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Stephen Kenny said he didn’t want another gallant loss. This historical ignominy was not what he had in mind. Gerson Rodrigues’ fierce long-distance goal with five minutes remaining earned Luxembourg a famous victory that leaves Ireland’s World Cup qualifying ambitions hanging by the meanest of threads and Kenny under heavy pressure. His record as a coach says: he played 10, he won 0.
Kenny has been unlucky, he has never been able to field a team in full force, but Luxembourg, ranked 98th in the world, is the smallest opponent he has ever faced and was supposed to be the team he supervised his first against. victory. Instead, Ireland fell to a new low, with defeat following a disappointing performance. Little skill, not much enthusiasm. While there were positives amid Wednesday’s defeat in Serbia, this was a total failure.
“It was a horrible night, an embarrassing night,” Capt. Séamus Coleman said. “It seemed that we did not believe in ourselves. We do not demand the ball as much as we should and we seek to break them. We got what we deserved, which was nothing. “
Coleman did not seek to hand over responsibility to the manager.
“As players, we have to weather the storm now. We are going to receive criticism and it will be criticism deserved. I have never hidden behind coaches at the club level and I do not hide at the international level. As players, we should have had enough on the field to get a result. We needed to show some character and we didn’t. “
Kenny was horrified by the display of his team and said, “It is not acceptable to lose the way we did.” When asked if he feared for his job, he answered no. “We all have setbacks at times, but I have the absolute conviction that I can do a good job here. Tonight doesn’t endorse that, I realize. We have to accept these criticisms and fight harder, do better ”.
Most alarming for Ireland was that Luxembourg’s goal was not a shock. The visitors, who arrived after losing to Qatar on Wednesday, looked comfortable for most of the game and created more chances in a short-sighted game.
Kenny had called for a quick start from his team, but the visitors threatened in the second minute as a shot from the edge of the box by Vincent Thill elicited a clever save from Gavin Bazunu, the 19-year-old goalkeeper whose form this season. for Rochdale, where he is on loan from Manchester City, he persuaded Kenny to grant him a full international debut. Bazunu’s performance was the only bright note on a gloomy night for Ireland, although they would have preferred it to be less busy.
Kenny had also emphasized the need for quick passes to unhinge Luxembourg, but his team was heavy. They never found a rhythm in the face of energetic pressure.
It wasn’t until the 18th minute that Ireland made a shot and it came from the kind of intricate movement that Kenny defends. Bazunu started it at the back and Collins nearly finished it at the other end, sliding to meet a center from the left by Callum Robison. Good save by goalkeeper Anthony Moris. The beginning of an onslaught? Far from there. Ireland did not work another opening in the middle and almost suffered a scare just before half-time when Rodrigues sent a balloon towards the goal from more than 20 meters. Bazunu backed away quickly to avoid being hit in the same way that Travers against Serbia.
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Robbie Brady, a half-time backup, brought a ray of ingenuity to Ireland’s forward game, but even so, they rarely seemed able to penetrate. Bazunu had to make another save to frustrate Vincent Thill as Luxembourg gained confidence. Rodrigues gave them the victory when he rammed an excellent low drive past the defenseless Bazunu from 25 yards.
