Here is the match report:
[ Ferguson and Kelleher prove the difference as Ireland edge out FinlandOpens in new window ]
Good night!
Evan Ferguson: “It’s good to play with Mikey, sometimes you don’t know what he’s doing, so if you don’t what he’s doing then the defender doesn’t know what he’s doing, so you have to be in there ready for him, waiting for the ball.”
Here’s that goal again:
Hallgrimsson: “It was lucky, a few too many chances for my liking. We did quite well with the ball first half, but unorganised off it. Something that we need to fix. The energy was there, the enthusiasm was there, that wins you matches. We’ll give our best against England!”
Kelleher on RTÉ: “Maybe in the first we rode our luck, you have to at times, but the second half we defended very well. It definitely shows the group is getting tighter and stronger. Clean sheet goes a long way.”
FULL-TIME: Ireland 1 Finland 0
Job done! Rode their luck in a big way, but that’s a second win in a row against Finland. Great performance by Collins, Scales and Kelleher at the back. Moment of magic for Johnston and Ferguson was enough.
94 mins: Just a few minutes left, and Ireland heading safely to a promotion/relegation playoff. In the other game in the group, England beating Greece 3-0 away impressively. Goals from Watkins, Jones and an own goal.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
90 mins: Kelleher gets man of the match on RTÉ, great penalty save but Collins unlucky not to get it. Six added minutes. Another chance for Finland, Pukki off the bench finds Ireland out of position and puts in a dangerous ball for Pohjanpalo, who has had a bit of a nightmare sub appearance and misses the ball completely.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
86 mins: Ryan Manning and Tom Cannon are on, Szmodics and Johnston are off.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
83 mins: Chance for Ireland as Szmodics gets in behind and hits a decent shot but comfortable save for the keeper.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
81 mins: This hasn’t been pretty by Ireland this half at all, hanging on.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
SAVED BY KELLEHER!
Pohjanpalo’s penalty was low and Kelleher got down and made a great save. What a goalkeeper he is. Poor Kelleher got a bang to the head in the rebound for his troubles, but he’s back up again.
75 mins: VAR check suggests it came off Ferguson’s arm clearly. The referee goes over to the monitor and gives a penalty!
Ireland 1 Finland 0
Ireland make subs, Azaz, O’Shea on for Ferguson, Doherty. Molumby for Ebosele. Penalty to come...
73 mins: A panicked spell by Ireland, where they can’t keep the ball, Collins and Scales having to cover up for big gaps down the right. Ebosele goes down injured as subs get ready.
Ebosele is taken off, temporarily down to 10. Finland put the ball in the box and it rebounds off something, Finland say it was an Irish hand but the referee isn’t interested.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
69 mins: Hakans makes a direct run at the Irish defence and beats three or four players before Scales gets it away after a pass to Kallman. Then a good chance for Finland, the substitutes combine, O’Shaughnessy with a dangerous low cross and Pohjanpalo hits it just over. Again Kallman gets the ball in the box a minute later, but gets his feet mixed up. Then Ireland lose the ball again. Kamara lays off to Lod but straight at Kelleher. Under the cosh.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
65 mins: Kallman got the ball in a dangerous spot in the box and his shot was well saved by Scales. Ireland survive from the corner.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
63 mins: Good play by Ireland, Ferguson with another lovely touch to make space and nearly another header from a cross by Szmodics but just over his head. Ireland recycle the ball, get it to Johnston, who does his customary quick feet and tries to curl one into the corner, but just wide.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
61 mins: A half lacking in quality so far another pot shot from distance, this time by Knight, nowhere near the target.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
59 mins: Daniel O’Shaughnessy comes on for Finland, his father was from Galway as you might have guessed from the name.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
55 mins: Decent play by Finland around the box, Jere Uronen overhits the cross though.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
52 mins: Cullen with a shot from outside the box well wide, slower pace to the second half so far.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
Second half is under way.
47 mins: Early shot by the goalscorer Ferguson within the first 30 seconds but it’s well blocked.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
Half-time: Ireland 1 Finland 0
That could have been so much worse. But it’s a lead for Ireland and a great goal it was by Ferguson after brilliant play by Johnston. On the other end, Johnston had nearly cost Ireland a goal losing the ball as Finland hit the post, but more than made up for it with some wing magic. Finland hit the post three times in an entertaining half, Ireland had chances too, but it’s Hallgrímsson’s men who go ahead at half-time. All to play for.
45 mins: GOAL FOR IRELAND! Evan Ferguson with the header after Mikey Johnston beats the full-back and puts in a brilliant cross for Ferguson to easily head in.
