Ireland got their 2nd win of their UEFA Nations League campaign following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Finland in the Aviva Stadium.
Much of the pre-match chat was based around the kit the Boys In Green would be wearing against Finland. Official kit provider Castore released what they described as a "hype kit" earlier this week, supposedly inspired by the famous win over Italy in New Jersey at the 1994 World Cup.
When the action got underway, the performance on the pitch did little to raise the subdued nature of the atmosphere as Finland began the brighter as they looked most likely to open the scoring.
During the first half they would've considered themselves unlucky not to have opened the scoring as they hit the woodwork twice with Caoimhín Kelleher left with no chance.
The inclusion of Matt Doherty in tonight's starting 11 raised eyebrows among a number of supporters and he had a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the 40th minute when he found himself unmarked at the back post following a Mikey Johnston corner.
Just before half-time the only goal of the night came as Evan Ferguson got on the end of a pinpoint Johnston cross to bag his 4th goal for the Boys In Green to the delight of the home crowd.
Words we haven't typed in a very long time.
Ireland go into the break with the lead.
Evan Ferguson with the finish after Mikey Johnston skates around the Finnish penalty boxpic.twitter.com/CUop36pTgi— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 14, 2024
The second half was dull with the away side controlling the majority of possession but the Fins were awarded a lifeline in the 73rd minute when Evan Ferguson was judged to of handled the ball in the box, a penalty was awarded and substitute Joel Pohjanpalo stepped up with the Venezia striker given a golden opportunity to equalise.
But Ireland's number 1 Caoimhín Kelleher was up to the task of denying the 30 year-old making an excellent double save to keep the score at 1-0.
The save, the double save, the bravery...Caoimhín Kelleher, take a bow
What a momentpic.twitter.com/dwj4CjCR1k— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 14, 2024
READ HERE: Why Ireland Are Wearing White Jerseys Against Finland
Heimir Hallgrímsson Realistic After First Home Victory
Following his first victory at the Aviva Stadium as Ireland manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson was keen to praise his sides fight but was quick to note that they may have got lucky at times during the win.
Speaking to Tony O'Donoghue of RTÉ after the match, the Icelandic manager outlined how unhappy he was with how open their defence were:
I think in this game we were a little bit lucky, Finland hit the post twice. So it wasn't all that pretty. At times, it was too open for my sake but this group probably deserves a little luck, they've been unlucky for a long time. But it was probably an entertaining 1-0 match, there were chances and a lot of set pieces. Too many chances for my taste. But always nice to win.
Hallgrímsson was also very impressed with the only goal of the night and his sides play thoughout the 90 minutes.
It was a lovely goal. Especially in the first half, we hurt them on the wings when we moved the ball quickly and could get the wingers in a 1 v 1 position. Both Festy (Ebosele) and Mikey (Johnston) did a brilliant job but we should of moved the ball more from side to side to use that advantage we had.
They look ahead to Sunday evening when they head to Wembley to face a daunting challenge against England who need a victory to top the group in Lee Carsley's final game as manager before the recently appointed Thomas Tuchel takes charge.
The win means Ireland will face a two-leg playoff in March to avoid relegation to Group C.
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