Republic of Ireland to draw inspiration from famous wins when facing Serbia

When the Republic of Ireland go into battle against Serbia here on Tuesday night, they will be fighting not only to climb above the visitors in top spot in World Cup qualifying Group D but also to settle a dispute that has long divided Irish fans and was intensified by a bleak 1-1 draw in Georgia.
To some Martin O’Neill, who took charge in November 2013, deserves praise for overseeing better results than could reasonably be expected from a mediocre squad. To others those results are an anomaly that cannot be sustained by a manager whose unimaginative approach makes his playing resources look more limited than they really are.
O’Neill, say the critics, relies on team spirit to atone for technical and tactical failings such as the ones exposed against Georgia, the team ranked 112th in the world who outclassed Ireland for long periods on Saturday in Tbilisi. Even the critics concede, however, that O’Neill’s team have a habit of producing big performances when needed most. The manager has called on his players to repeat that trick on Tuesday, drawing inspiration from famous victories in Dublin, such as the 1-0 win over Germany in October 2015 or the 2-0 triumph over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-off for last summer’s European Championship.
It is hard to know exactly where those performances come from, given the poverty of some of the play around them, but they keep coming at the right time under O’Neill, who reminded critics that Ireland have an opportunity to go top of their group, with two games then left to play, despite starting as fourth seeds.
“We think of the nights we’ve had at the Aviva, against the world champions or in the play-off game against Bosnia, which was fantastic, and all the fightbacks and grandstand finishes we’ve had in some of the other matches,” he said. “We can use all those things [against Serbia]. The players have shown in the last couple of seasons a great determination. We’ve had games where we’ve been not having as much possession as the other teams but we seem to find a way to pull it around. That will be uppermost in our thoughts.”
The teams’ meeting in Belgrade earlier in the group was a wild affair, with Serbia rampant in patches, yet Ireland were somewhat unfortunate to leave with only a 2-2 draw. Serbia, two points above Ireland in the group, should in theory be stronger than they were in the first match, as Manchester United’s Nemanja Matic and the former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov are available.
Ireland are without two key players who played in Belgrade, with Séamus Coleman a long-term casualty and Jeff Hendrick out with a quad injury. O’Neill also has concerns over the fitness of Aiden McGeady and Wes Hoolahan. The absence of the latter would be lamented by many fans as the Norwich City player is widely considered to be Ireland’s most technical and creative player. O’Neill’s refusal to deploy him regularly is decried by critics but the manager may not have a choice on Tuesday.
Predicting O’Neill’s selections is always dicey. Could this be a match where he plumps for the aerial power of the Nottingham Forest striker Daryl Murphy? Will Glenn Whelan be replaced in central midfield with the more dynamic David Meyler? Those are just some of the questions to which Irish fans await answers. The most pertinent question for now, however, may be: can O’Neill confound critics again with a performance that overcomes the opposition and his side’s limitations?
Republic of Ireland (4-2-3-1, probable): Randolph; Christie, Duffy, Clarke, Ward; Arter, Meyler; Walters, Brady, McClean; Long.
Serbia (4-5-1, probable): Rajkovic; Nastasic, Ivanovic, Kolarov, Maksimovic; Gudelj, Matic, Gacinovic, Kostic, Tadic; Mitrovic.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
posted by CAMPUS94