O'Neill pleased with Netherlands workout
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill was “very pleased” with his side’s efforts following their 1-1 draw with the Netherlands at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, but reiterated that he would not name his final Euro 2016 squad until after Tuesday's friendly against Belarus in Turner's Cross.
Shane Long gave the Irish the lead on the half-hour mark, clinically dispatching the rebound from John O’Shea’s bullet header to the net after Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen had saved impressively.
Ireland were resolute throughout and looked the more dangerous side in attack with Shane Duffy, Jon Walters and Eunan O’Kane all spurning further opportunities to add to Ireland’s goal tally.
The Netherlands looked the more technically competent side throughout but failed to penetrate often enough, and their equaliser came somewhat as a surprise. Luuk De Jong stole in between Duffy and Darren Randolph to nod home Jetro Willems' cross to give the visitor’s a draw that, on the balance of chances, they scarcely deserved.
O’Neill, though, was happy with his team’s performance and in particular their willingness to move the ball at speed when advancing into the minefield that was the Dutch half of the pitch.
“I thought we did fine. We kept possession of the ball well in both halves and looked dangerous in attack,” said the Boys in Green boss.
Harry Arter, David McGoldrick and several other peripheral players were amongst the 16 who earned game time ahead of the squad announcement, with O'Neill set to confirm his selection after Tuesday’s match with Belarus – a fixture the former Leicester City and Celtic manager expects to be a "tough" encounter for his side.
Perhaps not as tough as choosing his final 23, though, as O’Neill added: “There is going to be a few dilemmas [concerning the final selection]. There are some players who didn’t play tonight who will play in Cork so everyone goes to Cork.”
Although it can be viewed as a positive that O'Neill got to look at so many players against the Netherlands, the multitude of introductions may have led to Ireland conceding the equaliser five minutes from time, with O'Neill admitting that "the number of substitutions introduced possibly disrupted our pattern of play."
The Boys in Green seemed quite assertive and confident in possession during last night’s match and O’Neill believes that they will need to express those traits during the European Championships if they are to have a successful tournament in France.
O’Neill added: “We have to go to those games believing that we can win. If you can’t take belief and confidence from beating Germany then I don’t know what you can. We can do it.”
There were a number of impressive performers on the night for Ireland including Southampton striker Long, Blackburn Rovers defender Duffy and arch set-piece deliverer Robbie Brady.
O’Neill heaped praise on the trio individually after the game, saying of Long: “He’s playing with great confidence and I don’t see why he can’t take his game to the next level.”
O’Neill is yet to confirm whether or not the Tipperary native will play in Cork on Tuesday evening due to a slight knee problem and with O’Neill eager to give Daryl Murphy and Robbie Keane game time, but Long is surely a certainty for France.
Of Duffy, O'Neill stated: “I thought he did well in March [during the last international friendly break] and he did fantastically tonight considering he hasn’t gotten a lot of international experience apart from March and when we took him to America in 2014.”
Although Duffy was caught out for Luuk De Jong’s goal, the towering defender was impressive as he and O’Shea look in the process of developing a symbiotic understanding. The 24 year old always looked dangerous when entering the Dutch penalty box and attacked Brady deliveries with purpose on a number of occasions.
As for Brady, O'Neill is hoping he can put the past season at club level behind him so he can perform to his full potential in France.
“Robbie is a very fine player who contributes a lot to the team. His delivery is Messi and Ronaldoesque and crucial to the team. Hopefully he’s over his relegation with Norwich City.”
Brady is the chief courier in the Irish side and a buzz seems to envelop the Aviva Stadium every time that Ireland get a corner or free-kick in the opposition half of the pitch because you can be assured of a quality delivery that generally leads to a goalscoring chance – and that is something that O’Neill and his side will surely use to their advantage at EURO 2016.
