How do you even begin to even rate the efforts of the Irish players after a performance like that? We’ll give it a try anyway…
Kieren Westwood 5
There wasn’t much he could do about any of the six goals, although he probably was a bit rash to come rushing off his line for Klose’s goal. There were far worse performers than him on the night.
Seamus Coleman 6
One of Ireland’s better players on the night, but he struggled against Reus at times and was incredibly lucky to stay on the pitch after a two-footed lunge at Ozil in the second half. Looked very good on the rare occasions he got forward and in fairness, it’s not every day he’ll be up against a team as good as Germany. He’ll be back.
Darren O’Dea 3
One comment on Twitter that caught my eye during the game read Darren O’Dea-ry me and it’s hard to argue with that sentiment. Woefully out of his depth at this level and it’s not hard to believe that he’s part of a Toronto defence that can’t buy a win in a league as sub-standard as the MLS. A chastening experience for O’Dea and it could take him a long time to recover from it.
John O’Shea 4
There’s a feeling that O’Shea has been on the wane for a while and I certainly can’t remember the last time I saw him have a good game in an Irish jersey. Very lucky not to give away a penalty in the first half and looked uncomfortable thereafter. Not as bad as O’Dea but that’s not saying a lot.
Stephen Ward 4
The Wolves man was lucky not to be on the same side as Reus because he would have been ill-equipped to deal with his pace. Made a few decent interceptions in the first half but little to speak of after that.
James McCarthy 5
Really energetic early on but didn’t get a sniff after that, not a surprise really when the opposition had 98 per cent possession in one five-minute spell and upwards of 70 per cent for the majority of the game. Yet to see his best form in an Irish jersey, but we remain confident we’ll see it eventually.
Keith Andrews 5
Missed a decent opportunity from the edge of the area in the first couple of minutes and we can’t remember noticing him after that. Fairly anonymous.
Keith Fahey 4
Looked like he was told to stick with Ozil early on and he was clearly not the man for that job, although not many in a green jersey would have coped with the German playmaker. Fahey was given the curly finger just after half-time, the last act of a difficult night for the Birmingham player.
Aiden McGeady 4
Didn’t have much in the way of supply to work from, but defensively he was partly at fault for the first German goal and it wasn’t a shock to see him hauled ashore in the second half.
Simon Cox 3
A very poor performance but he shouldn’t cop all the blame because he should never have started where he did in the first place. Has a bit to offer as a replacement striker but surely the experiment of playing him on the wing has to stop after tonight.
Jonathan Walters 6
Probably Ireland’s best player but that’s by virtue of the fact that he simply never stopped running for the cause, lost as it was for the majority of the game. Put himself about to good effect at the start of both halves and as long as Trap is still in charge come Tuesday, he’s probably done enough to keep his place.
Substitutes:
Shane Long 5
Should have started and because Germany scored the third goal almost immediately after his introduction, we never got the chance to see what impact he might have had. To add insult to injury, he’ll probably be left on the bench on Tuesday. It’s only a hunch, but we’d wager that nobody would be happier to see Trap go than the Tipp man.
Andy Keogh 6
Much maligned he may be, but Keogh showed more desire in his brief cameo on the pitch than most of his colleagues did for 90 minutes. Only a wonder save from Neuer denied him a goal, but his reward followed only seconds later with a header from Brady’s delivery. Deserves a bit of credit for his attitude.
Robbie Brady 6
Bringing him on seemed like a token gesture, but his brilliant delivery for Keogh’s goal showed what he’s capable of.
Manager:
Giovanni Trapattoni 2
So many decisions came back to haunt him, as many of us suspected they would have. The decision to start Darren O’Dea when Premier League quality in the form of Ciaran Clark was available, the decision not to start Shane Long and the decision to hand Simon Cox a role on the wing for which he is patently not-suited; the responsibility for all of those fall at the Italian’s feet.
The Euros were bad, but what has followed has been disastrous. His time is up, I’m afraid.
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