Ireland toil as Coleman’s Messi moment earns three precious points

Summer romance rarely survives darkening October nights. The Ranelagh resident in RTÉ studio may keep pleading for street football but there was plenty on view here. Just no curbs to keep the ball in play.

Georgia offered Ireland that alien spherical object. Do something with it, they dared them.

Besides Robbie Brady, who knows plenty about control, touch and pass, as he roamed in that role all too briefly inhabited by Wes Hoolahan.

But Brady, while not alien to the play-making responsibility, faded before his deeply concerning injury.

But this malaise is not only the Irish players fault. Even the crowd grew restless with their initial Icelandic clap, flipping into fast and furious smashing of palms, demanding a switch to ways we all know best; direct, snatch and grab football. Rip and run.

And the rest: all eleven Irish players retreated for the Georgia corners. Shane Long clearing to grass where no green jersey could possibly exist, despite this being a game that demanded the pursuit of three points and some goals.

But Ireland, under their pragmatic manager, must make do with that they have. What they are. They are not going to morph into a wonderfully creative football team even when faced with retreating opponents.

So they toiled.

Toiled and waited.

On 55 minutes came a wonder goal, tiki taki as Monty Python would sketch it, as Seamus Coleman dropped his shoulder, flying past his man, reaching the byline where a comedic collection of Georgian touches saw him walk ball and man into the net. Messiesque. Street football in the dark.

"I know my goal was important but we know performance wise that wasn't good enough, "said captain Coleman afterwards. "But we are happy to come out of there with three points."

One thrilling moment had salt water poured on it before the smoke coming from James McClean’s ears could leave a trail of fire. Off hared the Derry winger as Robbie Brady and James McCarthy refused to sprint after him. McClean was forced to turn and pass backwards the same 30 metres he just covered. The crowd slumped.

That was in the second half with Ireland leading one-nil. Hold and pray.

At half-time, after a miserable 45 minutes, Martin O’Neill verbally stripped down his players.

“The manager just gave us a rollicking, said it was nowhere near good enough,” Coleman told us. “He said we looked afraid. Didn’t get on the ball. He was rightly so. We were poor in the first half.

“We came out second half and scored the goal. Defended then.”

This is fair enough for Coleman, the right back, to defend a one-nil lead but that is all Ireland did as a collective entity. It is plain for all to see, that fear Coleman spoke about, returning as soon as they took a lead against an equally reclusive Georgian attack.

"I know I got man of the match but I thought Shane Duffy was immense to be honest. He was unbelievable at the back. He won everything in the air.

“It is all about three points.”

That there is the problem. All about three points. Even when playing with fear, so much so that the players do not want the ball.

"It's a win, three points, we'll take that all day," Jon Walters said, echoing Coleman's attitude and perspective, refusing to realise that such failure to keep playing is a virus that will deny true progress.

“Right rollicking from the manager at half-time,” Walters, again, repeated the party line. “Came back out for the second half pressing high up and thought we did a lot better.”