Just three minutes after the start of Ireland’s Euro 2012 group campaign, the Green Army’s hearts sank en masse as Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic scored by a header. It marked the beginning of a frustrating night for the players, their coach, the 10,000 Irish fans in the stadium and many more who gathered in Poznan to share in a glory that has quickly become a pipe dream.
Hope wasn’t lost immediately, as things picked up in the 19th minute after Sean St Ledger secured the equaliser – the result of a spell of pressure by the Boys in Green, powered on by the fans in the stands.
Both sides then played on the same level until the strong Croatian attackers scored again a few minutes before the half-time whistle (Nikica Jelavic, 43m), and once more just after the restart (Mario Mandzukic, 49m).
After 60 minutes, the decision by Dutch referee Bjoern Kuipers to refuse a penalty after what appeared to be a foul on Robbie Keane caused uproar in the Irish stand. The Irish captain said after the match: “I think so, it was clear – it was definitely a penalty, no doubt about that.”
In the end, Ireland were beaten 3-1 – ending a streak of 14 competitive matches without a loss. At time of writing, the squad were facing even more pressure heading into their second group match against World Cup holders and defending European champions Spain on 14 June – a match they can’t lose if they’re to stand any chance of surviving to the final eight.
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni was seemingly in the minority by not losing his positive attitude after the Croata match.
“Our opponents [Spain] only drew [against Italy] and have only one point,” he said. “It’s important we recover psychologically and believe again because we have to remember how many games we had played without conceding a goal.”
Meanwhile, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport wished “good luck to Trapattoni’s Ireland” a week before the scheduled clash between the Boys in Green and their manager’s home team on 18 June.
That match will surely be a personal highlight in the career of the Italian manager, who was Italy’s national team coach from 2000 until 2004, after decades of success at the helm of top European club sides Juventus, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
This wealth of experience could be to the advantage for the Irish team, because ‘Trap’ more than anyone should know the Italian way of play.
