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Republic of Ireland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina match report: Spot of luck lets Walters kick-start Ireland’s party

Republic of Ireland 2 (Walters pen 24, 70) Bosnia & Herzegovina 0 - Rep of Ireland win 3-1 on aggregate

Glenn Moore
Aviva Stadium
Monday 16 November 2015 23:32 GMT
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Jonathan Walters celebrates after giving Ireland the lead
Jonathan Walters celebrates after giving Ireland the lead

Six years is a long time to wait for the capriciousness of refereeing decisions to even out but it was worth it for the Republic of Ireland last night. It may be of little consolation to those players denied a place at the 2010 World Cup by the official’s failure to spot Thierry Henry’s infamous handball in the Paris play-off, but fortune finally favoured the Irish.

This time the handball, midway through the first half by Bosnia’s Ervin Zukanovic, looked accidental, but a sharp-eyed Dutch referee thought otherwise. Jonathan Walters despatched the spot-kick putting Ireland 2-1 ahead on aggregate in this Euro 2016 play-off tie. This remained, however, a slim advantage and it was not until Walters struck again with 20 minutes left that a jubilant nation could begin to plan their celebrations.

The pre-match mood oozed with positivity in every medium. On twitter John Aldridge backed Ireland for a 1-0 win, in print Ronnie Whelan called Bosnia “over-hyped”, and on breakfast television a third former Irish international, Paddy Mulligan, went further than either as he dismissed the visitors as a poor side who lacked heart.

This message had not got through to the travelling fans, the self-styled Bosnatics, who thronged the bars of Temple Bar in late afternoon before heading out to Ballsbridge. They were cheered on arrival to find Edin Dzeko, who appeared to be carrying an injury at the end of the first leg, was playing.

The Roma forward started as a lone striker with Bosnian coach Mehmed Bazdarevic omitting Vedad Ibsevic to facilitate a switch by Miralem Pjanic to second striker. Although there were three changes, Everton’s Muhamed Besic, suspended for the first match, was on the bench.

Ireland’s manager Martin O’Neill had one change in personnel, but two positional. Friday’s goalscorer Robbie Brady was asked to fill the problem position at left-back, reprising an experiment abandoned earlier in the campaign. Walters, suspended for the first leg, came in to join Daryl Murphy in a two-man attack supported by Wes Hoolahan. With John O’Shea unfit enough to start, Ciaran Clark retained his place in central defence.

The tension showed before the game in a territorial dispute in the warm-up involving Robbie Keane and Bosnian players. Further edge came when a loud minority of the away supporters ignored the minute’s silence for the victims of the tragedy in Paris. The Irish fans, initially uncertain, responded by booing, then turning the silence into applause.

Whether the incident unsettled their players or not is impossible to say but Bosnia began very nervously as Ireland, true to O’Neill’s pre-match promise, took the game to them with a degree of panache. A raking move after nine minutes, began by James McCarthy winning the ball in his own half, concluded with Walters meeting the overlapping Brady’s cross at the near post and forcing a smart save from Asmir Begovic.

The delight of manager Martin O’Neill

Ten minutes later the veteran Emir Spahic was lucky not to be given a red card as he followed up being booked for clattering Jeff Hendrick by kicking the ball away.

Four minutes later he had something to be angry about as Zukanovic was harshly penalised when Murphy’s cross struck his trailing arm. After Senad Lulic was booked for protesting, Walters sent his former Stoke City team-mate Begovic the wrong way from the spot.

Bosnia looked rattled and Spahic again flirted with dismissal chopping down Hoolahan. But they were not without threat. Dzeko hit the side netting and Haris Medunjanin volleyed over from Dzeko’s knockdown as Ireland began to retreat. Nevertheless, they reached the interval with the precious lead intact.

Besic appeared at the resumption, and was soon involved as Bosnia penned Ireland back. Clark had to head a dangerous cross over then Lulic missed a fine chance from Edin Visca’s cross. O’Neill reacted swiftly bringing on James McClean and Shane Long for Hoolahan and Murphy.

Their fresh legs gave Ireland new impetus and they reached the last quarter with the Bosnians still at bay.

Then Spahic committed another crude foul, on Walters. He again escaped a card but suffered greater punishment as Brady finally got his radar right at a set-play. Ognjen Vranjes could only scoop the enticing cross into the air and Walters calmly volleyed in. The stadium erupted in delirious joy.

Long could have sealed victory with 15 minutes left when he stole the ball from Spahic but could not repeat his glorious finish against Germany and shot wide.

Qualification completes a remarkable double for O’Neill, who played in a World Cup for Northern Ireland, and will now lead the Republic into only their third European Championship.

What they said

“Special, proud, fantastic, special, indescribable, special… I’ve got to stop saying special.” Martin O’Neill ran out of superlatives as he sought to describe how he felt, and how he felt about his Irish team, after Jonathan Walters’ goals against Bosnia secured qualification for Euro’16. That was hardly surprising after an exhaustingly committed performance from a team who seemed destined not to qualify midway through the tournament, but revived to qualify, via to play-offs, with a 3-1 aggregate victory, secured with a 2-0 win in Dublin last night.

“I could not be more proud,” said O’Neill. “I am delighted for myself, naturally, but the game is about players and I am thrilled for them. They have put heart and soul into the games.

“We never gave up, even after the Scotland game. It was a tall order but it was always in our hands. They are a fantastic bunch of players who want to play for their country. They have shown that in the qualifying tournament - they have given everything. I am delighted for them. That moment when the referee blows the whistle and you are in France is very special indeed, the more so as it means so much to a lot of people.”

O’Neill reserved particular praise for his goalscorer. “Walters has had a qualification tournament to remember,” said his manager of the Stoke striker. “We’ve had a number of consistent performers, but he has been exceptional.”

He also paid tribute to his assistant Roy Keane, whose hiring initially divided opinion. “I have had to make some big decisions [in my career]. One of the biggest was bringing Roy in and he has been phenomenal. I could not be more delighted with him. He is an iconic figure here, sometimes he polarises opinion, but not in our dressing room.”

Keane, who had to be dragged by O’Neill onto the pitch to join the celebrations, said himself in a reference to his infamous walkout before the 2002 World Cup finals: “We’ve been down this road before. We’ll be alright as long as we don’t go to Saipan.”

The Republic of Ireland join England Wales and Northern Ireland in France, the first time four British Isles teams have reached the finals of a major tournament. That, said O’Neill, is ‘special’.

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