Dull night for the Irish but one bright spark.
Daryl Horgan was the only thing that shone with enough light at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday night to get attention away from the Mexican Waves and Thunderclaps and back onto the pitch.
The former Dundalk winger got half an hour on his international debut and he made every minute count but, other than that, it was a forgetful night for Martin O’Neill who watched his side succumb to a tame 1-0 defeat.
O’Neill’s men don’t meet up again until June with two friendlies in store before the qualifier with Austria, but here’s how the players performed on the night against Iceland.
Keiren Westwood 6
Great reflexes to turn away a cross-shot in the second half and looked confident with the ball at his feet but he was let down by his wall for the only goal of the game.
Cyrus Christie 6.5
Untroubled all evening and when he got forward, he had white jerseys falling over themselves. We could’ve done with using him more down that right flank.
John Egan 6
Took a stinging elbow straight to the eye very early on but he got bandaged up and played for an hour, completely unshaken. Didn’t look one bit out of place.
Alex Pearce 6.5
Very solid and a very decent night’s work.
Robbie Brady 7
Played at left back but never got in behind or even free down the wing – he was obviously marked out. Never made a mistake though and he led the way with the armband and looked to deliberately feed Horgan time and time again when the former Dundalk man came on. His set pieces were on the money – they needed to be attacked more.
Aiden McGeady 5.5
Wowed the support at times with some nice touches and seemed to skip by a challenge or two but was lacking in end product.
Conor Hourihane 5.5
Huge tackle in the first half that got the crowd off their feet and Ireland on the counter. Very neat and tidy but the Iceland free kick went by both him and Hendrick.
Jeff Hendrick 5.5
More restricted than usual playing in a middle two and Ireland did not enjoy a good opening hour. Still strong and aggressive and he’s become a key player for Ireland now.
Jonny Hayes 5
Worked tirelessly up and down the left wing. Rarely caught in possession but rarely got at the full back either.
James McClean 7
Do you get any less than absolutely everything from this man? Operating up front with Kevin Doyle, McClean provided 71 minutes of speed, energy and heart. Drew a few dangerous frees from the Icelandic defence that were worried about him and always gave his team mates a channel to hit.
Kevin Doyle 6
A nice outlet with his back to the defence to link the play and bring men into the game. Very quiet first half but never stopped presenting himself for the entirety of the game.
Subs
Eunan O’Kane 5
One over-hit pass, a couple of nicely sprayed balls to switch the play.
Stephen Gleeson 5
Great to see him getting a chance again, even if it was only for half an hour. Didn’t put a foot wrong.
Andy Boyle 6
Looked strong and dominant immediately and a right handful from attacking set-pieces.
Daryl Horgan 7.5
Infuriating that he didn’t start this game.
Daryl Horgan is still finding his level and, on 30 minutes showing on Tuesday night, that level is still rising.
He mishit his first cross despite coming on to rapturous cheers but he didn’t let it bother him. Went hunting for ball, was hungry and confident and, when he got it, he wasn’t happy to just lay it off. He wanted to make something happen on his international debut and he was the best thing that did happen to this game.
Broke down the left on four different occasions away from tackles and put dangerous balls into the area. He got the crowd excited and the opposition nervous. We need to use him more. He is fearless.
Shane Long 5.5
Didn’t get a lot of time or passes to make an impact on the game but still livened things up.
Callum O’Dowda 6.5
One frightening run straight through the middle and some neat exchanges in close quarters. Another shame that he wasn’t deployed from the start, never mind for more than 20 minutes.
