So, match day 5 saw Ireland travel to the bottom of the group 2 barrel and a date with Austria. Caution was always going to be required when you face a side who had managed to accumulate a fear inducing 0 points from their first four games.

I have to be honest and say I don’t know too much about the Austrians, in fact the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the opposition was a wonderful quote from the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’ which some of you whimsical folk might remember:

Lloyd: That's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?
Lady at bus stop: Austria.
Lloyd: Austria! Well, then. G'day mate! Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!
Lady at bus stop: Let's not.

After I stopped laughing heartily to myself I went about studying their squad, manager and form (something which hopefully CB managed to do for once too). Did they really warrant 0 points out of a possible 12? Well to be honest, no they did not. Hungary definitely deserved their three points and Azerbaijan battled well for their win but Austria were really unfortunate to be beaten by a less than impressive Belarus side and despite dominating the game, a superb display of Greek goalkeeping cost them dearly. So to consider them as the group whipping boys would be unfair. Nonetheless, 3 points would be expected. 

Austria’s inability to score goals (1 in 4 games) coupled with the fine form of Irelands new #1 Alan “The Wall” Green must’ve been a fine comfort blanket for CB as he settled in to watch the Halloween showdown. Things were looking even better when the Austrian formation was announced as a negative 4-4-1-1 that intended to sit very deep.

Ireland took to the field in an attacking 4-4-2 diamond formation and looked to create attacks down the wings.

Now, this is the part of the match report where I normally describe the action that took place in the game... but I think I’ll bypass it for this week because what followed was not action, it was 90 minutes of sheer frustration. Austria have proved that they are not going to be heavy hitters but even with the negative formation they fielded, they still managed to rock the Irish boat on a few occasions. Thankfully Green had another fabulous outing in between the sticks for Ireland but apart from that, there are very few positives to be taken from the match. A draw is probably a fair result and to be fair to CB, it could have been a lot worse. I think a 0-0 result is a great result for him when you take into account the tactical mess he sent out.

The most glaring tactical error was the choice of Daragh McCartan as captain. Now don’t get me wrong, McCartan is a fine player to have in your squad. I would even go so far as to say that Derek Gaffer could probably accommodate him in his own squad (and that is fine praise indeed if I do say so myself) but Daragh is not captain material. Former NT gaffers Le Sharks and Teabag were huge fans of Simpsons’ leadership skills. With 35 impressive Caps under his belt, many of those as captain of his country, his importance to the Irish cause is plain to see. So why did CB feel the need to change? What characteristics does a captain need: Leadership, grace under pressure, exemplary behaviour, great work ethic and to be a person with passion that inspires others. So what was McCartan’s offering to last night’s match? Chance after chance wasted, poor vision, wayward passing, a yellow card and a match rating of 3. Bravo.... (note sarcasm). This is the player that CB has chosen as his warrior, as his driving force on the pitch. The livematch viewer was almost taunting us with its frequent “Can D. McCartan rouse his troops?” jibes. Of course he couldn’t. 4 Caps, 4.25 average match rating.... simply not good enough CB, please take note.

Moving our attention to the teams instructions, focusing the attack down the wings. Whelanand Glynn certainly did a number on those Austrians didn’t they? Both finishing the night with a rating of 4 speaks volumes about how much pressure CB heaped on them by centring all the Irish attacks down the flanks. Whelan is actually a player I have a lot of time for. He has proved he can do a job for us down the left flank... but he is certainly not a player to build your teams tactics around. And as for Glynn... well he is certainly on paper one of our most gifted players... but in 23 caps he has managed a poor 3 assists and average match rating of 4.70. Let’s face it, he has been a consistent underachiever for Ireland but will continue to feature purely based on his monster ASI. CB has spoken out about how he keeps players who perform in the team. “The Cat” being left on the bench with Green stepping in was a brave move that has reaped rewards. Is it now time to look at the right wing CB?

Over in the Irish forum, our illustrious chief was quick to get his thoughts down before any of his intoxicated witches and skeletons returned from their spooky festivities.

“Well this weeks game ended in a 0-0 draw, very much a tale of two goalkeepers. Greene got a 10 rating while his opposite number got a 9, as I feared Austria did change their formation and made things hard for us, but a point away from home is always good I guess.”

Breaking News: National Team in Formation Change Shocker!!

Come on CB, that has got to be one of your dodgiest excuses yet. Regardless of what way they sent out their 11, that was 3 points waiting to be snatched. It was simply a case of you not utilising your assets to best of their ability.  

Finishing up his analysis:

“Results against the bottom team are not taken into consideration after the final series of games. and by my reckoning we are still in second place.”

So based on our overlords view, our Sunday league standard performance can be excused because Austria may finish bottom of the group. Anyone else now feeling less than confident in our qualification chances??

So next week we invite Greece to Galtymore. The return match was a well deserved 1-0 win for Ireland. Let’s hope that CB can get that sort of momentum back. At the half way point in group 2, only a solitary point separates the top 4 teams. If CB can iron out the creases, the World Cup really beckons. Do us proud son.

Till next week....