The Irish were so near and yet so far from the glory they craved in the fabulous arena of the Stade de France.
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He’s a joy to play with and it’s a joy to watch him play. For much of the game, he was a virtual spectator marshalled expertly by the Irish rearguard, but ultimately it was his cross which was headed into his own net by the unfortunate Ciaran Clark as he finally made an impact.
“I think the players played Ibrahimovic exceptionally well”, Ireland manager Martin O’Neill said after the game.
The skill and trickery of Ireland’s scorer was one of few bright spots in a turgid opening half that was littered with errors and sloppy play, but at least the Irish defence managed to keep Ibrahimovic quiet.
“As for Sweden, we’ve still won more Eurovisions than them and we’ll be outsinging them well into the night”.
Sweden’s perseverance’s paid off after 71 minutes with Ibrahimovic the orchestrator, beating Coleman down the right to reach the byline with a darting run before cutting a ball back into the six yard area.
Earlier, Clark haphazardly turned a corner towards the Ireland goal, with goalkeeper Darren Randolph sparing him on that occasion.
Disappointment struck with a devastating own goal from Ireland’s Ciaran Clark bringing the two teams level and leaving Irish dreams of a first round win in tatters.
Ireland responded to Swedish pressure by trying to slow the game down with Shane Long diligently providing an effective outlet whenever called upon.
He added: “I think it’s fair to say we have a star of Euro 2016 now in Wes Hoolahan”. However, with Sweden increasing their threat as the contest progressed, the Boys in Green will probably leave satisfied with a point.
O’Neill’s side showed a real desire to win, making two attacking substitutions after Sweden’s equaliser, while the Scandinavians looked slow and toothless until Ireland took a deserved lead three minutes after the break.
“This was a winnable game for us the way we performed”.
Jonathan Walters is a major doubt for the Republic of Ireland’s key Euro 2016 showdown with Belgium on Saturday after aggravating his Achilles injury. When Ireland did not have the ball, Walters had been asked to drop wide to make a midfield five.
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“We created a lot of chances. I try, but I can do much better”. “I wouldn’t pick the substitutions out”. Any time the tall Swede got the ball, the central defensive partnership of Clark and John O’Shea immediately blocked him from behind with Glenn Whelan then dropping back to complete an exclusion zone around the 34-year-old and prevent him from displaying his excellence.
