In many ways, tonight's game against Gibraltar was a no win situation for Ireland.
Their performance against Greece on Friday was abysmal, piling the pressure on Stephen Kenny and likely condemning the team to a fourth-placed finish in the group.
Gibraltar is an opposition that Ireland are expected to beat easily, with any other outcome likely to lead to a further wave of criticism. Fortunately, they performed to a decent level en route to securing a 4-0 victory. There were some strong individual performances, with the likes of Mikey Johnston and Ryan Manning standing out.
RTÉ pundits baffled by Matt Doherty reaction to Gibraltar goal
Matt Doherty was another player who starred on this occasion. He has put in poor showings during his last few Ireland appearances, although he certainly an influential figure this evening.
The Wolves man would record two assists in the first half, going on to get a goal of his own after the interval.
What about that for an assist from Jamie McGrath 😳 🦂
Matt Doherty with the finish to make it 3-0 to Ireland on the hour mark!
🇬🇮 0-3 🇮🇪
📺Live on RTÉ2
💻https://t.co/JYf06csaIG…
📱 https://t.co/xRBCug62XV pic.twitter.com/V2ja2alMRB— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 16, 2023
Despite making a major contribution to the Ireland performance, Doherty certainly was not overjoyed after hitting the back of the net.
That is something that confused both Shay Given and Stephen Kelly, who when speaking on RTÉ after the game, said they were baffled by the player's demeanour considering he had just scored a goal for his country.
Given: To be fair to Doherty, he is really strong in the one-v-one at the back post. We are surprised by the celebration.
I was saying off air, if I scored for my country I would still be running around the studio to celebrate. I know it's weak opposition and they're off the back of a poor result on Friday night, but at the same time you have to be beaming with pride to score for your country.
We were a little bit surprised by his reaction, but maybe it's just because of the opposition...
Kelly: You can see the fans are loving every moment of the game. They're enjoying the atmosphere and the venue, they were really enjoying it.
Then Matt scores, and as Shay says, you're scoring for your country and it's a huge moment for you. It's something you can celebrate.
You have to take into context because you can't on one hand talk about Gibraltar and how bad they are, and then expect the guys to be up in arms if they score against them, because we didn't do it against Greece.
But I don't think I would let my inner self not celebrate if I score. It's your country and you put on the green shirt, so it all counts. When you look back on your record when you retire, you got a goal for your country.
It's something you probably should celebrate in the moment, but I understand the context of the low key celebration based on the Greece game and the opposition it was against.
Matt Doherty clearly felt a more reserved celebration was fitting of this game, most likely down to the opposition and how badly the team have performed in recent times.
Still, it's difficult for the general football fan to understand a player not celebrating a goal for their country.
SEE ALSO: Ireland Player Ratings As Kenny's Side Stroll To Convincing Gibraltar Win
