MARTIN O’NEILL HAD three simple words of advice ahead of last night’s Euro 2016 play-off second leg: ‘win the game’.
With the 1-1 draw secured in Zenica viewed by most as a positive result, many suspected it would be a backs-to-the-wall performance by the Irish team, with a 0-0 draw enough to secure qualification.
However, Martin O’Neill vowed to attack the Bosnians, and the team were true to his word, as they earned a 2-0 victory at the Aviva Stadium last night.
And goalkeeper Darren Randolph revealed that O’Neill’s message was straightforward ahead of the team’s pivotal match.
“Our instructions were to win the game – ‘We need a win’. I can’t remember anything else,” he said.
“You can’t afford to sit back. I think that’s one of the things we didn’t want to do — try to protect a lead — because if they get a goal, then they can sit back and we have to break them down and score twice. If you can score twice it puts the pressure back on them and you can go and play your own game.
“I’d like to think that we put them under pressure. Obviously we got the away goal in the first leg so they knew they had to come out and try to get a goal. But I’m not in their changing room or in their heads.”
Defensive solidity has been a key component of Ireland’s success throughout this campaign, and Randolph says the side were determined to retain their excellent record at the back last night.
“We knew we had to be switched on and stay concentrated for the whole game, because they only need one chance to score with the quality they have, so over the two legs, we needed to be switched on and help each other out.
“I didn’t feel too relaxed, I can tell you. This is what you dream about. Who knows it might be the only one I ever get to so you never know. We need to take the opportunities when they come and luckily enough tonight all the boys put a shift in and got us there in the end.”
Randolph also paid tribute to the side’s resilience, with the Irish team at one point in the campaign looking unlikely to qualify.
“It’s not just even these two games, it’s since we were sitting in fourth place. The games against Georgia, Gibraltar, Germany and Poland and then these two games we have shown that we can play and the character and mental toughness that we have.
“I don’t know if many people would have seen us going from fourth place in the group to qualifying, but again, with the results comes confidence and a little bit more belief. Slip ups from other teams gives you another bit of confidence and you can go out there and perform and anything’s possible.”
RTE can put in a request to change Sky’s game to 3pm. I doubt Sky would deny them if they did.
you really think Sky wulould back down? 7 clocks seems to be their favoured time.
The Sky deal hasn’t gone down well in rural parts of Ireland. It would be a travesty if a senior football provincial final was not on television. I wouldn’t think Sky would want to be the cause of that. It would be a pr disaster.
it won’t be the first time it’s happened. the only reason it’s an issue now is because of Sky.
No way sky will change the schedule for their competitors. This was always going to happen once sky got involved and for that I think the gaa sold out. To have one of their marquee games of the season not being shown on rte is a massive disappointment and a sign of what’s the come.
out of curiosity..suppose premier sports wouldnt get it either because of sky for us UK based people….
Well no surprise here. GAA make a mess of one of the biggest fixtures of the year and could now lose it to Sly Sports !!! Laughing stock…
This issue is known in advance. People are talking about asking Sky to change their timeslot, but why did the Munster council choose this time and date for the replay?
Would imagine in order to fill their own coffers.
Surely they will come to an agreement. Lets be honest, Nobody wins if a Cork v Kerry Munster final is replaced by Derry v Wexford!
This is crap. Sky have the rights to the 3B games. This is a replay that Sky don’t have rights to! So, so what if it clashes, RTE is an independent broadcaster who can surely broadcast whatever it likes at 7pm on Saturday as long as it isn’t the games it sold!!! RTE needs to cut the crap & show the Munster final
The Derry and Wexford supporters might beg to differ. This is what the GAA signed up for when they did the deal with Sky.
Is this OUR NATIONAL game – Are @RTEsport serious that they won’t broadcast a 7pm replay game because the greedy GAA sold rights to other matches to Sky Sports??
was the first game in killarney as well??