No sense in wallowing despite Wembley woes
Western People journalist Tom Byrne (right) with former Republic of Ireland and Premier League midfielder Andy Reid at The Claddagh Ring in Hendon.
A couple of days after Ireland’s deflating defeat to England, as an avid Boys in Green fan, I sat and reflected on the 5-0 loss.
I arrived back on Irish soil last week after spending three nights in the English capital. I hit the bright lights of London on my first evening in the city and took in a West End Show the day before the game. It was a weekend full of activity, while I also had the chance to catch up with a relative who has lived around the Wembley area for most of his life.
On the Sunday morning of the game, the atmosphere was lively, as Irish supporters from near and far gathered in The Claddagh Ring for a sing-song and a question and answer session with ex-Ireland player Andy Reid.
Reid, who is currently part of the coaching team at Nottingham Forest, had an honourable career, making over 100 English Premier League appearances with sides such as Spurs and Sunderland and earning 29 caps for his country.
The bar in Hendon, which was packed as kick-off approached, ran a well-organised system with free buses travelling to and from Wembley Stadium for supporters to avail of.
A few days earlier, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side had edged out Finland 1-0 at the Aviva Stadium to ensure a two-legged UEFA Nations League relegation play-off against Bulgaria next March. The Boys in Green headed for Wembley with no pressure of needing a result.
Over 5,000 Irish fans made the journey for the game and created all the noise compared to what was a subdued home end for the first-half.
During an encouraging first 45 minutes, Evan Ferguson was denied a penalty when he was dragged down in the area while the Irish defence contained a star-studded English attack with the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham left frustrated going in at the break. That frustration didn’t last long, though, as Ireland’s slow second-half start ultimately resulted in a heavy price.
I stood and watched in disbelief as goal after goal went in. One two, three, netted in the space of five minutes following Liam Scales’ red card, while two more were added in the last 15 minutes to complete a 5-0 trouncing in one of the most disastrous halves of Irish football history.
I left the stadium to the sounds of “Ireland get battered everywhere they go”, which didn’t help the feeling of where we stand as a football nation now.
I do think Hallgrímsson has improved the set-up of this team but the confidence is at an extreme low. At the end of the day, these players haven’t had the joys of playing at the big tournaments and have suffered some difficult defeats over the last few years.
The World Cup qualifying draw takes place next month where the Boys in Green will discover who they have to compete against for a place at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. It will be 10 years since we last qualified for a major tournament by the time next year’s qualification campaign concludes. No country will fear playing us at the moment – we’re a long way off testing the top nations of the game.
The management team will have March to once again find out more about their squad but I do feel they will have a decent idea of who they can rely on in the crucial fixtures coming up in 2025.
“Embarrassing” is how Hallgrímsson described the English result. He is right, it turned out to be one of the most humiliating nights in recent times, albeit against an incredibly talented England squad.
The players will have to pick themselves up and go again in the new year. Now is not the time to wallow ahead of a fast-approaching qualifying campaign.
