Great Irish Performance Not Enough To Beat French
FRANCE: 2
REP. OF IRELAND: 1
Stephen Doyle at the Stade de Lyon
It took just eight second half minutes for Les Bleus to take Ireland’s realistic hopes of a quarter-final and smashing them to pieces in a sunny and warm Lyon.
In that time midfielder Antoine Griezmann scored a brace and made the dangerous break that led to Shane Duffy putting in the tackle which saw him red carded. And it had all started so brilliantly well.
The Boys in Green went on the attack from the kick-off and Stephen Ward crossed into the box where Daryl Murphy couldn’t hold onto the ball which spilled to Shane Long who was tripped clumsily by Paul Pogba. Penalty.
The boy from Baldoyle, Robbie Brady, stepped up, three days, five hours and 19 minutes after he headed the ball past Salvatore Sirigu, and slammed the ball off the post and into the net in the third minute.
The contrast between both ends was amazing with the Green Army losing their collective minds as the net rattled while the sea of blue wrapped around them stood their in stunned silence wondering if it had actually happened.
Ireland can tend to withdraw in those sitiuations but what ensued was a toe-to-toe battle with the home team whose fans were antsy for the remainder of the second half.
The French had a few chances with a Dimitri Payet free into the hands of Darren Randolph followed by a free header for Griezmann from a Pogba cross that went just over. That chance was a warning sign.
Griezmann followed that with a dangerous cross that was headed away well by Duffy and the Atletico Madrid man then hit a powerful shot but it was straight at Randolph.
Ireland meanwhile were giving the French defence a torrid time with Laurent Koscielny and Adil Rami in fear of Shane Long and Daryl Murphy and it was the latter who pulled the first good save out of Hugo Lloris.
Ward flicked on a Brady corner and Murphy hit a volley at the back post which Lloris pushed away at full stretch.
N’Golo Kante was booked in the first half for a silly trip on James McClean and he was taken off at the break with Kingsley Coman coming on and that changed things.
The French looked a lot more energetic and dynamic getting forward and they carved out their best chance of the game in the 49th minute with Payet’s free flicked on in the box and headed just wide by Koscielny at the back post.
Randolph pulled off his best save of the tournament seven minutes later when Blaise Matuidi fired the ball at goal from 18-yards but the Bray man dived brilliantly to save.
In between those chances a lovely Irish move was started with a cheeky flick by Murphy to Hendrick and the midfielder found McClean out wide but the winger’s square ball behind the defence just eluded Murphy and Long.
Alas just the damn broke when Bacary Sagna clipped the ball across the box and Griezmann got up for his third free header but this time it landed in the net.
Stephen Ward also finished off a clever corner move just after the goal when Hendrick flicked on Brady’s ball which dropped out to the left-back who looked to have got his shot on target but it was deflected away.
France went straight up the other end and Griezmann ran expectantly into the box as Olivier Giroud knocked a long ball down and it perfectly in front of the midfielder who slotted the ball calmly past Randolph.
Ward was involved again minutes later when he clipped a nice ball down the left for McClean and the winger got around Rami but there was no end product and France were straight back up the field.
Another dangerous run from the man-of-the-match forced Duffy to take Irish assistant boss Roy Keane’s advice although he did his best to get the ball as he slid in from behind, he ended up catching Griezmann’s foot. Red card.
The resulting free was hit by Payet but straight at the Irish wall.
It could have been worse when Andre-Pierre Gignac had a double chance – finding space at the back post, the sub shot straight at Randolph and in a matter of seconds he was further away from goal cracking a shot off the top of the bar.
The Irish players looked dead on their feet just minutes into the second half with France’s break from action since last Sunday paying dividends and despite doing all they could to create something - they were sapped of energy.
The entire squad stood in front of the Green Army for about ten minutes after the final whistle as Davy Keogh and co. sang their hearts out – a demonstration of genuine pride in the performance despite the result.
©INPHO/James Crombie
FRANCE: Lloris, Sagna, Rami, Koscielny, Evra, Pogba, Kante (Coman 46 (Sissokho 90+3)), Matuidi, Griezmann, Payet, Giroud (Gignac 71). Subs: Jallet, Cabaye, Martial, Schneiderlen, Mangala, Mandanda, Digne, Coman, Umtiti, Costil.
REP. OF IRELAND: Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Keogh, Ward, McCarthy (Hoolahan 71), Brady, Long, Hendrick, McClean (O'Shea 68), Murphy (Walters 65). Subs: Westwood, Clark, Whelan, McGeady, Keane, Christie, Given, Meyler, Quinn.