Republic of Ireland 0 - 0 Slovakia
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
The Republic of Ireland secured a point against Group B rivals Slovakia with a scoreless draw at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.
Neither side managed to find a goal despite both having good opportunities and now they will both be chasing Russia who take a two point lead in the Group after defeating Macedonia. Robbie Keane and substitute Simon Cox both had chances to score but neither could capitalise while extratime.ie Man of The Match Vladimir Weiss created some good openings for the away side.
The Boys in Green began the match well, holding on to possession around the middle of the park and stringing together a multitude of good passes. However, for the first 20 minutes they were never able to open up a stern Slovakian defence. Kevin Doyle started lively, battling down either flank chasing balls from midfield but he could never find a gap to exploit. On 12 minutes he almost set his captain, Robbie Keane, in on goal but he overcooked the pass slightly and it rolled wide. Moments later the LA Galaxy man attempted an audacious overhead kick but he couldn’t connect.
The visitors soon grew into the game with wild strikes on goal from distance coming from Marek Cech and Miroslav Stoch but both efforts failed to bother Shay Given in goal. The Donegal man did have a save to make on 20 minutes, albeit a simple one. Keith Andrews lost the ball in midfield which Napoli man Marek Hamsik pounced on, eventually feeding Vladimir Weiss just inside the area. He twisted and turned but his final shot was straight down the keeper’s chest.
The Slovakians brought quite a large, and vocal, travelling support which accumulated behind their own goal. Their faith in their country was nearly rewarded in the 27 minutes. Weiss fired a cross in from a free kick on the right which Andrews failed to clear fully. The resulting cross was met well by the head of Filip Holosko but Given got down well to paw the shot out for a corner.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s men answered with a fantastic opportunity of their own to open the scoring. Damien Duff exchanged a quick pass with Andrews on the edge of the box with the return putting him one-on-one with Jan Mucha in the away goal. He struck an awkward half-volley which was well-saved and Keane just couldn’t reach the rebound. Both sides went in level after each had some good spells.
The first chance of the second half came only four minutes after the restart. O’Shea did well to pick out Keane in the centre that in turn spread it wide to Duff. His cross was half blocked by Cech amidst cries of handball from the Irish fans. The ball was cleared to the edge of the box where Glenn Whelan took it down beautifully, juggling the ball in around the Slovakian defenders but then he appeared to take a dive which was never going to fool the Portuguese officials.
Slovakia had a very good opportunity in the 55th minute when a swift attacking move enabled Stoch to shift the ball out to Weiss in plenty of space in the right side of the Irish box. After a few step-overs he dragged his shot just wide of the far post. The referee then awarded a corner much to the frustration of Given as it didn’t seem to touch a green jersey.
Sean St Ledger managed an amazing block to deny Hamsik within 12 yards of goal. The Slovakian captain’s drilled shot was stopped by the Leicester City man superbly on the 60 minute mark. The away team were in again on 66 minutes. The energetic Weiss cut inside from the left into the box where he knocked the ball across goal but Ward cleared for a corner.
In a bizarre incident only a minute later, Given conceded a free-kick within his own area having accidentally dropped the ball before picking it up again. The set-piece was smashed toward goal but the wall of green shirts bravely blocked. Ireland were trying to stem the flow of attacking blue shirts and in the 77th minute McGeady stepped in from the left side of midfield to drive an effort wide of goal.
Robbie Keane really should of given his team the lead on 73 minutes. A lovely in swinging cross from Duff found the Tallaght man at the back post but his stooped header flew over the crossbar. The visiting keeper was then yellow-carded for time-wasting from the resulting goal kick which meant he was the third player to go into the book after Richard Dunne and Juraj Kucka picked up cards for silly fouls.
Simon Cox was introduced for Doyle and he had an effort on goal in the 76th minutes. He eventually squeezed his shot in amongst a crowd of bodies but it was straight at Mucha.
Another great chance came for an Irish goal in the 83rd minute. Keane did well to hold onto the ball under fierce pressure in the Slovakian box and he rolled it to Cox whose left footed shot rolled the wrong side of the post.
Ireland pressed forward for a winner in the final minutes but could only earn a few corners which came to nothing.
Rep. Of Ireland: Shay Given; John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward; Aiden McGeady (Stephen Hunt, 84), Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews, Damien Duff; Kevin Doyle (Simon Cox, 63), Robbie Keane .
Subs not used: Keiren Westwood (GK), Kevin Foley, Darren O’Dea, Liam Lawrence, Andy Keogh.
Bookings: Richard Dunne (66), Sean St. Ledger (87).
Sendings Off: None.
Slovakia: Jan Mucha; Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Marek Cech; Juraj Kucka (Karim Guede, 76), Miroslav Karhan; Miroslav Stock, Marek Hamsik, Vladimir Weiss (Erik Jendrisek, 85); Filip Holosko (Robert Vittek, 87)
Subs not used:Matus Putnocky (GK), Lubomar Michalik, Robert Jez, Stanislav Sestak.
Bookings: Juraj Kucka (65), Jan Mucha (74)
Sendings Off: None.
Referee: Pedro Proenca Oliveira Alves Garcia (Portugal).
Attendance: 37,000
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Vladimir Weiss, the Slovakian winger was at the heart of most of the visitors good chances..
Neither side managed to find a goal despite both having good opportunities and now they will both be chasing Russia who take a two point lead in the Group after defeating Macedonia. Robbie Keane and substitute Simon Cox both had chances to score but neither could capitalise while extratime.ie Man of The Match Vladimir Weiss created some good openings for the away side.
The Boys in Green began the match well, holding on to possession around the middle of the park and stringing together a multitude of good passes. However, for the first 20 minutes they were never able to open up a stern Slovakian defence. Kevin Doyle started lively, battling down either flank chasing balls from midfield but he could never find a gap to exploit. On 12 minutes he almost set his captain, Robbie Keane, in on goal but he overcooked the pass slightly and it rolled wide. Moments later the LA Galaxy man attempted an audacious overhead kick but he couldn’t connect.
The visitors soon grew into the game with wild strikes on goal from distance coming from Marek Cech and Miroslav Stoch but both efforts failed to bother Shay Given in goal. The Donegal man did have a save to make on 20 minutes, albeit a simple one. Keith Andrews lost the ball in midfield which Napoli man Marek Hamsik pounced on, eventually feeding Vladimir Weiss just inside the area. He twisted and turned but his final shot was straight down the keeper’s chest.
The Slovakians brought quite a large, and vocal, travelling support which accumulated behind their own goal. Their faith in their country was nearly rewarded in the 27 minutes. Weiss fired a cross in from a free kick on the right which Andrews failed to clear fully. The resulting cross was met well by the head of Filip Holosko but Given got down well to paw the shot out for a corner.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s men answered with a fantastic opportunity of their own to open the scoring. Damien Duff exchanged a quick pass with Andrews on the edge of the box with the return putting him one-on-one with Jan Mucha in the away goal. He struck an awkward half-volley which was well-saved and Keane just couldn’t reach the rebound. Both sides went in level after each had some good spells.
The first chance of the second half came only four minutes after the restart. O’Shea did well to pick out Keane in the centre that in turn spread it wide to Duff. His cross was half blocked by Cech amidst cries of handball from the Irish fans. The ball was cleared to the edge of the box where Glenn Whelan took it down beautifully, juggling the ball in around the Slovakian defenders but then he appeared to take a dive which was never going to fool the Portuguese officials.
Slovakia had a very good opportunity in the 55th minute when a swift attacking move enabled Stoch to shift the ball out to Weiss in plenty of space in the right side of the Irish box. After a few step-overs he dragged his shot just wide of the far post. The referee then awarded a corner much to the frustration of Given as it didn’t seem to touch a green jersey.
Sean St Ledger managed an amazing block to deny Hamsik within 12 yards of goal. The Slovakian captain’s drilled shot was stopped by the Leicester City man superbly on the 60 minute mark. The away team were in again on 66 minutes. The energetic Weiss cut inside from the left into the box where he knocked the ball across goal but Ward cleared for a corner.
In a bizarre incident only a minute later, Given conceded a free-kick within his own area having accidentally dropped the ball before picking it up again. The set-piece was smashed toward goal but the wall of green shirts bravely blocked. Ireland were trying to stem the flow of attacking blue shirts and in the 77th minute McGeady stepped in from the left side of midfield to drive an effort wide of goal.
Robbie Keane really should of given his team the lead on 73 minutes. A lovely in swinging cross from Duff found the Tallaght man at the back post but his stooped header flew over the crossbar. The visiting keeper was then yellow-carded for time-wasting from the resulting goal kick which meant he was the third player to go into the book after Richard Dunne and Juraj Kucka picked up cards for silly fouls.
Simon Cox was introduced for Doyle and he had an effort on goal in the 76th minutes. He eventually squeezed his shot in amongst a crowd of bodies but it was straight at Mucha.
Another great chance came for an Irish goal in the 83rd minute. Keane did well to hold onto the ball under fierce pressure in the Slovakian box and he rolled it to Cox whose left footed shot rolled the wrong side of the post.
Ireland pressed forward for a winner in the final minutes but could only earn a few corners which came to nothing.
Rep. Of Ireland: Shay Given; John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward; Aiden McGeady (Stephen Hunt, 84), Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews, Damien Duff; Kevin Doyle (Simon Cox, 63), Robbie Keane .
Subs not used: Keiren Westwood (GK), Kevin Foley, Darren O’Dea, Liam Lawrence, Andy Keogh.
Bookings: Richard Dunne (66), Sean St. Ledger (87).
Sendings Off: None.
Slovakia: Jan Mucha; Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Marek Cech; Juraj Kucka (Karim Guede, 76), Miroslav Karhan; Miroslav Stock, Marek Hamsik, Vladimir Weiss (Erik Jendrisek, 85); Filip Holosko (Robert Vittek, 87)
Subs not used:Matus Putnocky (GK), Lubomar Michalik, Robert Jez, Stanislav Sestak.
Bookings: Juraj Kucka (65), Jan Mucha (74)
Sendings Off: None.
Referee: Pedro Proenca Oliveira Alves Garcia (Portugal).
Attendance: 37,000
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Vladimir Weiss, the Slovakian winger was at the heart of most of the visitors good chances..
