From the sublime (Richard Dunne) to the ridiculous (Stephen Ward), here’s how Ireland’s players rated after one of the most one-sided 0-0 draws of all time.
Shay Given
Second only to Richard Dunne as the most outstanding Irish player on display. Didn’t know an awful lot about some of the saves he made, but when the Russians did make it past Dunne, they found another wall in the form of the Villa netminder between the sticks. Brilliant.
Rating: 9
Stephen Kelly
Most of the danger from the opposition came from the other flank and Kelly was solid enough at right back. Offers little as an attacking threat and looks uncomfortable in possession, although that is a charge that could have been levelled at most of his teammates in Moscow. A decent stand-in for John O’Shea but a stand-in all the same.
Rating: 6
Darren O’Dea
His contribution will be overshadowed by the performance of Dunne alongside him, but O’Dea played extremely well for a man coming in from the cold and cleared his fair share of ball from a penalty area that was under siege throughout. Can definitely be proud of his display.
Rating: 7
Richard Dunne:
What can you say? The Honey Monster gave a career-best display in an Irish shirt in a performance that we haven’t seen the like of since Paul McGrath repelled Baggio and company in USA ’94.
Made a series of blocks that seemed impossible to execute, was towering in the air and even managed to be responsible for Ireland’s best attacking foray with a mazy run in the second half.
His bloodied face and the whole jersey fiasco added a comic-book hero element to his performance, which was certainly in the Roy of the Rovers category. Heroic.
Rating: 10
Stephen Ward:
Very disappointing. Russia made hay down the right wing in the first half and a lot of that was down to Ward’s tactical naivety and lack of positional sense. On the rare occasions he did get forward, he was wasteful and it is probably only down to the lack of alternatives available that he wasn’t called ashore. A rude awakening to the standard required at international level.
Rating: 3
Damien Duff:
Ireland look to Duff and Aiden McGeady when they want to attack and as usual, the Fulham man wasn’t found wanting when it comes to endeavour, and constantly made himself available for the ball. The problem with Duff is his complete lack of a right foot and when he plays on the right wing, cute full backs know that all they have to do is to nudge him back into traffic in the middle of the pitch, as happened in Moscow this evening.
Like McGeady opposite, all of Duff’s good work came in a defensive sense and he didn’t look surprised to be taken off midway through the second half. He’ll have better days than this.
Rating: 6
Glenn Whelan:
Completely and hopelessly anonymous. It doesn’t help that our system badly exposes two men in central midfield, but it is our greatest weakness and the players in possession of the jersey must take some responsibility for it. Whelan is very willing and honest, but he badly lacks the ability to dictate a game from the centre of the park and his limitations were never as badly shown up as they were this evening.
Rating: 3
Keith Andrews:
If it wasn’t for two magnificent blocks at the death, he would be subject to the same criticism as his equally inept midfield partner. Possesses no presence, no guile and no craft and looked for all the world like a Championship player punching well above his weight.
Rating: 5
Aiden McGeady:
A lot more prominent than he was against Slovakia on Friday night, but that was largely because he spent the majority of the game cleaning up the mess left by Stephen Ward on the left flank. The Russians seemed aware of his threat as they stood off him in possession, unlike Duff, who was constantly hounded on the other wing. Never really got a chance to threaten in an attacking sense, but put in a decent shift all the same.
Rating: 7
Robbie Keane:
Starved for possession up front and seemingly hampered by the back complaint he carried into the game. Spent a lot of the time doing his customary pointing and waving of arms, but had little impact besides.
Rating: 5
Kevin Doyle
Probably his worst two games in an Irish jersey but not necessarily his fault today under constant Russian pressure. Was subbed for Simon Cox with a half-hour to go and arguably deserved to stay on the pitch for longer.
Rating: 5
Subs:
Simon Cox
Very busy when he came on and offered more than Doyle did when he was on the pitch. As a front man, there’s only so much you can do when you see so little of the ball, but at least he made a nuisance of himself.
Rating: 6
Stephen Hunt
Like Cox, there was little he could do in the face of such an onslaught, but buzzed around as usual and gave Russia something different to think about for the last 20 minutes or so.
Rating: 6
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