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The Ireland team. Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Player ratings: How the Boys in Green fared against England

The Aviva Stadium was packed for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first game in charge.

Caoimhin Kelleher: Made a couple of good saves to deny Harry Kane and Jarrod Bowen, and couldn’t be faulted for either goal. 6

Seamus Coleman: Made a decent block to deny Harry Kane and dealt reasonably well with the pace of Anthony Gordon, but couldn’t get close enough to Jack Grealish for the second goal before going off injured after the break.

Nathan Collins: Made a couple of decent blocks to keep the scoreline down but there were few of his characteristic marauding runs forward as Ireland generally struggled with the ball. 6

Dara O’Shea: Could possibly have done more for the first goal as the defence was cut open far too easily, but O’Shea was one of Ireland’s more solid and composed performers overall. 6

Matt Doherty: Just didn’t have much of an impact down the right and it was no surprise when he was replaced by Jason Knight early in the second half. 5

Robbie Brady: One of Ireland’s main problems was giving the ball away cheaply and Brady unfortunately was one of the biggest culprits. His set pieces also didn’t have the impact Heimir Hallgrímsson would have hoped for. 5

Jayson Molumby: Ran his heart out as ever but lacked the quality to genuinely compete with England’s superior midfield. 5

Will Smallbone: Ireland were completely outclassed in midfield with Smallbone invariably struggling to influence the game. 5

Chiedozie Ogbene: Ireland’s best player and a deserved man-of-the-match winner for the hosts. Carried the ball really well at times and put in some good crosses that on another day might have resulted in a goal. 7

Sammie Szmodics: Tested Jordan Pickford with one shot early in the first half and shot narrowly wide in the second. Still waiting for his first international goal but looked like the most likely Irish attacker to find the net. 6

Adam Idah: Had a difficult task and was often isolated up top, but there were times when he could have held the ball up better and couldn’t direct a header on target in the first half. 5

Subs: The likes of Jason Knight, Kasey McAteer, Jake O’Brien, Alan Browne and Evan Ferguson all struggled to invigorate a tepid second half. 5

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    Mute Shawn
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    Sep 7th 2024, 7:09 PM

    Kelleher 8

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    Mute Barry Baz
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    Sep 7th 2024, 8:09 PM

    Kelleher 6? Tell me what you deducted 4 points for?

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    Mute Aidan Ryan
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    Sep 7th 2024, 7:18 PM

    Knight had a great impact on introduction

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    Mute Michael Costello
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    Sep 7th 2024, 7:17 PM

    Adam Idah was absolutely shocking. He looked completely disinterested too which was baffling .

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    Mute Daithi Mc Ghiollamhairtin
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    Sep 7th 2024, 8:07 PM

    @Michael Costello: agree. Think he’s very limited.

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    Mute Shawn
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    Sep 7th 2024, 9:15 PM

    @Michael Costello: He allways look like that lol bit like rashford

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    Mute Den
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    Sep 7th 2024, 10:14 PM

    @Daithi Mc Ghiollamhairtin: For me Idah is all about Celtic and the easy life …. Never has he seemed to play with his heart in the game for Ireland….
    Smallbone is called smallbone for a reason no backbone…, he has never done enough to even influence the game for Ireland to justify his reasoning to be on the team sheet.
    Surely we have someone with a pair that can put some sort of a stamp on midfield….
    For me we have 3 to 4 players just in it for the ride of International recognition.
    They could all take a leaf from Coleman’s book and the spirit and pride he plays with.What an ambassador to the Jersey.

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    Mute Kevin Bury
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    Sep 7th 2024, 8:12 PM

    brady and idah were pants

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    Mute Darth Vader
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    Sep 7th 2024, 8:17 PM

    Thought Kelleher was a 7-8. Coleman was a 5 for me Gordon was killing him. Brady was maybe a 3-4 I thought he was quite poor at everything was surprised he wasn’t taken off at halftime. Think Smallbone and Molumby were actually 6s. Honestly didn’t think the performance was that bad just frustrating to lose because of the opposition and who scored. Otherwise the first goal was poor defensively from us. Someone should have read Pickfords pass and the three CBs were way too slow to react have Kelleher saved the one on one vs Gordon. Second goal was good build up not much we could have done for it. Anyway I’m not too gutted about the whole thing maybe even hopeful we’ll get a result against Greece.

    Ps don’t leave at the 84th min embarrassing

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    Mute Owen ODonoghue
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    Sep 7th 2024, 8:13 PM

    Kelleher 9, Coleman a 4

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    Mute Emmet
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    Sep 7th 2024, 9:32 PM

    Surprised at how poor Idah was, especially considering that he seems to be doing okay for Celtic. Idah, Molumby, Doherty, and Brady all shouldn’t be starting for us anymore. This game makes it crystal clear. Parrott/Ferguson, Scales, Knight, and Kacey should all start against. Switching to 4-4-1-1 would be better too. Scales O’Brien Collins Oshea. Kacey knight smallbone ogbene. Sammi. Parrott/Ferguson

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    Mute Tony Metcalfe
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    Sep 7th 2024, 11:53 PM

    @Emmet: what has mcateer done to deserve to slot right into the first 11? has some ability but needs to do a lot more, not playing much with the club this year either

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    Mute Robert O Farrell
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    Sep 7th 2024, 7:54 PM

    There isn’t one decent footballer among them, one of the worst sides in Europe. Robbie Brady, god help us.

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