At long last Ireland have cause for celebration after a last-gasp winner from Robbie Brady got the Heimir Hallgrímsson era going in Helsinki on Thursday night.
Ireland had fallen behind early on after a disastrous error from captain Nathan Collins allowed Finland through after just 16 minutes. For much of the first half, Ireland looked shell-shocked, with fans fearing more of the same after last month’s dour home defeats to Greece and England.
However, the Boys in Green showed their character in the second half, with a performance that will have injected some long overdue hope for their fanbase.
First, Liam Scales equalised with his first international goal, before outstanding work from Festy Ebosele teed up Robbie Brady for a superb finish two minutes from time to secure all three points for Hallgrímsson’s men.
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Ireland lead! Festy Ebosele does so well to fashion the chance and it’s lashed home magnificently by Robbie Brady. ☘️☘️
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https://t.co/XnOP6grnB7🖥️ https://t.co/uiLtcfKbBP pic.twitter.com/WttqwQR4Mn
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 10, 2024
After two lifeless performances in Dublin last month, there was a spark of life in Helsinki.
Post-match, Richie Sadlier highlighted a subtle detail of Brady’s winner that showcased the change in approach from Ireland against Finland.
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Richie Sadlier highlights Ireland’s attacking approach in Helsinki
Once Ireland fell behind to England and Greece last month, they offered little to no attacking threat. However, in a much-changed performance on Thursday, they had most of the brightest attacking moments against Finland and ultimately got their reward right at the death.
Speaking on RTÉ after the full-time whistle, Richie Sadlier pointed out that the Brady winner had been no fluke, but had been the product of a deliberately more attack-minded approach from Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side.
You can see that he’s one of five Ireland players in the box at that moment, it’s very attack-minded and really positive.
The substitutions from the manager at the end were positive so they can all see this as the culmination of a very deliberate plan at the end of the game.
Finland are not the finest side Hallgrímsson will face as Ireland manager but a win is a win and it could not have come soon enough for the new man in charge.
Though keen to temper expectations, Sadlier was equally keen to emphasise just how big this result could be for the Boys in Green and their morale going forward.
It’s just so nice to be sitting in a studio reflecting on an Ireland win. So many supporters say that it’s been difficult, it’s just been a bit of a slog for a while. We’re sitting here sometimes in this studio wondering, ‘Do we pick the positives, do we criticise? How do you get the balance right?’
Tonight, there are good things to talk about. The performance, the attitude, they were a bit more assertive at the start of the second half, they imposed themselves more, they seemed to push on an extra ten yards.
The significance of that win…you could kind of tell from Robbie Brady’s interview there the work that those players have been putting in for no reward. They’re getting nothing, they’ve been criticised, apparently [some] fans booed them again [at half-time] tonight.
The moment for the players…a late winning goal, brilliant way to win a game. As a group, to stand in front of the away suppporters and do a little bit of a lap of honour in front of them – those are scenes that those players haven’t been able to do.
A lot of them will have been looking at their careers the way we’ve all been looking in thinking, ‘When are the good days going to come, how long are they going to last, how far away are we from a tournament?’
It’s putting this in context – it’s a win against a poor team, but it’s a pretty significant win given where we’ve been.
There is a long way to go but Heimir Hallgrímsson finally has something to smile about in the Ireland job. He will hope for a continuation of this form when his team travel to Athens on Sunday night.