Ireland Ends International Break With A Frustrating 1-0 Victory vs Malta
While all eyes were on the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Republic of Ireland traveled to the Qali National Stadium to take on Malta in the second and final game. of this international window.
Ireland were looking for a better performance in this one after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Norway at home in the Aviva on Thursday. This was an important match as it was the last warm-up match before the Irish begin their qualification for the 2024 European Championships in March with an intriguing match against France.
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Ireland coach Stephen Kenny employed a 3-5-2 formation. Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was the starter behind the trio of Coleman, Egan and Collins. They had a midfield of McClean and Doherty on the wings with Cullen, McGrath, and Browne guarding the centre. Finally, Ireland started a front two of Robinson and Ogbene.
Ireland escaped with a 1-0 win
As expected, Ireland controlled much of the game from the start as they dominated possession and constantly had the ball in Malta’s half. When Malta’s defenders got the ball, they lofted long balls forward towards Ireland’s defensive half.
Malta had the best scoring opportunity of the first half, however, but Jodi Jones failed to deliver a good shot in the 12th minute and Caoimhin Kelleher made an easy save to keep the sides scoreless.
Ireland were left frustrated throughout the first half as they were wasteful in the attacking third and could not capitalize on their opportunities.
As they headed to the locker rooms, the sides were goalless. The Irish had 6 shot attempts, with none hitting the target, 4 corner kicks, were offsides twice, committed 6 fouls, and had 67% of possession.
The Second Half
After an unimpressive first half, Ireland made no changes to start the second half and went with the same starting 11.
A little over 2 minutes into the second 45, Jones was attacking the Ireland net, and while he was just outside the box, he was cut by Nathan Collins. Collins was assessed a yellow card. Malta was given a free kick in a great position, but wasted it as it hit the Ireland wall.
A few minutes later, a similar situation occurred at the other end as Josh Cullen was brought down just outside the Malta box and the visitors were given a free kick. Alan Browne took the free kick and it deflected against Malta’s wall for a corner. Subsequently, Ireland could not convert in their corner.
Finally, in the 55th minute, Ireland broke the deadlock courtesy of a Callum Robinson goal. Robinson took advantage of a terrific pass from Malta’s Matthew Guillaumier back to his goalkeeper. Robinson intercepted the pass, outran the Maltese goalkeeper, and fired the ball into the net to give Ireland a 1-0 lead.
After the goal, the match returned to the structure it had during the first half: not many opportunities and many fouls that disrupted the flow of the game.
In the 66th minute, coach Kenny made a few changes as Jeff Hendrick replaced Alan Browne and Callum O’Dowda came on to play instead of James McClean. Then in the 77th minute, Evan Ferguson replaced Chiedozie Ogbene. In the 85th minute, Mark Sykes entered the game for Robinson.
O’Dowda had one of the best chances of the last quarter. In the 87th minute, O’Dowda attacked Malta’s net, but hit the post and Ireland could not increase the lead to 2 goals.
Malta did not have many opportunities in the last minutes of the match and the Irish finished this window with a 1-0 victory.
Final Thoughts
Although Ireland were victorious, it was a frustrating night for Stephen Kenny’s men. Full credit to Malta for playing a tough game. Although they are considered one of the “minnows” of UEFA, they did not seem out of place. I wouldn’t be surprised if Malta causes an upset or two in the upcoming Euro qualifiers.
The Boys in Green did not look convincing in their games tonight and when you consider Thursday’s result against Norway, they have a lot of work to do before they start their competitive matches in March.
As stated above, the next time we will see Ireland in action is next March as they begin their qualification for the 2024 European Championship where they have been placed in Group B, along with France, the Netherlands, Greece, and Gibraltar.