping the ball to his feet to give Adam Idah time to jog into Austrian territory as the Ralf Rangnick system blocked the Ireland goalkeeper from flinging possession to a wing back. Kelleher had one option. He targeted Idah, who flicked the 40-yard pass to Parrott in stride. With nobody appearing in his peripheral vision, the Real Betis striker shrugged before nutmegging Philipp Lienhart, evading David Affengruber and sliding a finish under Florian Wiegele.
It was the kind of goal that can only happen when two centre forwards are on the pitch. Idah and Parrott worked well against Israel in Hungary and they looked like a permanent solution inside a crackling Aviva. Parrott is having the season of his dreams.
The hat-trick in Budapest 11 months ago set a standard that seemed impossible to maintain yet since the 24-year-old moved to La Liga, he has scored the winner against Real Madid and netted on his Champions League debut in Lille. He now has nine goals in his last six competitive caps. The expected tennis ball protest happened in the 20 th minute with the Dutch referee Allard Lindhout directing both teams to the sideline.
The football quickly resumed as John Egan banged into Saša Kalajdžić. Lindhout waved play on. This seemed like revenge after Austria’s 6ft 7ins attacker knocked Parrott over before trying to lob Kelleher from distance. Like Egan, Liam Scales made an impression after missing the Israel game.
The Celtic defender is more comfortable on the left of Ireland’s back three, instead of fulfilling wing-back duties, and he made several timely blocks, including one on Xaver Schlager as Austria pushed for an equaliser. In the 35 th minute, eight security guards got hold of a man who temporarily entered the playing surface waving a Palestinian flag. The game was paused for seconds. An Ireland international match does not pass anymore without some Kelleher magic.
When Kalajdzic nimbly turned Scales, Patrick Wimmer’s close range shot was touched over for a corner by the Brentford goalie. Ireland led 2-0 at the turn thanks to Parrott’s second goal from the penalty spot after Nicolas Seiward caught Ryan Manning in the box. The opportunity came from the combative attitude of Irish players as Egan, Idah and Manning horsed into duels.
Idah initially grabbed the ball but a smile flashed across his face as Parrott walked over to take kick, and send Wiegele the wrong way. Rangnick had wondered about the “two faces of Ireland” pre-match, having watched the 1-0 defeat in Kosovo and 3-0 victory against Israel. At half time he redesigned his side with three half-time substitutions as Carney Chukwuemeka, Seiwald and Affengruber made way. The key arrival was an extra forward, Michael Gregoritsch.
The Jack Moylan story is being told before our eyes. Only five caps into his international career, Moylan already has four goals and two assists for Ireland while operating in a central role where he continually showed for the ball. James Abankwah is another who has been quietly establishing himself as an international, but a yellow card rules him out of Sunday’s game in Serbia. He also limped off injured as Ireland began to unravel.
Prass punished an error by Liam Kitching, who had replaced Scales, to make it 2-1 but only after the referee overruled his linesman who incorrectly waved for offside. The equaliser came when Gregoritsch caught Kelleher flat footed with a curling, left-footed free-kick from the edge of the area. Dara O’Shea stung the fingers of Wiegele before Gregoritsch almost snatched all three points as Ireland struggled to rediscover the flow of their opening 45 minutes.
They were hindered by the withdrawals of Parrott and Idah as Chiedozie Ogbene battled as the lone front man until Hallgrímsson replaced Moylan with Tom Cannon. Conor Coventry deserves enormous credit for saving a point when he sprinted 70 metres to nip in front of Konrad Laimer as Austria threatened to cut Ireland to pieces on a breakaway. It almost finished with Finn Azaz scoring the winner but his first time shot off Ogbene’s squared pass cleared the crossbar.
Ireland: Kelleher; O’Shea, Egan, Scales ; Abankwah , Coventry, Azaz, Manning; Moylan ; Idah , Parrott . Austria: Wiegele; Posch, Lienhart, Affengruber , Mwene; Seiwald , Schlager; Wimmer, Schmid , Chukwuemeka ; Kalajdzic. Referee: Allard Lindhout .
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