Matt Doherty: The Republic of Ireland will not panic against Slovakia in the crucial Euro Cup play-off | Football news

Republic of Ireland defender Matt Doherty has promised his team will remain calm, even if they have to come back in the crucial European play-off semi-final against Slovakia on Thursday.

The 28-year-old Tottenham winger and his teammates face a big task in Bratislava, knowing that victory alone will suffice if they want to book a showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland for a place in the rescheduled final.

Ireland have only won one competitive away game, and that one against Gibraltar, in three years and while he’s confident he can get a result, Doherty knows there could be twists and turns in the way.

He said: “At worst a goal is lost, it is not the end of the world. It is a 90 minute game, which is a long time, so I think there are enough of us in the team that we have enough experience to Do not panic.

“None of us would panic at club level if we were 1-0 down. We were all saying to ourselves, ‘Let’s stay in the game and see what happens,’ so I don’t think anyone would freak out if that’s the case.

“Hopefully it isn’t, but if a situation like that happens, I don’t think there will be panic buttons being pushed anyway. We know we have the quality and the ability to go and create goals.”

New coach Stephen Kenny signaled his intention to play a more expansive brand of soccer in his first two games last month, and his players were given permission to express themselves rather than stick to rigid patterns of play.

Doherty, who joined Spurs in a £ 15 million trade from Wolves in August, said: “We obviously have a game plan, a way we want to play, a way we want to push, we want to defend, a way we want to play you want to attack but, at the end of the day, once you’re moving forward, you have to let the natural ability and talent of people take over.

“Obviously we have patterns of play, but if someone wants to do something special and take some people and put the ball in the net, obviously you’re not going to say no.”

Kenny is still looking for his first victory as coach of the Republic of Ireland, but his team is undefeated in their previous five games against Slovakia. But four of them have been draws and the other a 1-0 win in March 2007.

When asked if the fact that Slovakia didn’t win any of those games was a source of confidence in his pre-match press conference, Kenny said: “I wouldn’t read too much on that.

“It would be silly to take that as a kind of guide to how this game would go. That is in the past. This game is in the present.

“We are really focused on the game ourselves. We respect Slovakia, a very good team and they are at home. But don’t underestimate us. We have some very good players so we are looking forward to playing.” the game.”

Slovakia without Lobotka due to COVID-19 rules

Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka will not participate in Thursday’s game after he and his teammates were quarantined over the weekend following three positive tests for coronavirus.

National boss Pavel Hapal hoped Lobotka could join the Slovakia team, but has now had to admit defeat despite Lobotka throwing three negative tests.

Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka is still out with an injury for Slovakia and Michal Duris also left with a concussion. Pavol Safranko has been called up to replace him.

“We have looked at Slovakia and they have good strength in depth, so we are not reading too much on that in regards to missing players,” Kenny said.

“Actually, we are just focusing on our own performance. It is very important that we play well ourselves, and that is our main focus in this game.

“It is very important to create high standards for ourselves and try to achieve a very, very strong performance.”

Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman looks set to miss the opportunity after limping off Everton’s 4-2 Premier League victory over Brighton on Saturday, with Blackburn defender Darragh Lenihan some omission due to a knee injury.

Josh Cullen, who joined Anderlecht from West Ham on the day of the deadline, has been called up to the team to replace Harry Arter, who is offside with a thigh injury. Cyrus Christie has also been called up to Coleman’s roster and Burnley center-back Kevin Long replaces Lenihan.

A member of the Republic of Ireland backroom team tested positive for coronavirus in the run-up to the game, but this has not had an impact on plans to travel to Slovakia for Thursday’s match.

How to follow

Slovakia vs Republic of Ireland will be broadcast live on Soccer Sky Sports from 7pm; Start at 7:45 p.m. Sky sports customers can see the goals of the game on the blog of the match live on the Sky sports website and app. Highlights will also be posted on Sky sports digital platforms and Soccer Sky Sports YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.