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Ireland draw in Bosnia: What did we learn from the foggy duel?

Ireland have an away goal to bring back to Dublin for the second leg of the Euro 2016 playoff aga...



Ireland draw in Bosnia: What d...
Soccer

Ireland draw in Bosnia: What did we learn from the foggy duel?

Ireland have an away goal to bring back to Dublin for the second leg of the Euro 2016 playoff against Bosnia after drawing 1-1 in Zenica.

In increasingly foggy conditions which affected visibility drastically, Robbie Brady's goal had given Martin O'Neill's side a crucial lead on 82 minutes before Edin Dzeko turned in a cross from close range for Bosnia three minutes later.

Here is the finish from Brady:

 

 

And here is that Dzeko equaliser:

 

 

No cutting edge

As expected Ireland had about 40% of possession - and they did not do much when they did get hold of the ball, getting just two shots on target before Brady emerged out of the mist and found the net.

The 4-2-3-1 formation picked by O'Neill was all about solidity and compactness, but the lack of threat up front is a concern, even if the result gives us a good chance.

 

Bosnia threat

According to UEFA statistics, Bosnia created 35 dangerous attacks to Ireland's 15 and that ratio was consistent throughout the match.

Dzeko's goal aside, Bosnia only created a handful more chances, with five attempts on target.

 

Ireland's left side

Many of Bosnia's more dangerous attacks originated from their right side in the first half, with Stephen Ward under pressure and picking up a first half yellow card. Ward was eventually replaced by Wilson - who had been tipped to start instead by John Giles - with just over 20 minutes to go.

 

Hoolahan

A peripheral figure during the game, the midfielder rarely got on the ball and only played 14 passes in Zenica, with just eight finding their mark before he was hauled off on the hour mark.

There has been some debate about the reasons why Hoolahan is often not started in away matches by Martin O'Neill and it appears the manager was not wholly impressed by the Norwich man's contribution.

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