SM
Bradford vs. Notts County: 12 hrs 42 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
GN
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 23, 2019 at 5pm UK
 
RO

0-1

 
FT(HT: 0-0)
Hendrick (49')

Ireland skipper Seamus Coleman hopeful Gibraltar can cause upsets

:Headline: Ireland skipper Seamus Coleman hopeful Gibraltar can cause upsets: ID:354281: from db_amp
Jeff Hendrick's goal handed Ireland victory at the Victoria Stadium.

Seamus Coleman is hoping minnows Gibraltar can cause some damage after giving the Republic of Ireland a scare in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier.

Jeff Hendrick's 49th-minute strike was all that separated the teams on the artificial pitch at the Victory Stadium on Saturday as Ireland secured a hard-fought away victory.

The Republic beat Gibraltar 7-0 in Dublin and 4-0 in Faro in their only other previous meetings during the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, and Coleman saw enough improvement to believe they could take points from the other teams in Group D.

The 30-year-old Ireland skipper said: "I hope so, I hope so. The players afterwards were happy with how they'd performed. They're giving it their all too and thankfully we got the win.

"But I would love to see them take points from teams and hopefully they can do."

If Gibraltar have improved significantly since the sides last met, Ireland were far from their best in admittedly difficult conditions in Mick McCarthy's first game back as manager.

He later described the encounter as a "horrible" game and while Coleman did not disagree, he admitted that international football is getting more challenging every season with Tuesday night's opponents Georgia another case in point.

Jeff Hendrick, left, celebrates scoring the only goal of the game in Gibraltar (Simon Galloway/PA)


He said: "International football is definitely getting harder. Teams sit back and it's getting harder to break teams down.

"Georgia is going to be a sticky game home and away as well. It's a tough group and we'll just take one game at a time, that old cliche.

"We're not taking Georgia for granted – they are a good side and they're getting better with every campaign as well."

That McCarthy's men returned home with the points was due in part to a vital save from keeper Darren Randolph as Roy Chipolina threatened to head the home side into the lead seconds after half-time.

Coleman said: "It was tough, but it was the same for both teams and we got over the line.

"We definitely would have liked to be more comfortable, I'm not going to try to butter it up any different, but (we got) three points. We look forward to Georgia now and hopefully we can get three points again."

The Republic have never lost to Georgia in nine previous meetings, but could only draw 1-1 in Tbilisi in the last encounter, a World Cup qualifier in September 2017.

Seamus Coleman scored the last time the Republic of Ireland hosted Georgia (Niall Carson/PA)

A rare Coleman goal secured a 1-0 home victory 11 months earlier and the full-back would happily settle for a repeat after reaching the 50-cap mark in Gibraltar.

He said with a smile: "I scuffed it over the line, but I'll take any goal I can get at this level.

"Fifty caps for your country is a massive achievement and I'll look forward to hopefully my 51st if the manager picks me against Georgia."

amp_article__354281 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-03-24 13:42:24:
html db last update - 2021-02-24 22:59:01 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Seamus Coleman

Click here for more stories about Republic of Ireland

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .