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Stephen Kenny pointed out before this tiebreaker that it had been more than four years since the Republic of Ireland received a penalty. After a goalless draw in Bratislava, his team had four chances to score from the penalty spot, but Alan Browne and Matt Doherty missed two of them, leaving Slovakia, who were flawless on penalties, to advance to a Final play-off against Northern Ireland for a place in the final of the European Championship.
The elimination was all the more harrowing for Ireland because in the previous 120 minutes they acted in a style that justified Kenny’s belief in their creative potential. The full-time 0-0 score attesting to Irish familiar traits (defensive strength, offensive frankness), but within that time-worn pattern, there was plenty of evidence of positive change as Kenny’s men forced their hosts back for long periods with an energetic, technically confident and adventurous approach.
Conor Hourihane had a six-yard shot cleared off the line in the closing minutes of normal time and Browne hit a post in overtime after a fine play involving Enda Stevens and Callum O’Dowda. But the hosts held on to take the game to a penalty shoot-out, where their goalkeeper, Fulham’s Marek Rodak, made a good save to deny Browne. Slovakia celebrated the victory when Doherty’s penalty bounced off the crossbar.
“I’m really disappointed in the players because they didn’t deserve to lose,” Kenny said. “I couldn’t ask for more. They really showed great qualities as Irish. They proved to be a true team. It shows that we have good players ”.
Both teams endured difficult preparations for the match, with Slovakia deprived of a couple of key players due to Covid-19 and Ireland’s preparations were disrupted immediately before the game when a member of their backroom staff discovered that they had tested positive for the virus. . Two Irish substitutes, Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly, had to be removed from the team because they were six feet from that staff member.
“We have stricter rules in Ireland than in the UK,” Kenny explained. “The guys are perfectly fine, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them, but we had to play by the rules.” Connolly may still be developing as a predator, but Brighton’s finishing skills could have come in handy. That said, his replacement, James McClean, performed well when Ireland started aggressively.
The hosts showed their passing prowess for a period after that, cleverly breaking through before plunging into a vigilant Irish defense. Ireland soon responded in kind, though no goals were threatened until half an hour when David McGoldrick headed in after a McClean cross. The Stoke winger then had a shot blocked by Martin Valjent as Ireland played with more confidence than they have shown in their travels for a long time.
Slovakia looked toothless until a counterattack just before the break. Darren Randolph lunged to his left to deflect a curly shot from Ondrej Duda, who approached with an acrobatic volley from the resulting corner.
As the game progressed, Ireland appeared to be by far the most likely winner. McGoldrick wove an intricate magic as a center forward who regularly dropped deep, while Jeff Hendrick and Hourihane tested him well. Hourihane should have scored, however, when the ball was presented to him six yards from goal after a wonderful play involving McGoldrick, Callum Robinson and Browne, but his weak shot was cleared off the line.
Moments earlier, Shane Duffy had rescued Ireland by making a similar clearance to deny Lukas Haraslin after a magnificent pass from Marek Hamsik.
Ireland were much better in extra time, when Rodak saved from McGoldrick and Browne had a blocked header down the line. Browne’s outbursts from deep after his presentation from the bench proved to be a dangerous addition to Ireland’s attack.
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In the 105th minute Stevens and O’Dowda combined wonderfully before the latter cut the ball for Browne, who had made another smart run to get to the finish. He did well to pass the ball over the goalkeeper, but the goalkeeper went off a post.
Ireland’s fate was later sealed in the shooting. “We created a lot of opportunities, but it just wasn’t our night,” Duffy said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
