Everton midfielder James McCarthy has been slammed for his performance against Moldova.
Sweden’s Martin Olsson in action with Republic of Ireland’s James McCarthy
The Republic of Ireland moved into second place in Group D of the European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup after a 3-1 win over Moldova on Sunday.
Having beaten Georgia 1-0 on Thursday evening, Ireland travelled to Chisinau to take on Moldova – and after watching Wales draw 1-1 with Georgia earlier in the day, Martin O’Neill’s men had to take full advantage against Moldova.
Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne in action with Republic of Ireland’s James McCarthy
They did just that, as Shane Long put Ireland in front after just two minutes, only for Igor Bugaev to produce a shock equaliser for Moldova before half time.
Ireland did claim the win in the end though, as West Bromwich Albion winger James McClean struck twice in seven second half minutes to grab the victory.
Republic of Ireland’s James McCarthy, Paul McShane and David Meyler warm up
It was from from vintage for Ireland, and one player who received plenty of criticism during and after the game was midfielder James McCarthy.
The Everton ace hadn’t featured for the Toffees since the end of August having undergone groin surgery, but he was not only thrown in to play 90 minutes for Ireland against Georgia, but also started against Moldova on Sunday.
Republic of Ireland’s James McCarthy in action with Georgia’s Levan Mchedlidze
Unfortunately, McCarthy didn’t have the desired impact. Many Ireland fans took to Twitter during the game to state that McCarthy was invisible and had no impact on the game, even against a team as lowly-ranked as Moldova, whilst some noted that he merely stood pointing rather than getting on the ball himself.
McCarthy was substituted in favour of Hull City’s David Meyler with just nine minutes to play, and fans claimed that he made much for of an impact on the game than McCarthy, whose form had been questioned in the first month of the season.
What did you think of McCarthy’s performance for Ireland against Moldova?
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