Richie Sadlier has praised Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson for his reaction to Nathan Collins’ first half mistake against Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
Collins’ lapse in concentration put Ireland on the back foot early on in Helsinki with Finnish forward Joel Pohjanpalo capitalising on his scuffed back-pass to put the home side one up.
Ireland recovered from their skipper’s mistake to ultimately win the game, finally getting off the mark with their first win in this year’s Nations League campaign.
First Liam Scales dragged Ireland back into the game with a perfectly timed header on fifty eight minutes before Robbie Brady won it late on with a moment of magic.
Substitute Festy Ebosele also played a significant part in the winning goal, beating a few players down the right flank before clipping a measured ball out to Brady.
After the game, the Ireland manager Hallgrímsson refused to blame Collins for his error, describing mistakes as a part of the game.
“You can’t do anything about mistakes,” said the Icelander.
Heimir Hallgrimsson and player of the match Robbie Brady reflect on a sweet win for the Republic of Ireland in Helsinki with @Corktod #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/yXle7zFKn3
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 10, 2024
“It’s something that happens and you have to be ready to exploit when they (opposition) make mistakes. It’s just something that happens in football. We cannot criticise anyone for making a mistake, they happen.”
Speaking on RTÉ punditry duty, Richie Sadlier was full of praise for the new boss for shielding his player in that manner.
“Really pleased for Nathan Collins now because his mistake in the first half is just a mistake in a game that we won. It’s a mistake of no consequence.
“I really liked that (Hallgrímsson’s response) because a lot of managers would have stressed the fact that it was an individual mistake and maybe harped on about it, looking to relieve the blame from himself.
“Heimir didn’t do any of that, he said it happens, you move on, I like that.”
The Republic of Ireland can take a lot from their victory tonight – both in terms of the display on the pitch, and the attitdue of boss Heimir Hallgrimsson, according to Shay Given and Richie Sadlier #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/SZCxw6CnDC
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 10, 2024
Sadlier also priased the manager for what his perceived flexibility when it comes to tactics.
“I like when a manager is more than just a one-trick pony. I like when a manager is going to keep us guessing.
“I like it if there’s games in this competition where we don’t know what the team is going to be, and we’re thinking the manager has specific ideas to outsmart the specific opponent.
“He’s going to have to come up with something different on Sunday.
“It’s important for the manager. He’s got the job, it’s his. There’s no point in saying anything else about the process anymore, or how bad last month went so for him, it’s a big boost.”