Ireland 1 Finland 0
44 mins: Off the post again! Counter by Finland, Antman with the big chance and Collins gets a goal-saving block to knock it on the post. Finland could easily be up a few.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
42 mins: Ebosele runs straight down the wing and wins a corner. Another chance, Johnston takes a good corner and Doherty has a free head but heads it wide. Best chance of the match for Ireland.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
40 mins: Chance for Ireland, as Szmodics battles with the defender and then shoots at the edge of the box powerfully, but comfortably enough parried over by Hradecky. Then from the corner it’s headed away, back for a cross by O’Dowda, then Scales heads over.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
34 mins: Against the post again! Finland have been the better team so far and Kallman nearly scores a stunning header that grazes the corner of the post. Then a few moments later Kallman is through and Kelleher saves with his feet, but is offside. But Finland are growing in confidence.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
32 mins: Off the post! Alho has been good and he dispossesses Johnston, who was careless outside the box and falls to Lod who curls one against the post! Kelleher was well beaten, let off for Ireland.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
29 mins: Counter by Finland and they get into a dangerous area but well blocked by Cullen.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
26 mins: Ferguson getting into the game nicely. Picks the ball up again and shoot powerfully at the goal, a few deflections but just wide. Corner doesn’t lead to anything.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
24 mins: Goal disallowed for Ireland! That was better by Ireland, Ferguson drops deep and plays a sumptuous through ball for Szmodics, who rounds the keeper and finishes well. But it’s offside, and the replay shows no complaints there. Got the crowd going anyway.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
19 mins: Nice football by Finland, Kamara looking good in midfield. Great interplay between the lines and Karinen’s shot is blocked out for a corner.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
16 mins: Finland controlling the possession so far and were almost through, then Karinen takes a shot from outside the box but way over. Johnston runs well down the wing and puts a nice ball into Ferguson but he can’t get it across to Szmodics.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
13 mins: Knight gets a yellow card and is out of the England game unfortunately! Early to have two players booked, but Ireland getting stuck in.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
10 mins: Szmodics is played in behind but marshalled well out of danger by Peltola. Even enough game so far as Johnston wins a free-kick about 40 yards out which is cleared away.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
4 mins: Bad tackle by O’Dowda, left a foot in on Lod and gets a yellow card. Very early for a full-back to be on a booking.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
2 mins: Good start by Ireland, Mikey Johnston with a good dribble to the byline and putting Finland under pressure.
Ireland 0 Finland 0
The teams are coming out on the field, national anthems coming up. Unlikely to be any booing this time, you’d think.
Sammie Szmodics is a man in form for Ipswich, he revealed he got a congratulatory hug from Ed Sheeran following his spectacular goal in Ipswich’s shock away win at Tottenham last weekend. He still hasn’t quite brought it to the pitch as an Irish player, he hasn’t scored yet. But he will fancy his chances to get on the scoresheet tonight, let’s hope he does.
[ Sammie Szmodics: ‘The lower leagues seem so far away now’Opens in new window ]
So then Doherty is back in the side despite being left out of the squad, Ebosele and Johnston start. Very interesting then. Doherty will certainly have a point to prove.
Here is the Finland team:
Finland: Hradecky (Bayer Leverkusen); Alho (Asteros Aktor), Hoskonen (Cracovia), Ivanov (Eintracht Braunschweig), Uronen (Charlotte FC); Antman (Go Ahead Eagles), Kamara (Stade Rennais), Lod (Minnesota United), Peltola (DC United); Kairinen (Sparta Prague); Källman (Cracovia).
The referee is Harm Osmers from Germany).
The Ireland team has been announced.
Ireland: Kelleher; Doherty, Scales, Collins (capt), O’Dowda; Ebosele, Cullen, Knight, Johnston; Szmodics, Ferguson.
Permutations:
England are playing Greece in Athens in the other match in the group. On Sunday, Ireland will play England in Wembley in their final Nations League group game, that one kicking off at 5pm.
Fears of automatic relegation to League C were assuaged with an away win against Finland in the last international break. But should Ireland lose this one, it would be very much back on the menu. Avoiding defeat through a draw should be enough to escape automatic relegation, while a win would guarantee third place in the group.
Two big victories could theoretically get Ireland to second in the group if England lose both games by a significant margin, but the chances are minuscule, so Ireland are most likely heading for third place.
In which case, Ireland would be heading for the promotion/relegation play-offs in March of next year, against one of the second-place teams in League C. As it stands, the teams they would face there would be Slovakia, Kosovo, Belarus or Armenia.
Check out Gavin Cummiskey’s match preview:
“Heimir Hallgrímsson is learning a harsh lesson previously visited upon his predecessor Stephen Kenny. Since becoming the Republic of Ireland manager last September the Icelander continually emphasised the importance of a consistent starting XI that would eventually perform like a club side.
“It worked when Hallgrímsson helped Iceland exceed expectations at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. Why not rinse and repeat with Ireland? The simple answer is injuries. Ten of them.”
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Nations League League B, Group 2 game between Ireland and Finland, taking place in the Aviva Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.45pm. Ireland got their first competitive win against a top 100 team in a long time against Finland in Helsinki, with Robbie Brady scoring the winner. It put them third in the group and three points ahead of Finland with two games left, so a win here would guarantee Ireland make the promotion/relegation playoff and don’t get relegated automatically. Adam Idah has pulled out with injury, Chiedozie Ogbene is out long-term, so a chance for a few new starters in the side for this one you’d imagine. Here’s the squad, the team will follow when it’s available:
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (Bristol City)
Defenders: Matt Doherty (Wolves), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Mark McGuinness (Luton Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O’Dowda (Cardiff City), Ryan Manning (Southampton)
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jayson Molumby (West Brom), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Andy Moran (Stoke City, on loan from Brighton).
Forwards: Adam Idah, Evan Ferguson (Brighton), Tom Cannon (Stoke City, on loan from Leicester City), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Festy Ebosele (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Brom).
