Roy Keane has delivered a brutal assessment of England’s second-half performance in their win over Ireland, branding the side ‘awful’ while accusing subs of showing ‘arrogance’ and players ‘playing for themselves’.
The Three Lions sauntered to a 2-0 win in front of a raucous Dublin crowd this afternoon to give Lee Carsley a taste of victory in his first match in charge.
The Nations League tie was taken away from Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side in a nightmare first-half which saw two former Ireland internationals, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, give the home supporters a taste of what they were missing with well-taken finishes.
The promising performance, particularly in the first 45 minutes, pushed pre-match controversies surrounding national anthems and pitch-invaders to the margins and meant Carsley became the fourth boss in a row to win his opening fixture at the helm.
But Keane, who made 67 appearances for Ireland, was typically outspoken in his review of England’s display, letting loose on the Three Lions after the game on ITV.
Roy Keane has delivered a brutal assessment of England’s second-half performance in their win over Ireland
He said: ‘I thought they were awful in the second-half, players playing for themselves, taking too many touches, trying to play Roy of the Rovers passes’
Declan Rice scored the opener and declined to celebrate but thousands of England fans went ballistic
Unlike Rice, Jack Grealish celebrated – vigorously – after doubling England’s lead
‘The frustrating thing today is Ireland were there for the taking,’ he said.
‘England dominated the first-half. We praised them, their decision-making, their quality, their movement, but that was the opposite for the second-half.
‘I thought they were awful in the second-half, players playing for themselves, taking too many touches, trying to play Roy of the Rovers passes.
‘Ireland played with a lot of pride in the second-half but as good as England were in the first-half I thought they were just as bad in the second-half.
‘Players playing for themselves. Even the substitute players strolling on, strolling off, showing a bit of arrogance.
‘There’s a team there for the taking, especially for attacking players, if you’re on that pitch you’re thinking, “I’ve got chances here to go and score a goal”.’
A quieter second period saw England take their foot off the accelerator, almost allowing their long-time rivals back into the game, while a string of substitutions stunted the free-flowing nature of the first 45 minutes. But the Three Lions held on to kick off the post-Gareth Southgate era with a well-earned victory.
The build-up to the clash had been dominated by bitter differences in opinion over the new boss’s decision not to sing God Save the King.
The build-up to the Nations League clash was dominated by bitter differences in opinion over the new boss’s decision not to sing the national anthem
Harry Kane was robbed by a flying challenge but it fell to, who else, Rice – and the Arsenal midfielder thumped it home emphatically
Not to be upstaged by his fellow pantomime villain, Grealish found himself in the box after a flowing training ground-esque move and slotted it home deliciously
Three Lions fans in Dublin went ballistic after two goals lit up a promising first-half
Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level, revealed he would not take part in a rendition of the national anthem as he would be too focussed on the match ahead.
This led to calls from some quarters for the 50-year-old to be relieved of his duties before a ball was kicked but come kick-off he was there on the sidelines ready to bark orders at his England charges – although he initially mistakenly sat in the wrong dugout.
And his first teamsheet offered fewer controversies, with former Irish internationals Jack Grealish and Declan Rice selected to face the ire of a fervent Dublin crowd, and banners depicting the pair as snakes could be seen before kick-off.
To top off the pre-match hysteria, a pitch invader managed to gatecrash England’s pre-match line-up photo, sporting a full replica kit, in what was a worrying security breach.
It was to the backdrop of these various off-the-field distractions that England kicked off their first fixture against the Republic of Ireland since they swept their old rivals aside in a 3-0 win in 2020 at Wembley.
And as Kobbie Mainoo got the match underway, the atmosphere ressembled that of a fierce Premier League derby more than the typically tepid international affairs found at this stage of the season.
Rice was booed the moment he collected the ball while Grealish was reprimanded by the referee for a push much to the delight of the partisan crowd at the Aviva Stadium.
In a rather open start to the match, Alexander-Arnold found space on the right and whipped in an accurate cross of his own, only for an unmarked Harry Kane to head over the bar.
The first-half was an open affair but England settled after their opener through Rice
Anthony Gordon was a livewire keen to prove himself after being snubbed during the Euros
Ireland struggled to get on the ball throughout a frustrating match and missed key chances
Despite Ireland’s frivolity in front of goal, there was no hiding the fact that the tide was turning in this fixture in the second period
And it was the Three Lions who drew first blood, much to the relief of an animated Carsley looking for the perfect start to his stint at the helm.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, set free by Alexander-Arnold, was denied by a Caoimhin Kelleher stop, though the winger should have buried it, before the ball rebounded into the box.
