Ireland were unable to beat Poland in Warsaw tonight, or get the crucial 2-2 draw that would see them through automatically, and so will need to go through the playoffs if they want to qualify for France.
It was a scrappy game lacked any real rhythm, so here's how we rated the performances of Martin O'Neill's men.
Darren Randolph 6
Made one fantastic save that kept Ireland in contention, and could really do little about either goal. Somewhat naive defending from Ireland left runners open to supply Lewandowski, and no goalkeeper has proven up to the task of stopping that man just yet.
Brilliant save from Randolph to keep Ireland in it there #IREvPOL pic.twitter.com/lq2KmwWVAp
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 11, 2015
Seamus Coleman 7
A fantastic saving tackle from Lewandowski made sure that Ireland didn't go 3-1 down on the night, he defended brilliantly for the entire game despite being on the side that conceded two goals.
Richard Keogh 5
Had a gilt-edged chance to give Ireland a precious equaliser with a free header in the second half which would have seen us home, but failed to capitalise. Recognised his error in a post match interview, but otherwise was decent at the back without being fantastic.
John O'Shea 4
Picked up an early booking, perhaps a bit unfortunately, against Lewandowski, and was lucky a few minutes later not to also give away a penalty with his hands all over the striker. He did eventually get the red that he was looking for when he took out the big number nine in injury time. While he did make some good clearances, he needed to organise the defence around him a bit better.
Robbie Brady 4
Set piece delivery was wobbly, and was caught out for a few attacks early on. He settled well and helped the shape at the back later in the game, but it was his mistake and poor distribution that lead to O'Shea getting red carded.
©INPHO/Donall Farmer
Jeff Hendrick 5
A solid, energetic performance and tried to help the forwards in putting pressure on the Polish back line. Didn't do anything particularly outstanding, but did his job well throughout.
Glenn Whelan 5
Looked to be a bit ponderous in possession and picked up a yellow card for his tackling, which was, well...wholehearted shall we say. Decent defensively, but doesn't contribute much when Ireland attack. Had one shot in particular where Coleman was on the overlap in acres of space and needed to play the pass. Chose the wrong option, which can sometimes be his downfall.
James McCarthy 6
When you watch him for Everton you see a confident player who can dominate games, but that really isn't there on the big occasions in an Irish shirt. Did his defensive duties well to limit Lewandowski, and looked a different player when Hoolahan came on and he had an outlet to feed the ball to and move off of, something that the midfield missed for the rest of the game. Again, the system hinders his style of play, and can hold the ball well with a player like Hoolahan on the pitch, otherwise he's reduced to a very basic role.
James McClean 5
Good strength and a willing runner, but lacks the little bit of invention to help open up a stubborn defence. A bit too predictable in that he always goes for the same cut against his marker, which became too easy to read.
Jonathan Walters 6
Similarly to Long, he was working as hard as possible and really didn't have much to go on. He made no mistake from the penalty spot and can always be relied on to put in a shift, but without any midfield players who are able to take control of the ball, Ireland's forwards will always look like they're chasing shadows. Picked up a booking near the end and will miss the first leg of the playoff.
©INPHO/Donall Farmer
Shane Long 7
Worked as hard as he could and ran after every ball putting the back line under real pressure in the opening half. That energy was missed later in the game, after he was subbed off with an injury. Won the penalty for Ireland too, and caused the Polish defence problems all night. Simply didn't see enough of the ball, however, and what confidence he got from an amazing goal against Germany will hopefully not be affected by this injury.
Robbie Keane 6
Suffered from much the same problem that Long did when fulfilling the same role in the first half in that there was no service of any use to him. He dropped deep to try and get the ball a few times, but a lack of rhythm in Ireland's play really hurt the strikers tonight.
Aiden McGeady 4
Looked every bit the player that has been sitting on the bench at Everton for the last few months. Stayed on the periphery of the match for the majority of his time on the pitch, his only real contributions were a wild shot and a terrible cross.
Wes Hoolahan 5
Produced some good pieces of skill but with the team set up to boot the ball long, he seemed to be a piece out of place in a system that didn't suit. He brings out the best in other players around him, but the midfield as a whole really didn't function well enough to play to his strengths. He did manage to create a bit of space with nice turns and good ball retention, but the rest of the team seemed a bit too tired to capitalise having spent much of the match chasing shadows.
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