“Football has become increasingly difficult to swallow for us Irish,” said Mary Hannigan, commenting on a bleak night in Dublin. A promising performance against Latvia by the under-21s culminated in no more than a 2-2 draw, ahead of a theatrically woeful performance against Greece at the Aviva Stadium.
Over the past 15 months, Greece has outperformed Ireland on three occasions. Fotis Ioannidis put the squeeze on Heimir Hallgrímsson just post-interval. Gavin Cummiskey noted that those aware of this generation saw the failure develop at a gradual pace. Between 2021 and 2023, nine goals were scored from long distance. According to Malachy Clerkin, Jayson Molumby might have been the standout Irish player on a night where few made a significant impact.
Contrasting with Saturday’s game against England, Hallgrímsson was frequently seen overseeing the technical proceedings. As noted by Ken Early, “It was unquestionably clear who held the managerial role.” A stellar attempt by Chiedozie Ogbene was disallowed for offsideness which could have compensated for Ireland’s reasonably decent first half, but as Ken expressed, “a single lapse in focus undid 45 minutes of hard work”. By the finale, “The crowd remained unimpressed with the announcement of Smallbone as man of the match, and responded with boos. The end game boos were certainly more potent.”
The manager voiced his concern over the team’s low morale, stating “the jersey appears too burdensome for some players, and their club performance does not translate here.” His challenge for the forthcoming months lies in easing this burden.
Gerry Thornley highlighted that after a brutal take-down by Los Pumas, the challenges are piling up for Australia. Additionally mentioned were misunderstandings about a former Barcelona player’s poultry, and Alan Shearer’s discomfiting train journey.
In the realm of national football, Dundalk’s predicament worsens as fans have begun a GoFundMe campaign aiming to generate €100,000 that would keep the team operational until the season concludes. The workforce and players of Dundalk are yet to receive last week’s wages, following owner Brian Ainscough’s affirmation that he’s hunting for financing to sustain the club through this season’s end. Ainscough achieved 100% ownership last November after severing links with Kerry FC where he held the position of CEO. However, his lack of success in acquiring outside investment has plunged the 14-time winners of the League of Ireland into monetary troubles.
In the world of GAA, Limerick’s All-Ireland victorious coaching team comprising John Kiely and Paul Kinnerk have received a two-year extension in their contract, while Niall Ó Ceallacháin has succeeded Micheál Donoghue as the senior hurling manager for Dublin. Sean Moran, in his recent column, pondered whether any global sport has fans and commentators as disenchanted with its actuality as Gaelic football.
In another development, recently signed RG Snyman and Jamison Gibson-Park are now fit again for Leinster, while Leo Cullen discussed the slender differences that have kept them from securing trophies in the past three seasons.
Earlier, Shane Lowry terminated his association with the building company Kingspan following the official probe into the Grenfell fire incident. The survivors’ group, Grenfell United, who initially implored the golfer to part ways with the Irish construction company three years back, lauded the decision. Lowry is slated to compete in the Irish Open at Royal County Down this week. Essential information about the tournament commencing tomorrow morning is provided by David Gorman. According to him, the course provides “one of the most renowned and distinctive links challenges out there”.