Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring for Croatia; Ireland’s equaliser was not enough as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nikica-Jelavic-c27906 compounded on Ireland’s woes to clinch the three points.
The match was played in Poznan, with a huge Irish contingent coming to support their team’s first appearance in a competitive tournament after the World Cup 2002, which was held in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Japan-c2928 and South Korea. Attendance constituted
to a total of 43,200 people, and the Irish supporters were considerably more in attendance than the Croats.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giovanni-c14985 Trapattoni’s men were on an unbeaten run of 15 matches; however, given the quality of their opponents during that run, the Croatians were a superior side for the Boys in Green to tackle. Slaven Bilic had stated in his
pre match conference that the Irish would be a tough opposition for the Vatreni, however, the performance by Trapattoni’s men must have surprised the Croatian coach.
Croatia were by far the superior side on the night, and were extremely easy on the eye as well. The Irish were lucky not to have been defeated by a higher margin. The Blazers took the lead as early as the third minute as Mario
Mandzukic, who plies his trade in the Bundesliga, rose highest to head the ball past former Newcastle United goalkeeper, Shay Given.
The Irish might have felt a little hard done by the early set back but they clawed their way back to parity after Aiden McGeady’s set piece was met by the towering Sean St Ledger. Even though the goal was probably against the run
of play, but Trapattoni’s men have proven to be extremely effective in scoring goals from dead ball situations.
Sloppy defensive slip-ups by the Boys in Green was a sign of an unsure defence and they seemed to be thoroughly outplayed by their European counterparts. And it seemed more like an actual case of Men vs Boys as the Croatians continued
with their attacking fervour and tenacity.
Bilic put his trust for attacking in Mandzukic and Jelavic, and the pair repaid the faith instilled in them by their manager. Jelavic was on target in the 43rd minute, as he expertly finished following a disoriented
clearance by the Irish defence.
Mandzukic’s persistence in attack paid off after his header bounced off http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Shay-Given-c33284 as it struck the post, and the ball ended up in the back of the net.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luka-Modric-c22857 was at his sublime best as he replicated his form for Tottenham Hotspur for the national side, threading beautiful passes for the front two. He exploited the openings in the disorganised Irish defence, creating panic
through his play into the opposition.
Credit must be given to the Irish team who persisted throughout the match and never gave up. However, it was evident that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Croatia-c2879’s class was far superior to that of the Irish, on the night at least.
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