Conor Sammon is Not an International Quality Player
Giovanni Trapattoni's biggest call prior to last night's game was the inclusion of Conor Sammon. It was clear why the Italian opted for a target man but what was unclear was his decision to select him ahead of Kevin Doyle. Jonathan Walters would also have provided an option as the main striker with Wes Hoolahan being another blatantly obvious alternative.
Sammon made just his second start for Ireland but he once again struggled to have any real impact on the game. Having won a couple of early knock ons, there seemed to be little to no communication with his strike partner Shane Long. To his credit, Sammon worked tirelessly for the entire game but the energy and the work rate which he put in sadly came to no avail.
Afterwards he spoke of how pleased he was with his own personal performance; "I was pleased with how I done yeah. I tried to put myself about. The manager had said to me to try and be a physical presence and win flick ons for Shane's (Long) pace in behind and I really enjoyed it."
Long who almost forced into playing the lone striking role as he collected his own flick ons and was a constant menace to the Austrian defence. Both players were clearly working under similar instructions about pressuring the opposition defence and bringing the likes of McClean and Walters into the play. Sammon rarely linked up with either and his repeated heavy first was a sure sign of a player out of his depth at international level.
Trapattoni's Tactics and Decision Making Again Called Into Question
Ireland's first half performance was full of character and determination and the way the went about turning around an early deficit was very positive.
James McCarthy once again impressed in midfield and his composure in switching the point of attack through the midfield proved fruitful on more than one occasion. Two Jon Walters goals before the break gave Ireland a deserved lead. Everything was going to plan - Trapattoni's tactics were paying off.
Ireland needed to start the second half the more composed in an attempt to retain possession. Unfortunately they never quite did that. The away side were the far better team throughout the second period and fully deserved their equaliser. Austria dominated possession without really troubling Forde but after an hour, it was blatantly obvious that a change in mind set was needed.
Ireland sat back and invited Austria on to them with almost a half an hour to go. From there, it was only a matter of time before they got their goal and sure enough it came through their best player on the night, David Alaba.
Trapattoni's decision to take off Long with seven minutes remaining was met with distain from a section of the home support. But it was understandable why he took a player who had run himself into the ground off. What was puzzling though was the introduction of Paul Green to play on the right side of midfield. With Hoolahan still sitting on the bench, he seemed like the ideal player to come on and bring calm to proceedings. Kevin Doyle was another decent option but he has clearly fallen well down Trap's pecking order.
Another strange tactical move or lack of was the manager's decision not to make a substitution late on, to run down the clock. A simple straight forward change like Doyle for Sammon would have wasted valuable seconds in which time Alaba snatched a draw.
The players must take responsibility for such a lacklustre second half display but an experienced international manager like Trapattoni should have known better and acted sooner.
Lack of Leadership is a Continuing Problem
Ireland's second half display completely devoid of any real control or composure which stems from the fact that they do not have any real leaders in their side.
Glenn Whelan is a hugely frustrating figure within this regard. Whelan has been involved in the Irish set up for five years now and can certainly be classed as 'experienced' - as his 47 caps would suggest.
Ireland were crying out for someone with a calm head to grab a hold of the game. Not one Irish player stepped up and did that in the second half last night. Whelan is one of the most experienced players in the Irish side nowadays but his blatant lack of leadership qualities at this stage of his career is glaring.
John O'Shea spoke about his side's lack of experience in closing out games; "It's hugely frustrating but we need to learn from this experience, especially the young lads. The last few minutes to kill the game off. You have to grow up and learn from it quick."
Without a real leader in this Irish side, it's little wonder that the younger players struggled to see out what should have been a comfortable victory.
What Now for Ireland and Their World Cup Hopes?
Trapattoni deserves huge credit for his remarkable record of not having lost a competitive away game since he became manger of the side five years ago. What Irish fans were hoping was that this impressive feat would turn into home wins.
Although the FIFA world rankings is a flawed system, it is worth briefly pointing out that Austria are ranked 39 places below Ireland. As impressive as Ireland's away record under Trapattoni is, his home record is nothing short of dreadful.
Since 2008, Ireland have beaten just five teams at home in competitive games. Those five being; Cyprus, Armenia, Andorra, Georgia and Macedonia. With all due respect to those teams, if a team like Ireland harbour any real hopes of competing at a World Cup, they need to be beating teams better than those.
Ireland remain in 4th position on Group C, level on points with Sweden and Austria. But crucially the Swedes have played a game less. With top spot evidently reserved for Germany, last night's draw gives Sweden a massive advantage over both Ireland and Austria.
The manager was defiant in his press conference when asked if it is now more difficult to qualify; "Why? We have the same table. The situation has not changed. No change. We have five games left and must play Sweden again."
The fact that just eight of the nine runners up will make it into the play offs is made all the more precarious by the fact that Austria currently lie in eighth position. Ireland face a massive uphill task if they are to make it to Rio in 2014 and will once again be hoping that other results go in their favour. Last night's two dropped points puts a massive dent in their hopes.
On a More Positive Note
Four points from six was the aim this time last week going into the two games with Sweden and Austria. An excellent point in Stockholm was matched by the accomplished away performance. The draw in Sweden also proved to the Irish side that without Ibrahimovic who was largely anonymous throughout, Sweden are certainly beatable. The draw last night means that Ireland will almost have to certainly take all three points at home to Sweden next September. The performance in Stockholm will give them the confidence to do so.
There have been plenty of changes from the team that was involved in the Euros last June and the majority have settled into the side very well. David Forde has been excellent in goal and but for a few shaky clearances was faultless in both games. He has firmly established himself as Ireland's new number one.
Seamus Coleman has proven what we all already knew - that he is a class act. The level of composure he shows when in pressure situations is remarkable and if the other players around him could feed off that, we would be heading in the right direction.
James McCarthy proved Trapattoni wrong to have dropped him from the original starting XI in Sweden and continued his good form last night but for a few sloppy passes. While James McClean also showed promising signs. His final ball continues to disappoint however and is an aspect of his game which must quickly improve.
Shane Long's performance last night would suggest that he should have more than just the three competitive starts under Trapattoni. Long may not be a prolific goal scorer but with his pace and inventiveness he brings something different to this Irish team.
As David Forde pointed out afterwards, plenty of the younger players have gained priceless experience in the last five days; "You look at James McCarthy and James McClean who was fantastic tonight and even myself, it's my first two World Cup qualifying games. Experience is massive and hopefully that will help us progress from the group further down the line."
Here's hoping.
