Ryan Manning says Ireland will use every trick of the trade to try carve out a result against Portugal and keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Southampton player does not subscribe to the theory that Ireland have little chance of getting any points from the November 13th home fixture against Portugal – with a draw the least Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side would need should Hungary beat Armenia on the same night.
All four teams in the group have two games remaining; Portugal are top of the table with 10 points, Hungary second on five, Ireland third on four, and finally Armenia with three.
Manning hopes a raucous home crowd against Portugal in Dublin can help Ireland take the campaign to the last game in Budapest on November 16th.
RM Block
“With Hungary going there (Portugal) and getting a point, we should have got a point away there too,” says Manning.
“They’re obviously a team full of superstars, but (we’re) a good solid defensive team, we transition well. With the crowd behind us and if you get the Aviva rocking it can be a really tough place to come.
“We just have to use every sort of trick of the trade and it has to be an unbelievable performance, but I think we can definitely get something from that game.”
Manning was one of Ireland’s more consistent performers over the course of a largely frustrating night against Armenia on Tuesday. However, the Galway man picked up a yellow card late on and as a result he will miss Portugal’s visit to the Aviva through suspension.
“You can’t think about (getting booked), there’s no point thinking about the next camp if we didn’t win this game. So, you sort of have to just play what’s in front of you.
“And look, we’ve got a massive squad of talented lads who are ready to step in, so whoever the gaffer puts in for the next camp against Portugal will be ready to go and help the team. I was disappointed from a personal perspective.”
Ireland’s Player of the Match Festy Ebosele too believes they can find a way to qualify for next year’s tournament.
“It was a difficult game, there are no easy games in international football, but we set out to win the match and that’s what we were able to do,” says Ebosele.
“The red card did help us but I think even without the red card we would have pushed through and got the win.
Referencing boos from the home crowd at half-time, he adds: “The fans weren’t very happy but it’s understandable. We’ve been struggling a little bit over the past campaign but hopefully this win will boost their spirits.”
But Manning feels the only stat that really mattered from Tuesday night was the three points to lift Ireland off the bottom of the Group F table.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. Coming off the back of the disappointing result in Portugal, the performance was there but obviously to not pick up a point in that game was sort of difficult for us to take,” he adds.
“But we dusted ourselves down, we knew we had to get three points here and thankfully we got it, so it takes it to the next camp, which is what we wanted.
“Armenia are a good side, they can move the ball, they gave Hungary problems when they played them. I think our plan was just to make sure we were solid, no silly mistakes and make sure we’re in the game and then we got fortunate enough they went down to 10 men and we were able to turn the screw then and get the decisive goal.
“Obviously, we created a lot of chances, we should have probably scored more than we did, but we got there in the end.
“It’s nearly like knockout football, every game is massive.”
Ireland now only have two games left to save their World Cup aspirations.
