Worrying crossover with World Cup nightmares as Stephen Kenny’s men lack subtlety to unlock home side
Armenia 1, Republic of Ireland 0
A minute before the hour mark at Yerevan's Republican Stadium, an injury to an Armenian player opened up the opportunity for an additional water break. Green shirts showed urgency to get to the sidelines, keen for hydration in the conditions. Only a handful of Armenians wandered towards the physio to do the same. It was an informative response.
This isn’t a build-up to arguing that the weather was the reason for Ireland’s difficulties here. Yes, it would be disingenuous to rule out the 33-degree heat as a factor, but Seamus Coleman had stressed on the eve of the game that it wouldn’t function as an acceptable excuse.
What was more telling was that Stephen Kenny and his assistant Keith Andrews were keen to get in another team talk, whereas the natives seemed content with the state of play. Their coach, Joaquín Caparrós, said they had a good discussion at half-time to understand where they could improve after offering little before that. “Football consists of two halves and not one half,” said the experienced Spaniard.
His position looked to be in jeopardy after a nine-goal drubbing at the hands of Norway in March. The 66-year-old was applauded going into his press conference.
Kenny’s face wore the story of frustration, a familiar feeling he was hoping to leave behind. On the eve of the game, he took issue with Ireland’s 2020 Nations League record being raised, a window where a decimated squad with Covid problems toiled in empty stadiums. He had no such problems this time, yet there were parallels in terms of the bottom line. More worryingly, there was a crossover with the World Cup nightmares at home to Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
Ireland had more possession and completed 312 more passes than the hosts, but faced with a conservative approach, they weren’t cute enough to pick open the locks. Innovation against strong sides indicated things were trending in the right direction, but it will count for nothing without a killer instinct.
The Nations League is Ireland’s safety net if regular qualification goes awry, and it’s also a method to secure a better seeding. If the last dozen games reflected a step forward, this was two back. Kenny admitted his team’s beginning to the second half was a source of concern and said he will accept criticism. He’s got a job on his hands to lift his players for Wednesday’s Ukraine clash. This is another test of this group’s resolve and will reignite the factional debate about the manager, which had threatened to subside with the awarding of a new contract.
In some respects, Ireland’s first-half performance could be explained through the contribution of Nathan Collins. On his competitive debut, the Burnley defender was one of the visiting starters with no excuse for rustiness, given he was active right up until the end of the Premier League season.
Yet he was guilty of sloppy touches in an early spell that set the tone as it became clear that Armenia were prepared to sit deep and defend in a back five, a strategy Kenny was not expecting, saying it had only appeared once in the homework on their last 20 games. “They always played 4-4-2 and we found it difficult to break them down,” he said.
Under minimal pressure, Ireland succeeded in passing themselves into trouble and Caoimhín Kelleher was called to action from a Tigran Barseghyan snapshot. From another Collins misplaced pass, Shane Duffy went into the book for a rash challenge. Self-inflicted pain.
Yet as the half progressed, Ireland’s back three spent more time around the halfway line, enjoying plenty of time on the ball and calm touches from Collins to cut out potential counters illustrated his confidence. With the Armenians providing little threat, Ireland required subtlety to break down a narrow low block of red shirts.
Chances were created with Jeff Hendrick, who later faded, having his eye in as regards slotting through balls. Callum Robinson twice could have profited from his vision with the West Brom forward, out of action since May 7, with his last start coming on April 15, lacking sharpness when it mattered, although he was unlucky when a shot from a Chiedozie Ogbene cut back was turned behind.
Troy Parrott, the other member of the front three, drifted in and out of the match, yet this was another one of those Irish internationals where the absence of a natural attacking playmaking number ten was evident. Ogbene missed a free header before the break, another sign of potential Armenian vulnerability; Ireland just needed to expose it more regularly.
From the restart, there was no real additional penetration. There were isolated moments of opportunity without being of enough significance to concern the unconvincing netminder David Yurchenko. Ogbene, a major threat in previous outings on the road, was rarely able to get on the shoulder of the last man because the centre halves sat back. Surprise packages only hold that status for so long; Armenia were capable of reading Irish intentions.
Warning signs were flashing. A correct offside flag chalked off a Tigran Barseghyan left footer from inside the area, yet minutes later he was allowed to curl another narrowly wide. Kenny sprung Obafemi for Parrott, dropping Robinson deeper and later went for James McClean and Jason Knight in place of Stevens and Robinson. Obafemi's introduction was eagerly awaited but he looked like a new signing finding his feet.
More significantly, when Armenia did advance forward, the Irish structure appeared shaky with space between lines.
The ball was worked to Eduard Sperstyan, a Russian based talent viewed locally as the heir to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was given ample time to unleash the shot that arrowed a way past Kelleher.
Ireland had 15 minutes to react and Will Keane and Alan Browne were chucked into the mix while Ogbene assumed the departed Coleman's position at wing back and the cross count stacked up. Alas it was frantic rather than calculated and Armenia, in keeping with the entire match, were content to absorb pressure and gamble on Ireland being devoid of ideas.
It was the right call.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/devoid-of-ideas-in-yerevan-ireland-are-authors-of-their-downfall-in-armenia-41721533.html
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