Gibraltar 0 – 4 Rep Ire
Under-fire manager Stephen Kenny was spared further punishment as the Republic of Ireland eased to a 4-0 Euro 2024 qualifying victory over Gibraltar.
Brighton teenager Evan Ferguson fired the visitors into an eighth-minute lead at the Estadio Algarve with his third senior international goal before Celtic winger Mikey Johnston, Wolves defender Matt Doherty and substitute Callum Robinson struck to wrap up just a second win of the Group B campaign.
Kenny had gone into the game insisting he would remain in charge until a review of his reign has been carried out following their final qualifying match against the Netherlands and a friendly with New Zealand in November.
But asked if the victory over Gibraltar would be his last game, Kenny said: “That’s out of my control, I can’t affect that. For me, I’ve got to try and get a result in Amsterdam.
“It’s a big game. Holland need to win to qualify. They will be flying. We’ve got to put a performance in against Holland in Amsterdam. It’s a big challenge, it’s one we are looking forward to. Out of that, it’s out of my control.
“I honestly don’t know. It may well be. I’ll give it everything against Holland and New Zealand. There’s no doubt, of course, I want to be the manager of Ireland. It’s brilliant.”
Ireland’s Mikey Johnston scores his side’s second goal
Ireland negotiated a game they should have won comfortably with the minimum of fuss to complete a double over the minnows ahead of next month’s trip to the Netherlands.
Once again, there will be only pride at stake in Amsterdam, with hopes of automatic qualification having been extinguished by Friday night’s 2-0 home defeat by Greece, and even the possibility of a play-off place looks ever more faint by the day.
The games against Gibraltar, who have now played 44 European Championship and World Cup qualifiers and not collected a single point, were never going to be the yardstick for the Football Association of Ireland’s review and, while embarrassment was avoided with ease, difficult questions remain for a manager whose 28 competitive fixtures have yielded just six wins.
Kenny, who once again deployed a back four rather than his usual three, handed Johnston a first senior international start in the search for much-needed creativity.
However, it was from the opposite flank that the visitors struck first when Chiedozie Ogbene rolled a pass into the overlapping Doherty’s run and the unmarked Ferguson steered his eighth-minute cross past helpless goalkeeper Dayle Coleing.
Luton striker Ogbene continued to look Ireland’s most potent weapon from wide on the right and, with Josh Cullen probing from central midfield, they dominated possession without creating clear-cut openings.
They might have extended their lead when Ryan Manning’s 24th-minute corner was allowed to travel across the six-yard-box untouched, but Shane Duffy was unable to stab it home beyond the far post.
Coleing was forced to palm away Johnston’s swerving attempt after he had skipped past Tjay de Barr and Liam Walker seconds later.
Callum Robinson celebrates after scoring Ireland’s fourth
The Celtic man did get his name on the scoresheet with 29 minutes gone when Doherty accepted another Ogbene pass in the space between defenders Jayce Olivero and John Sergeant and crossed for the winger to slide in and, after his initial attempt had come back off a post, bundle the rebound across the line.
Coleing had to race from his line to prevent Johnston from reaching Jamie McGrath’s defence-splitting pass seven minutes before the break and then blocked Ferguson’s stabbed effort after Johnston had pulled the ball back.
Walker mustered Gibraltar’s first effort in stoppage time after De Barr robbed Johnston and ran into space down the right, but the midfielder’s attempt flew harmlessly wide.
Coleing plucked McGrath’s header out of the night sky after he had connected with Ogbene’s cross and then blocked Jason Knight’s firm drive, but he was a relieved man when Duffy’s volley from a Johnston corner flew just wide in a flurry of activity at the start of the second half.
Knight sent a diving header wide from Johnston’s 51st-minute cross with the Gibraltar defence at sixes and sevens and Ferguson was unable to hit the target with a free-kick from 25 yards as the Republic looked to kill off the game.
Johnston saw a shot deflected wide on the hour but then delivered a corner which was cleverly flicked on by McGrath for Doherty to head past the keeper from point-blank range.
Substitute Robinson completed the job with an 80th-minute header to match the 4-0 scoreline when the sides last met in Faro in 2015.
Kenny: Players deserve credit for response
“We’re disappointed having lost the game on Friday. To put that behind them and to train and get themselves ready in a professional way and then work the openings for the goals in a very clever way, it made the finishes easier.
“The players deserve credit because it was a professional job on the night, a good performance. We could have got a lot more goals.
“I understand the Greek results, I understand that. Losing to Greece, that’s a 50-50 game. We lost it. There’s a lot of criticism because of that.
“That’s OK. There’s also been a lot of good football that people shouldn’t forget either.”
What’s next?
Republic of Ireland return to action in November with a Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on November 18 followed by a friendly against New Zealand in Dublin on November 21.
