|
|
Player Ratings: Ireland 0-1 France
Goal.com rates the participants from this evening's Croke Park showdown.
Nov 14, 2009 5:20:51 PM
Ireland
Given 6.5 Commanded his area well from crosses and could do absolutely nothing on the goal. Lucky not to have conceded a penalty on Evra though.
O'Shea 7.0 Rock solid evening from the Manchester United defender. Supported his attackers capably and defended Henry without fuss.
Dunne 6.5 Well able to bully his front-men but struggled when faced with the ball at feet when the French excelled in the second half.
St Ledger 6.0 Unlucky to have provided the crucial deflection on Anelka's goal but was perhaps guilty of standing off the striker. Was too close to Gignac throughout the evening too.
Kilbane 5.0 Did not face the direct threat of Anelka as expected and was generally diligent. However, one howler almost gifted the Chelsea man a second.
Lawrence 6.5 Unlucky not to have opened the scoring, denied brilliantly by Evra. However, the Stoke winger worked tirelessly and punched in a honest evening's toil.
Andrews 6.0 The aggressive midfielder was available for the pass when the Irish managed to wrest the ball from the French but will be disappointed with his ball selection. Could not compete in the midfield with Lassana Diarra once he got going.
Whelan 7.0 Threw himself energetically into his challenges was performed well in Trapattoni's system for the best part of the hour. By the time that France took over though, he was bypassed. Denied late by Lloris.
Duff 7.0 Tired towards the end but gave a fine account of himself against Sagna. He proved he had the beating of the Arsenal defender and managed to get a few crosses in too.
Keane 6.0 Made a nuisance of himself as usual but could not provide the vital spark.
Doyle 6.0 Did a lot of his work away from goal and could not provide a threat. Took a knock.
Substitutes
Hunt n/a Put in some decent deliveries.
McGeady n/a Limited contributions.
Best 6.0 Big and awkward and almost provided an assist for Keane.
France
Lloris – 8.0 – After a tough showing last weekend against Olympique de Marseille, the young custodian was at his best. Superb on crosses all night, he also made decisive saves from Keane and Whelan, the latter of which was superb.
Sagna – 6.0 – Will have more effective games for France. Neither as effective offensively or defensively as he would have liked. Indeed, many of Ireland’s attacks came down his flank. Left standing by Duff at one stage, though he recovered well.
Gallas – 6.5 – Looked more comfortable than his center-back partner, but he did not need to take as much responsibility in the air. Not great by any means, rather adequate.
Abidal – 5.0 – Decidedly uncertain in the air for much of the evening, his mobility at least got France off the hook on a couple of occasions. However, one error near the end nearly had catastrophic consequences for the team, with Lloris bailing him out.
Evra – 6.0 – Not the offense he would have wanted to be, he was marshaled well by the Irish rearguard. Lawrence certainly gave him problems at times when he was forced to defend.
A Diarra – 6.5 – Played a quietly efficient role in the middle of the field, taking responsibility from many of Ireland’s set plays. Was beaten once in the air by Doyle, which led to a great chance for Keane. Didn’t waste much possession.
L Diarra – 8.0 – Unusually slopped with possession in dangerous areas in the first half. His game improved dramatically in the second period, with a fizzing shot going just wide. He ended up the dominant force in the center of the park.
Gourcuff – 4.5 – Has been below par for Bordeaux of late, and he remained so with les Bleus on Saturday evening. Showed glimpses of excellent – one flick to Gignac springs immediately to mind – but was too often wasteful.
Anelka – 8.0 – The match-winner, albeit with a deflected drive. Anelka looked somewhat rudderless in the first period, but he came onto more of an effective game in the second, playing in a more direct style and happier to take responsibility.
Henry – 7.0 – Ever available to receive the ball, the captain rarely looked liable to add to his tally of international goals, but he frequently looked like he could play a team-mate in.
Gignac – 6.0 – Something of a mixed bag from the Toulouse man. Had a goal correctly disallowed for offside and went close with a header that was flagged incorrectly for the same offense. A little erratic when it came to getting the ball to stick in attack and not the goal threat he would expect to be, with a good second half chance spurned.
Substitutes
Malouda – n/a – Was literally given seconds as a replacement for Gignac.
Peter Staunton & Robin Bairner, Goal.com
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage
Given 6.5 Commanded his area well from crosses and could do absolutely nothing on the goal. Lucky not to have conceded a penalty on Evra though.
O'Shea 7.0 Rock solid evening from the Manchester United defender. Supported his attackers capably and defended Henry without fuss.
Dunne 6.5 Well able to bully his front-men but struggled when faced with the ball at feet when the French excelled in the second half.
