Monday 16th November 2015 Kickoff: 1945hrs
Republic of Ireland v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Football –Internationals – European Championships
There was precious little to separate these two sides on Friday as they played out a 1-1 draw in Zenica. The Bosnians felt moving their home game to that smaller, more compact venue, would give them an advantage in terms of the atmosphere generated by the local support but that was not to be the case as their team gave them very little to get excited about. The visitors orchestrated an excellent away performance and one that frustrated their hosts. Conditions were not ideal, either, as thick fog descended on proceedings – making almost impossible for the television viewers at some points in the game. The result means it’s all to play for in Dublin on Monday and you get the feeling that it will be equally as tight, once again.
Robbie Brady is not renowned for his goalscoring exploits but it was his strike that gave Ireland a previous advantage in terms of the away goal. It was his fourth for his country but his first in a competitive game and certainly his most crucial to date. Just as the game appeared to be petering out for a goalless draw, the Norwich City man silenced the home support and looked to have given his nation a massive win. Unfortunately – as is so often the case when a team has just scored – Ireland were unable to hold on to the lead and conceded the equaliser within three minutes. Having said that, as disappointing as losing the goal would have been, if you had offered Martin O’Neill the result at the start of the game, he would have been delighted to accept it.
Despite dominating possession and playing a lot of the game in the opposition’s half, Bosnia looked tentative and devoid of ideas for large spells on Friday. So much of their attacking threat comes from the creativity of Miralem Pjanic who looks to feed Edin Dzeko, but Ireland were wise to this and refused the Roma midfielder time on the ball. Thankfully, for Bosnia, the Eire defence did switch off in the last five minutes allowing the ball to be pulled back for Dzeko to slot the ball home, but they will have to be more productive in the final third tomorrow. Whatever happens, the visitors know that they will have to score at some point if they are to make it to France for the finals.
O’Neill will not only be buoyed by the fact that his game plan was spot on in the first leg, but he will also be looking forward to welcoming back some key personnel for the home game. John O’Shea and Jonathan Walters return to the fold following suspension whilst Shane Long is fit enough for selection. It’s the return of Walters and Long that may prove to be the most crucial as they will provide more of an attacking threat than their team-mates were able to manage on Friday. That’s no disrespect to Daryl Murphy who worked tirelessly, but you feel that Ireland will still have to be dangerous and pose Bosnia’s defence some problems, rather than rely on going through thanks to that away goal.
Although Bosnia look to have a lot of talent going forward, the failings that were evident on Friday are nothing new. They failed to score in away games with Wales and Israel and although Dzeko was able to find the net eventually, there will need to be serious improvement ahead of the return considering they are facing a team who conceded just two home goals in their qualifying group. On a more positive note for Bosnia, Everton’s Muhamed Besic will return to the team having missed the first leg through suspension. His energy and enthusiasm in the midfield was missed and should allow the likes of Pjanic more opportunities in space.
Republic of Ireland v Bosnia-Herzegovina Betting Tips
There are bound to be a few nerves in Dublin on Monday as the home side look to make their second consecutive European Championships whilst Bosnia are hoping to be involved in their first continental finals.
Ireland have not lost any of their last eight home games and know that if they can extend that run to nine, it will give them a great chance of qualifying. The win over Germany last month has inspired this team and they look a different proposition to earlier in the campaign. Bosnia will be hoping that their key players – Pjanic and Dzeko can provide that bit of qualify they require to cancel out the goal they conceded on Friday.
I think the dense fog had a huge part to play in the few goalscoring opportunities that were created in the first leg, and whilst that will not be an issue tomorrow, Ireland’s recent history suggests that there will not be an abundance of goals scored. Their last four home games have seen two or fewer goals scored whilst they also drew against Poland and Scotland in qualifying. Bosnia only managed wins against Andorra and Cyprus in their group so don’t be surprised to see this come down to very small margins. It would not be a massive shock to see this one go all the way, but rather than back the 1-1 draw, back it outright and keep the 0-0 draw onside.
Draw 11/5 @ Ladbrokes
