Festy Ebosele evaded both Teemu Pukki and Tomas Galvez with a nifty sidestep, sending a sweeping cross to the far post with his left foot. His pass narrowly cleared Adam Ståhl’s head and found Robbie Brady unguarded. Brady, with plenty of time, steadied the ball and sent his second touch into the net, overpowered goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky.
The cheers from the loyal Irish supporters resonated with mutual surprise and elation, as Brady dashed around the track to acknowledge them. A first competition victory in 2024 and the first non-Gibraltar competitor defeated since 2022! This event will undoubtedly occupy a prominent place in the annals of Irish football history.
In the wake of the final whistle, Ebosele’s teammates hustled him to take the lead in acknowledging the Irish crowd. Being the 81st-minute substitute for Chiedozie Ogbene paid off, his influence proving to be pivotal. He nearly bagged another assist when he offered Troy Parrott an opportunity at the box’s edge.
The team soaked in the supporters’ cheers, a pleasant conclusion after a long-awaited victory.
This stands in stark contrast to the predicament at the end of the first half when the final Irish attack was botched by Dara O’Shea, the acting right-back, who committed a foul throw. As a centre-back, O’Shea is not accustomed to throws, yet it’s not unreasonable to expect him to manage this dimension of the right-back position. The task was to execute legitimate throw-ins, not to master the art of conversational Chinese.
The Irish patriot’s response to the half-time whistle, heard a few seconds later, was the usual disgruntled half-time hoots. The match had been congested and rough. Only Liam Scales and Nathan Collins, the Irish heart of the defence, had the luxury of time and space with the ball, largely spared from the Finns’ high and stiff press.
More often than not, it appeared as if Ireland’s defenders aimlessly passed the ball among one another, lacking a clear strategy for advancing it up the pitch. Ireland can only maintain such a pattern for a finite amount of time before a costly error occurs, and it was no surprise when the team captain committed such a blunder on the 17th minute.
Scales delivered a slightly regressive pass to Collins, provoking an offensive move from Finland’s Glen Kamara and robust striker, Joel Pohjanpalo. Despite Collins having ample opportunity and space to address the ball as it reached him, events that unfolded next were baffling. Collins appeared to falter before making contact with the ball with his right foot, resulting in some odd combination of over-struck mishandling and an insubstantial backpass. In any case, it conveniently set up Pohjanpalo to swoop in, leaving a floundering Collins behind and successfully launched a low shot which defeated Caoimhín Kelleher.
Ahead of the match, when asked if he’d prefer to score a goal or keep a clean sheet, Collins responded that he’d happily accept both. Unluckily, he had to suffice with an unwitting assist. He nearly added another after just four minutes, this time with the right goal in sight. Following a powerful free-kick from Brady directed at the far post, Collins was ready to return the ball towards Evan Ferguson, who subsequently rocketed it towards the net.
This could have been Collins’s first goal since November, but it was abruptly disallowed by the officials who ruled that the ball had already crossed the goal line before Collins could head it back in. Replay evidence hinted that the officials may have been incorrect in their judgment, but the Croatian VAR team supported the original call.
Aside from this, Ireland had made no opportunities during the first half. They seemed to have no offensive strategies beyond Brady delivering calculated passes down the left sideline to runners Sammie Szmodics or Ferguson. Meanwhile, the midfield trio of Josh Cullen, Jason Knight, and Finn Azaz struggled to maintain any consistent tempo or dominance.
Szmodics consistently brings a brisk pace to the game, while Ferguson, often the lynchpin for Ireland, is well-organised, competent, and solitary. During the initial half, he was the only one with a 100% pass completion rate. Despite having the lowest number of touches after Kamara, just 13, his impact on the field was undeniable. It seems the optimal strategy for Ireland would be to bridge the gap between Szmodics and Ferguson, as the latter spent much of his time isolated and away from the action.
Notably, the duo were behind Ireland’s highlight of the match not long after the second half commenced. Szmodics exhibited a rapid pivot and inward pass to Ferguson, who outmanoeuvred the first line of defence at the border of the penalty area before Rasmus Schüller dived to intercept.
The burgeoning self-belief of the team became apparent, contradicting their initial, unnecessarily complicated approach to football.
57 minutes into the game, a leveller arose from a set-piece resulting from a foul on Ogbene. The intricate arc of Brady’s cross, partnered with a beautifully executed header by Scales, resulted in the ball nestling in the far top corner, ruling out any possibility for Bayer Leverkusen’s Lukas Hradecky to save it.
Cullen unknowingly set Kamara up for what could’ve been a lead, but his 16-yard shot aimed at the top corner missed. Benjamin Källman, off the bench, directed a header wide of the goal before Ebosele took charge. The latter’s performance suggested that Ireland’s dramatic saga with Nations League B might continue indefinitely.