Newcastle’s Rob Elliot has been called up by the Republic of Ireland for their final Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland.
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There were a few raised eyebrows when Martin O’Neill named his team with Daryl Murphy as the lone striker and Long on the bench once again.
Thomas Mueller should have levelled with a close-range effort seven minutes later but the hosts held on for a memorable win, their first in a competitive game against the Germans. For Ireland, they pulled off the biggest upset that kept their hopes alive by defeating Germany.
“Right through the team, magnificent, It’s a privilege to be here, I’m proud to stand here as their manager”, said O’Neil. “And Josh was given the opportunity to show Michael what he can do and he grabbed a goal”. A win for either team will send them through, but the complexities of the group mean that both could qualify with a draw.
“We saw all the good things in Northern Ireland out there”. When you lose a goal like that late on it’s a real low blow to everyone in the dressing room.
Germany dominated the game in front of 50,000-plus fans at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, but reports said “heroic” Irish defending thwarted the attempts of their high-fancied opponents.
“We gave ourselves a chance when we beat Georgia and Gibraltar in the last two games to have a chance at automatic qualification”.
There is understandably a sense of euphoria surrounding Northern Ireland at the moment and skipper Davis, who scored a match-winning double, has expressed his delight at helping his nation achieve such a wonderful feat.
Portugal sealed their place with a 1-0 victory over Denmark in Braga guaranteeing top spot in Group I thanks to Joao Moutinho’s 66-minute goal.
“But it’s not the case – we haven’t even qualified”.
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Georgia may be out of the running for the top three places in Group D but they recorded a morale-boosting 4-0 win over Gibraltar on Friday, and coach Kakhaber Tskhadadze wants them to take a few renewed belief into the Germany clash.