Kane was robbed by a flying challenge but it fell to, who else, Rice – and the Arsenal midfielder thumped it home emphatically to silence the Dublin masses.
The 25-year-old declined to celebrate but thousands of England fans went ballistic – including Carsley who leapt off the bench in delight.
Just over 20 minutes in and this seemed like a different England side. Gone was Southgate’s pragmatic approach – eschewed in favour of a caution-to-the wind, all-guns-blazing style of football which only served to ramp up an already feisty atmosphere.
The Three Lions’ pressure soon took its toll on Ireland once again. And, once again, there was a sense of inevitably about the identity of the top scorer.
Not to be upstaged by his fellow pantomime villain, Grealish found himself in the box after a flowing training ground-esque move and slotted it home deliciously.
And unlike Rice, the winger celebrated – vigorously.
Opportunities came either side of a worrying moment where Irish captain Seamus Coleman went down injured
Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson (left) showed his frustration after some missed chances
Ahead of the kick-off, a raucous Dublin crowd held up posters of Rice and Grealish slamming them for their change of allegiance
Gifted few opportunities at City over the last year or so, and brutally dropped by Southgate for the Euros, this goal was the glorious release of frustration Grealish had long desired.
These England boys are made of sterner stuff than their predecessors, a legacy surely of Southgate’s stewardship, and where internationals in the past might have shrivelled under such abuse and derision, Grealish and Rice thrived under the Aviva pressure cooker.
The rest of the half was then played at a sedate pace – England knew they had no need to speed it up – with the away side tapping the ball from side to side and Ireland finding no out ball when they finally won it back.
It was a first half from hell for the Dublin faithful – their two ex-internationals coming back to bite them in a heavily built-up fixture which saw the home side increasingly frustrated as they tried to form even a hint of an opportunity.
The second period did not start in the same frantic vein as the first and there was a sense among those watching that Carsley’s men were letting their rivals off the hook somewhat, opting to hog the ball rather than go for the throat.
And England’s complacency almost reached the inevitable conclusion of a bulging net and a group of men in white scratching their heads, only for Ireland to spurn a series of serious chances.
Ipswich striker Sammie Szmodics curled just wide from inside the box, while a string of further pretty moves ended either in a loose cross or inaccurate shot.
These opportunities came either side of a worrying moment where Irish captain Seamus Coleman went down injured before having to be hauled off the field, with everyone in the Aviva holding their breath that this was not the start of another long setback for the Everton man.
Rice provided brief respite from the home side’s pressure, robbing the ball on the edge of the opposition’s box before reasserting himself in the Dublin crowd’s bad graces by rolling around injured and complaining of a foul.
The urgent question soon became: How was Carsley going to get a hold back on a game that seemed so comfortable just minutes prior?
The answer was: Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze and debutants Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes, from Nottingham Forest and Lille respectively.
All three were positive moves, injecting the match with a much-needed dose of youthful verve and carefree abandon. And all three were graduates of Carsley’s successful under-21 side – in what looks set to be a feature of his reign as boss of the first team.
They made minimal impact. In truth, no one did. With the game whittling down, it became a revolving door of faces old and new entering and exiting the field to get a run out. Frankly, it started to ressemble a typical early-season international fixture.
Off went Kane and Harry Maguire. On came Jarrod Bowen and John Stones.
The build-up to the Nations League clash was dominated by bitter differences in opinion over the new boss’s decision not to sing the national anthem
President Michael D Higgins made an appearance on the pitch ahead of the big match
A pitch invader made his way onto the pitch gatecrashing England’s pre-match line-up
But Carsley’s side scarcely looked seriously threatened by an Irish side playing with a great deal of pride, and a great lack of resolve in front of goal, and the game wound down to a final whistle via a painstaking five minutes of stoppage time amassed during Coleman’s treatment.
After all the pre-game pantomime was out of the way, the new boss’s players gave him the kind of front foot, controlled and authoritative performance he had asked for.
If what amounts to a six-game audition is to end with Carsley getting the manager’s job permanently he will need some more of this, whether it impresses a critical Keane or not.
