IRELAND VS WALES - October 11th

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 Drumcondra 69er wrote:

 Stickittotheman wrote:

I thought that was another poor game. Again we played some decent stuff at times but 1 shot on target and another goaless game is a real worry. Keeping the ball is well and good but actually doing something with it is entirely different. We can bemoan the lack of a goalscorer but that is where we are so the solution is to find other ways to win matches rather than rely on a goalscorer. At the minute we are playing a style that needs a goalscorer and we hope one appears because otherwise I fear we might struggle big time. 1 goal in 4 games which was an injury time set piece header from our centre back. Not encouraging.

This shots on target metric being thrown around is a bit of a misnomer in terms of being used to criticise the manager or the style. There were, plenty of opportunities to hit the target which were passed up by various players. The manager can't do anything about that. Be more worried if we weren't creating those chances at all. 

Fully agree, not sure who it was that side-footed the ball over the bar from about 8 yards out late on in the game, but he really should have hit the target, golden opportunity. Long also inexplicably putting a free header clean over the bar.

Two good chances and at least one should have been put in, which would have won you the game.
Although, to be fair, our defending gifted you the chances as much as them being created as such.

Also when McClean's on a yellow and decides to go flying in and picks up a second yellow, that's McClean's fault rather than the manager's.

Comparing this game to the previous times we've played recently, that was an improved Irish performance, not drastically so, but the possession was better, more was offered in attack, and defensively not a lot of difference.