The Aston Villa midfielder was taken off on 68 minutes and many fans of the Boys in Green deemed the decision involving the Villa Park man outrageous.
Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane has found himself the subject of discussion amongst Republic of Ireland fans on Twitter following his display and eventual substitution in the nation’s Euro 2020 qualifying loss last night.
The Boys in Green fell just short of automatic qualification for the competition and will now have to rely on the playoffs after they drew 1-1 with Denmark at the Aviva Stadium on Monday night.
Hourihane started for Ireland and, while he put in a decent, controlling display in the middle of the park and weighed in with some good set pieces and deliveries, the Villa Park man did also miss a big opportunity when he curled a tame effort at Kasper Schmeichel despite having plenty of time in the box.
Despite the miss, there was a lot of controversy on social media when Mick McCarthy opted to replace him with Callum Robinson on 68 minutes with the scores at 0-0, the Danes going on to score five minutes later, with Matt Doherty’s 85th-minute equaliser coming too late as the Irish chased the win they needed.
Here are some of the comments relating to Hourihane’s display and substitution:
Hourihane featured in 46 Championship games for the Villans last season – regular season and playoffs – complete with eight goals and 12 assists (Transfermarkt) en route to promotion.
This term, the 28-year-old has made seven Premier League appearances for Dean Smith’s side, getting off the mark with a goal and assist in the 5-1 thumping of Norwich, while in the League Cup he has three goals in three games (Transfermarkt).
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