Northern Ireland slip to Slovakia defeat
September 9, 2008
Northern Ireland got their World cup qualifying campaign off to a poor start, losing to an average Slovakia side in the heat of Bratislava on Saturday. With hopes of players and fans alike boosted by the strong showing in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, this was a reality check, as Nigel Worthington’s side turned out a disappointing and sloppy performance at times. It continues Northern Ireland’s record of losing in the opening game of a qualifying campaign, for the fourth time in a row now. It was always going to be a tough game, however Northern Ireland were hoping for at least a draw to take home with them going into Wednesday night’s match with Czech Republic. Overall, a lack of concentration, and perhaps poor tactics against a side we were capable of beating cost us dearly in the end.
The game started brightly for the men in green, with several gaps appearing in the seemingly shaky Slovakian defence. However Northern Ireland were unable to crack them, as the first half ended 0-0. Northern Ireland had a scare however in the first half, as Slovakia put the ball in our net, only for the header to be ruled out correctly by the linesman for offside.
The real problems started for us only a minute into the second half, where a sleeping Northern Ireland defence allowed Martin Skrtel, Liverpool’s 6′4″ defender to rise higher than Jonny Evans to put the ball past Maik Taylor, giving him no chance. This was a major blow, as Northern Ireland’s formation of 4-5-1 seemed to be angling towards playing for an away draw and a valuable away point.
Soon after, Northern Ireland had a clear penalty denied when a Chris Baird shot from just inside the penalty area was obviously handled by a Slovakian defender, diving to block the shot whilst raising his arm high in the air to prevent it going goalward. Despite the appeals of five Northern Ireland players, the referee, only 10 metres away, waved play on. Whilst Northern Ireland players still protested with the referee, the game moved down to our end of the field, where Slovakia were awarded a free kick on the left side. As our defence lost concentration, Slovakia took the opportunity, putting the ball through to Marek Hamsik, who had a simple tap in past the helpless Maik Taylor. The defence could only look on stunned to see what had happened with a moment of lost concentration.
Northern Ireland, despite being 2-0 down, fought back bravely in the final 20 minutes. George McCartney had two good headers, one over the bar and one saved by the keeper. Warren Feeney, a second half substitute for Keith Gillespie, stretched to reach for a shot which was knocked over the crossbar for a corner by the Slovakian goalkeeper. Dean Shiels, another sub this time for Chris Baird, livened up the play and looked to attack. A series of nailbiting throw ins and corner kicks followed. Chris Brunt also brought fresh attack to the tiring team, putting in dangerous deliveries from the left wing for the Slovakians to contend with. One particular ball provided the breakthrough for Northern Ireland. A quality curling left foot cross was put across the face of goal, where Slovakian defender Jan Durica could only put the ball in his own net whilst attempting to clear it. this goal on 81 minutes gave Northern Ireland a good 10 minutes to show what they were made of and produce one more goal to ensure one point for their efforts. Despite everything, it was too little too late as Nigel Worthington’s men had left it too late to attack, when arguably that should have been the plan from the start. They crashed to a 2-1 defeat, a hammer blow to our qualification hopes already.
Although a disappointing start to the campaign, this may serve as a wake up call for some failings in the side, and give us an idea of what needs improvement before group favourites Czech Republic arrive for the game on Wednesday 10th. If the defence can sharpen up, and the team can play in a more positive manner, they may come upon goals at Windsor Park, and not concede in such a sloppy and disappointing manner as they did against Slovakia.
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