St Ledger 6.0 Unlucky to have provided the crucial deflection on Anelka's goal but was perhaps guilty of standing off the striker. Was too close to Gignac throughout the evening too.
Kilbane 5.0 Did not face the direct threat of Anelka as expected and was generally diligent. However, one howler almost gifted the Chelsea man a second.
Lawrence 6.5 Unlucky not to have opened the scoring, denied brilliantly by Evra. However, the Stoke winger worked tirelessly and punched in a honest evening's toil.
Andrews 6.0 The aggressive midfielder was available for the pass when the Irish managed to wrest the ball from the French but will be disappointed with his ball selection. Could not compete in the midfield with Lassana Diarra once he got going.
Whelan 7.0 Threw himself energetically into his challenges was performed well in Trapattoni's system for the best part of the hour. By the time that France took over though, he was bypassed. Denied late by Lloris.
Duff 7.0 Tired towards the end but gave a fine account of himself against Sagna. He proved he had the beating of the Arsenal defender and managed to get a few crosses in too.
Keane 6.0 Made a nuisance of himself as usual but could not provide the vital spark.
Doyle 6.0 Did a lot of his work away from goal and could not provide a threat. Took a knock.
Substitutes
Hunt n/a Put in some decent deliveries.
McGeady n/a Limited contributions.
Best 6.0 Big and awkward and almost provided an assist for Keane.
France
Lloris – 8.0 – After a tough showing last weekend against Olympique de Marseille, the young custodian was at his best. Superb on crosses all night, he also made decisive saves from Keane and Whelan, the latter of which was superb.
Sagna – 6.0 – Will have more effective games for France. Neither as effective offensively or defensively as he would have liked. Indeed, many of Ireland’s attacks came down his flank. Left standing by Duff at one stage, though he recovered well.
Gallas – 6.5 – Looked more comfortable than his center-back partner, but he did not need to take as much responsibility in the air. Not great by any means, rather adequate.
Abidal – 5.0 – Decidedly uncertain in the air for much of the evening, his mobility at least got France off the hook on a couple of occasions. However, one error near the end nearly had catastrophic consequences for the team, with Lloris bailing him out.
Evra – 6.0 – Not the offense he would have wanted to be, he was marshaled well by the Irish rearguard. Lawrence certainly gave him problems at times when he was forced to defend.
A Diarra – 6.5 – Played a quietly efficient role in the middle of the field, taking responsibility from many of Ireland’s set plays. Was beaten once in the air by Doyle, which led to a great chance for Keane. Didn’t waste much possession.
L Diarra – 8.0 – Unusually slopped with possession in dangerous areas in the first half. His game improved dramatically in the second period, with a fizzing shot going just wide. He ended up the dominant force in the center of the park.
Gourcuff – 4.5 – Has been below par for Bordeaux of late, and he remained so with les Bleus on Saturday evening. Showed glimpses of excellent – one flick to Gignac springs immediately to mind – but was too often wasteful.
Anelka – 8.0 – The match-winner, albeit with a deflected drive. Anelka looked somewhat rudderless in the first period, but he came onto more of an effective game in the second, playing in a more direct style and happier to take responsibility.
Henry – 7.0 – Ever available to receive the ball, the captain rarely looked liable to add to his tally of international goals, but he frequently looked like he could play a team-mate in.
Gignac – 6.0 – Something of a mixed bag from the Toulouse man. Had a goal correctly disallowed for offside and went close with a header that was flagged incorrectly for the same offense. A little erratic when it came to getting the ball to stick in attack and not the goal threat he would expect to be, with a good second half chance spurned.
Substitutes
Malouda – n/a – Was literally given seconds as a replacement for Gignac.
Peter Staunton & Robin Bairner, Goal.com
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage
Make Your Prediction Choose match
Hungary - Ireland Republic
Hungary
Ireland Republic
Prediction Submitted
Most Popular Predictions
-
Hungary 0-1 Ireland Republic
- 16.36 %
-
Hungary 1-2 Ireland Republic
- 15.24 %
-
Hungary 0-2 Ireland Republic
- 14.87 %
Inside Goal.Com
-
RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai
Nicolas Anelka went against the grain when he moved to Shanghai. Now he's finding that coaching and gelling tactically is like swimming against the tide.
-
ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams
Chievo is currently shopping the American midfielder and several Italian clubs have shown interest.
-
ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite
Neymar was brilliant as Brazil easily handled the United States with early World Cup preparations officially underway.
-
LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth
With World Cup qualifying to begin in June, Mexico is using three U.S.-hosted friendlies to build squad depth.
-
McCARTHY: Harrisburg springs its wildest Open Cup upset to date
The City Islanders fought back from three goals down with nine minutes to play and won the game on penalty kicks in a stunning game on a wild night for the U.S. Open Cup.