Ireland narrowly beat Gibraltar 1-0 on Saturday evening.
The Republic of Ireland endured an inauspicious start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, as they narrowly beat Gibraltar 1-0.
Mick McCarthy was back in the Ireland dugout having been appointed as Martin O’Neill’s successor, but his first game back in the job was far from impressive.
Ireland travelled over to Gibraltar to take on the 194th-ranked team in the world, but struggled to break down the minnows.
After a fairly dismal first half showing, Ireland did take the lead, with David McGoldrick running clear before picking out Jeff Hendrick to score.
That proved to be the only goal of the game despite Ireland’s supposed superiority, with fans and even McCarthy far from happy with the display.
Ireland will be hoping for better against Georgia on Tuesday night, when they will be back at the Aviva Stadium with a better quality pitch.
Few Ireland players impressed, but midfielder Conor Hourihane – who played a key pass for the goal – was given the man of the match award for a decent showing in the Ireland engine room.
Fans took to Twitter to praise Hourihane as the best player on the pitch and a major threat from set pieces, whilst many believe that he could follow in the footsteps of West Brom’s Wes Hoolahan in emerging to be a key, creative part of the Ireland midfield.
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