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    Jayson Molumby Admitted Major North Macedonia Difficulty For Ireland
    North Macedonia

    Jayson Molumby Admitted Major North Macedonia Difficulty For Ireland

    Ireland 0-0 North Macedonia

    Eoin Harrington reporting from the Aviva Stadium

    Ireland played out a dour draw with North Macedonia on Tuesday evening, as a difficult week came to a difficult end at the Aviva Stadium.

    Just five days on from the playoff defeat to Czechia, nearly 40,000 fans showed up in Dublin for the friendly nobody wanted to play.

    Irish midfielder Jayson Molumby spoke frankly post-match about the difficulty of bouncing back from the disappointment of Prague so quickly for what was, for all intents and purposes, a meaningless game.

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    “It was definitely really hard to get going,” Molumby said in the mixed zone post-game.

    It’s just a rollercoaster, isn’t it? You prepare for four or five months for one game and full focus on that game to then come up short and to know that you’ve got a friendly coming up a couple of days later is really tough but we had to get on with it and try and do our best and unfortunately we didn’t get a win tonight.

    It’s definitely not easy. If anything, I think we all find it a bit harder. I think the atmosphere probably wasn’t as good as it would have been if we had a final at home.

    As players, you feed off that and you feed off the energy with the crowd as well to lift your own game.

    So it was tough definitely, but still the fans that made the turn out tonight, unbelievable and I appreciate them very much coming and supporting us.

    It was a stark admission that made clear how difficult an experience the past few days have been for this Ireland squad.

    READ HERE: Hallgrimsson Identifies Major Change In Ireland Star That Bodes Well For Future

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    Ireland 0-0 North Macedonia

    The turnout of Irish fans was hugely respectable for a game which was, depressingly, utterly meaningless. In fact, this was the highest attendance for an Irish friendly at the Aviva Stadium in over three years, with 39,560 fans on Lansdowne Road on Tuesday night.

    That Ireland could not deliver a playoff final for the near-40,000 fans in attendance was gutting for Jayson Molumby and his teammates. Molumby admitted the past few days had been extremely difficult to process.

    “Yeah, really, really bad,” Molumby said of his mood over the past five days.

    Obviously, yeah, just devastated really how we sort of let it slip.

    Yeah, just gutted for all the lads, the staff in there, but also the fans and stuff, you know, that made the travel or couldn’t travel. They’ve been amazing the last couple of months supporting us and I’m just gutted we couldn’t bring a final home for them.

    The Irish fans showed up in their droves in Prague, and in their numbers on Tuesday, and it’s clear the Irish squad appreciate their efforts.

    That being said, the entertainment on show at Tuesday’s game could at least have been more entertaining for those who made the effort to fulfil their tickets.

    The first half was about as lifeless as we may have feared pre-match, with the lack of energy perhaps not surprising given how much neither side would have wished to be playing this game rather than the World Cup playoff final which was instead taking place in Prague’s EPET Arena.

    Not only were Ireland lacking in energy in the opening stages but lacking in composure and impetus. Jayson Molumby would admit it took a long time for Ireland to find their groove on the night

    “It just didn’t happen,” Molumby said of Ireland’s performance on Tuesday.

    “I think we probably started a bit slow and I was probably getting the cobwebs off from the other day I suppose. I think we grew into the game and we probably definitely done enough., I’d say, to win the game. But yeah it just didn’t drop today.”

    The opening 20 minutes saw Ireland struggle to get any significant string of passes together, while Troy Parrott could not manage to get into the game for the opening stages.

    The first significant chance came after 20 minutes, when a deflected Macedonian free-kick was kept out well by Caoimhín Kelleher. Six minutes later, Finn Azaz went close with one of his own for Ireland, signalling a shift in the game’s momentum.

    From there, Ireland took control of proceedings and began to play with more verve. Slowly, Troy Parrott began to stretch the Macedonian defence.

    He would have the ball in the net twice by the break, with both strikes chalked off for offside.

    Parrott was off by a country mile for the first – though his chipped finish was truly delightful.

    For his second, the margins were significantly closer, but the whistle-happy referee had already blown before the ball crossed the line, so no VAR check was possible.

    With the first major chance of the second half (and his fifth of the night), Parrott would blast the ball against the post from close range. It seemed as though this was destined not to be his night.

     

    There was a marked change in Ireland’s play after the break. They seemed far more composed on the ball, playing their way out of tight corners with relative ease and beginning to pin North Macedonia back on the edge of their own box.

    Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side were, perhaps, wasteful, with long-range efforts from Finn Azaz and Chiedozie Ogbene when better passes seemed to be on, but this was nonetheless a marked improvement on their first-half showing.

    The evening’s most emotional moment came on the hour.

    Séamus Coleman had emerged from the tunnel with his three children, Lily, Blake, and Ellie, as mascots, and appeared to wipe away tears as ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ rang around the Aviva pre-match. This appeared to be his farewell.

    When he was substituted in the 61st minute for debutant James Abankwah, every Ireland fan in the stadium rose to give him a standing ovation, before a rousing rendition of ‘THERE’S ONLY ONE SÉAMUS COLEMAN’ rang out from behind the goal at the south stand.

    We don’t know yet if this will prove to be Séamus Coleman’s final game in green, but he certainly received a fitting send-off if so.

    It appears as though Jayson Molumby and the Irish team are not even aware of Coleman’s future.

    “Yeah, I have no idea,” Molumby said when asked if he had any knowledge of whether the 37-year-old was planning retirement.

    “Séamus, his situation is that….I don’t think I need to share my words to hype up Séamus Coleman. I think he’s an incredible role model for all of us coming into the squad. He’s just an absolute gentleman, an example of a top professional, top player.

    “I’m very lucky to have shared many games with him for Ireland. He’s someone I respect and look up to a lot.”

    Two Ireland debutants were introduced as part of the quadruple substitution which saw Coleman go off – Bosun Lawal and James Abankwah making their bow in green.

    Little under ten minutes later, when Parrott was withdrawn, he too received a standing ovation from the Aviva crowd, a reflection of their appreciation for his efforts in allowing us to dream in the first place.

    Parrott would later be awarded man-of-the-match, his tireless efforts to produce an opener the standout despite the lack of end product.

    Debutant Abankwah sadly had to be withdrawn with seven minutes to play, as he limped off after a hefty collision left him requiring lengthy treatment near the centre circle.

    Harvey Vale, having made his bow off the bench in the final seconds of last Thursday’s defeat in Prague, was a late bright spark, his link-up play with fellow subs Adam Idah and Johnny Kenny inspiring at least half a hope that Ireland could possibly find a breakthrough.

    Kenny would have perhaps the best chance of the game deep into injury time, after a sublime flick from Idah put him one-on-one with the ‘keeper from close range. Kenny fired straight at Stole Dimitrievski, the final meaningful attacking action of a turgid 90 minutes of football.

    SEE ALSO: Ireland Player Ratings As Heartbreaking Week Ends With Dour North Macedonia Draw

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