Ireland failed to reproduce the heroics of Thursday night and produced an indifferent performance in a loss to Poland in Warsaw.
Poland 2
Ireland 1
Poland took the lead after just 13 minutes, as Grzegorz Krychowiak struck from the edge of the box. They had threatened the goal directly before scoring and while the strike appeared to take a deflection on the way through, Ireland could still have been a bit more alert to the danger, as it appeared to be a piece straight off the training ground.
Moments later, Ireland went straight back up the other end and won a penalty through Shane Long, who was on the receiving end of a high boot from a Polish defender. Jonathan Walters stepped up and made no mistake as he slotted the ball home to level matters.
Image: ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
The emotion of the occasion seemed to get to the players from there, and with a place at Euro 2016 on the line, the game struggled to find a rhythm. Shane Long's willing running was the highlight of Ireland's attacking game, while long balls from set pieces seemed to be the other main tactic.
Poland looked much more composed on the ball, but their good passing failed to bring them much joy for a good portion of the first half.
They looked to feed Robert Lewandowski as often as possible, something which reaped its rewards just before the break as the in-form striker dove for a ball and headed easily past Darren Randolph in the Irish goal.
Again, the defence looked as though they should have been alert to the danger, with two men running to the ball and ignoring runners from deep who were unmarked in the box, which is where the cross came from in the end.
The second half saw Martin O'Neill bring on a number of substitutes in search of a crucial second goal that would have sent the team to the European Championships, but it ultimately proved fruitless.
Shane Long had to be taken off injured after 55 minutes, but truth be told his contribution had been hampered by constantly poor service from the rest of the team, who could barely get their foot on the ball at any stage.
Image: ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
Glenn Whelan made way for Aiden McGeady and James McClean was substituted for Wes Hoolahan, but Ireland still struggled to get the ball down and create any meaningful passages of play. With Jonathan Walters the only real target, the long ball should have been abandoned but was used repeatedly for the closing stages as Ireland simply looked like they didn't want the ball in their half of the pitch.
A crucial save from Randolph kept Irleand in with a shout as the game, and a similarly brilliant tackle from Seamus Coleman also made sure that there wasn't a third goal added.
Brilliant save from Randolph to keep Ireland in it there #IREvPOL pic.twitter.com/lq2KmwWVAp
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 11, 2015
Wild shots from McGeady and Hoolahan were the closest that Ireland came to testing Lukasz Fabianski, until a free header from Richard Keogh left Ireland fans wondering what could have been.
Image: ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
Speaking to RTE after the match, Keogh remarked "I just tired to head it down toward the goalie and he made a decent save, but I probably should have scored. I just wanted to make sure that I hit the target, but I should have scored".
John O'Shea was sent off in added time at the end of the game for a second bookable offence, but in truth had been lucky not to see red earlier as he had been all over Lewandowski for the entire game. Jonathan Walters also saw a yellow card before full-time, which means that both players will now be out of the first leg of Ireland's playoff.
The draw to see who we face will take place next Sunday, but a generally scrappy performance will need to be greatly improved upon if Ireland hope to make it to the Euros.
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