Gary Connaughton reporting from the Aviva Stadium
Ireland fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland this evening, and while John O'Shea said he could have few complaints about the result, he did reveal that a couple of his players were upset about the circumstances surrounding the Switzerland goal.
Right from the off tonight, it seemed unlikely that Ireland were going to build upon what was a positive performance against Belgium over the weekend.
Switzerland looked incredibly comfortable on the ball, completely dominating possession in the first half. The home team barely laid a glove on them in an attacking sense, with Xherdan Shaqiri's free-kick giving them a deserved lead at the interval.
Ireland did improve somewhat in the second half, especially in the last 20 minutes or so. Still, they did not create many chances of note as the game ended in a 1-0 defeat.
In saying that, there was a hint of controversy about the decision that led to that Swiss winner.
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John O'Shea reveals fury of Ireland pair over Swiss decision
Gavin Bazunu will probably feel that he could have done a bit better for the Shaqiri free-kick, with the Ireland goalkeeper beaten at his near post when it seemed obvious that the Swiss player would be aiming for that corner. Three of his teammates were stood between the goalkeeper and the ball in order to block his view of the strike.
However, Ireland will argue that the free-kick should not have been awarded in the first place.
Dara O'Shea was penalised for a tackle on Burnley teammate Zeki Amdouni, although it seemed that the Switzerland player had gone down without any contact. O'Shea was furious at the time, something that apparently continued into the dressing room at halftime.
Mick McCarthy felt it was a Switzerland free kick but is questioning Ireland's goalkeeper.
🗣️ "I'm still at a loss at how it's gone in."
🗣️ "Gavin's really got to protect that side."#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/q3Wc1e6cir— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 26, 2024
Speaking after the game, John O'Shea said that both O'Shea and Nathan Collins were irate over the decision to award the free-kick.
You hold your hands up. In that first 30 minutes Switzerland were really dominant and aggressive, we had to stand up to that. We did, but when you think of the goal they scored, that was frustrating too.
We watched it back. Dara [O'Shea] and Nathan [Collins], I saw how angry they were at halftime at the referee. Dara has stopped and the lad has gone over.
Still, we can defend the free-kick better...
That's where you hope the referee will realise when there's contact and not. That's the key bit there.
You could argue that Dara should have stayed on his feet, but Dara pulled his leg away to not make contact. It's a frustrating one.
As I mentioned, you have to hold your hands up sometimes. Switzerland were dominating the game, we were frustrated in terms of that.
While you can argue about the decision that led to the winning goal, there can be little debate that Switzerland were fully deserving of their victory on the night.
John O'Shea will no doubt be frustrated that his Ireland team could not create more chances of their own, something that ultimately cost them the game.
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