We are natural optimists at Sport for Business and we always go into events hoping for the best and believing that anything is possible. It’s a positive way of living a life in sport though my god it can be crushing when reality sometimes overtakes hope.
Watching the Republic of Ireland take on Portugal was one of those occasions where the straws we were clinging to in advance of the game became stronger throughout and from which we are able to take great hope for the future.
The straws were that “We led for 20 minutes in Serbia back in March. Portugal needed an own goal to beat Azerbaijan by the minimum margin in the same window and they have been held at home in recent games by Poland, Ukraine and Serbia.”
Last night was fun and had us punching the air. Right up to the point where it went wrong.
Following Ireland has always been about high highs and low lows. Stuttgart, Italia ’90, Jason McAteer, Shane Long and Robbie Brady can now be added to by Gavin Bazuno’s penalty save from Ronaldo that set last night’s drama in motion.
Then again, ‘Yer man Ronaldo’ as Darragh Maloney referred to him in the closing stages, did come back to gain his revenge. You’d only hope the world’s now most successful ever international footballer gave our Gavin a word of praise and consolation when they shook hands after the game.
His two goals deep into and beyond injury time can be added to the canon of Thierry Henry, Toto Schillaci, Cyprus and Luxembourg among the low points.
This was a night where it was fun to watch Ireland. Bazuno’s two saves from Ronaldo dead balls were a match for any from an Irish goalkeeper down the years and he is only 19.
Matt Doherty’s messing with Portuguese minds by taking his time over everything when the ball was dead was exactly the kind of performance that endears players to Irish fans, and Doherty has gone from close to zero to hero in the affections based on one single night.
Dara O’Shea’s injury would normally be a head hanging moment for the two games coming up but the debut performance of Andrew Omobamidele, another 19 year old who was playing with Leixlip United until two years ago.
Adam Idah showed flashes of close control that we have grown unaccustomed to and Jamie McGrath on his first start whipped in the corner that produced John Egan’s goal.
Back in March, we wrote that “Failing to beat Luxembourg at home would have seriously dented our hopes of a World Cup Finals appearance next year. Losing to them has made us a laughing stock.”
We added though that talk of ending the Stephen Kenny reign was premature and that the alternative of a “Premier League manager that is out of a job and who has no connection to the young generation of players that Kenny has overseen through his years at U21,” was no alternative.
Last night we saw a future of young players coming through. Idah and Omobamidele are the two highest numbers on the squad list at Norwich so we know that there is a way to go to compete with Italy, England and Portugal but that is what we did last night and it is much more fun to be a young team with a future rather than an old one with a past.
Azerbaijan and Serbia next. We’re excited.
“A powerful and influential network of information and collaboration”
Download our latest membership brochure here.
Sport for Business Partners
