Match-winner Robbie Brady and substitute Festy Ebosele were the most impressive players for Ireland in their 2-1 victory away to Finland, while it was a game to forget for captain Nathan Collins. Here’s how the Ireland players rated.
Caoimhin Kelleher – 6
Little he could do about the opening goal, Kelleher was only really called into action on a handful of times but was alert and switched on when he had to be, snuffing out several Finland chances before they had a chance to fully develop.
Questions remain about the communication between goalkeeper and defence however and Kelleher may need to be more vocal in the future, to avoid mix-ups such as his late one with Nathan Collins, which could have let in Finland for a goal.
Nathan Collins (capt) – 4
An absolute howler of a mistake from the Ireland captain gifted the opening goal to the Finns as he stumbled over a regulation pass at the back from Scales to let Joel Pohjanpalo clear through on goal.
Collins never really looked convincing in a back three for Ireland and there was always the feeling that he had a mistake in him. The defender was fortunate to get away with a couple of second-half gaffes without really being made to pay the price.
Dara O’Shea – 5
Very busy in the first half. O’Shea was targeted by Topi Keskinen who had him beaten for pace and threatened to bully him early on, but O’Shea recovered well and while his lack of pace was always a concern, his positional play improved and he wasn’t caught out as much.
As Ireland improved in the second-half, so the pressure lessened on O’Shea.
Liam Scales – 6
Like most Irish players it was a game Scales grew into. The defender was vastly improved in the second half after a poor first 45 minutes. He was sloppy in possession in the early stages, giving the ball away with both his short and long passing game.
Attacked the ball brilliantly for Ireland’s opening goal, timing his run well and planting his header into the far corner for his first international goal.
Robbie Brady – 8
Cut a frustrated figure early on and wasn’t shy of letting his team-mates know that the movement ahead of him wasn’t good enough.
Busy throughout and always a willing runner both going forward and in defence, it was his free-kick delivery that led to Ireland’s opening goal and as the game wore on, he grew into it, taking a bigger leadership role and demanding the ball from his team-mates.
Brady kept his composure when presented with a late chance to win the game and took his goal brilliantly.
Josh Cullen – 5
Not a great performance from the Burnley man who gave away the ball too often and his first-half display was marked by some wayward balls, leaving passes short and playing team-mates into trouble.
A less than convincing challenge on the edge of his own penalty from Cullen gifted Glen Kamara a chance that he really should have taken, but both Ireland and Cullen were relieved to see him miss the target.
Jason Knight – 6
Quietly effective in the middle of the pitch as he tried to keep things ticking over without ever really grabbing the spotlight.
Tasked with the most defensive work of anyone in the Irish midfield, Knight offered himself as the extra covering man throughout and bailed out the defence on a couple of occasions following errors at the back.
Chiedozie Ogbene – 5
Improved significantly after a first half in which he was largely anonymous. Perhaps sticking too tightly to the sideline in the opening 45 minutes, he saw little of the ball but was a different proposition after half-time.
Ogbene’s powerful and direct running became a nightmare for the hosts to deal with as Tomas Galvez struggling to contain the Irish winger.
Finn Azaz – 6
A positive display for the Middlesbrough man in his first start in an Ireland jersey. Always playing with his head up and looking to move the ball forward. Linking up well with Ferguson, his surging runs at the Finland defence were one of the bright spots for Ireland in the first half.
He faded in the second half and didn’t have the same impact he did in the first, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him withdrawn with 20 minutes to go.
Sammie Szmodics – 5
Needed more composure in front of goal and had he shown that, he would have had at least one goal. His best chance came early in the second half from a Collins knock-down at a corner, but with the goal at his mercy, he could only stab the ball straight at the goalkeeper.
Moved into a more central attacking role in the closing stages to little effect and was withdrawn with ten minutes to go.
Evan Ferguson – 6
Feeding off scraps but showing great strength up front despite being swarmed by the Finland defence every time he got the ball in a dangerous position. By far the most dangerous player in a green shirt in the first half.
Given his lack of match fitness and minutes at club level, his drop-off in the second half was probably inevitable but there was still much to like about his performance.
Troy Parrott (for Ferguson 70) – 6
Full of running and effort after coming on from the bench seemingly with a point to prove, Parrott was only really missing the final touch.
Tried his luck lobbing the goalkeeper from range before shooting straight at Lukas Hradecky minutes later, having been played in by Ebosele.
Jamie McGrath (for Azaz 70) – 5
Showed little, having come into the game from the bench with 20 minutes to go, but didn’t make any real mistakes.
Adam Idah (for Szmodics 81) – 6
Replacing Szmodics as the main target man with less than ten minutes to go, Idah had little time to really make an impact but he stuck to his task well and may have had a decent chance on goal, if Parrott had opted to play him in, rather than attempting an ambitious long-distance lob.
Festy Ebosele (for Ogbene 81) – 7
A brilliant cameo off the bench for Ebosele. His pace, control and composure cut Finland wide open down the right wing before he crossed deep to the back post for Brady to smash home the Ireland winner.
Repeated the trick minutes later to set up a chance for Parrott on the edge of the box but this time, there was no way past the goalkeeper.
