When the clock in Linz stuck 60 minutes, Austria manager Ralf Rangnick turned to Sasa Kalajdzic, his long-limbed, 6’7” striker. The game was locked in a sinewy stalemate to that point, as Ireland had settled comfortably into the contest after a skittish start.
The visitors found their footing primarily thanks to their trio of centre-backs. Dara O’Shea looked regally comfortable dealing with whatever aerial threat came his way, while Liam Scales won most of the scrappy duels into which he was drawn.
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Crucial to it all, however, was Nathan Collins’ aggressive, front-foot defending: the captain strode forward to win challenges against Austrian striker Michael Gregoritsch, pushing the rest of his team-mates up the pitch while doing so.
However, Kalajdzic discommoded the rhythm of the back three. He did so partly through abrasive physicality, and he was fortunate to escape without a card when he carelessly smashed his elbow into O’Shea’s forehead. The striker subsequently said he didn’t do it on purpose, merely an ungainly consequence of the height difference.
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With Gregoritsch still occupying Collins and O’Shea, Kalajdzic’s first act was to win a header above James Abankwah, from which Austria swept the ball in behind to Christoph Baumgartner, who was denied by Caoimhín Kelleher. Moments later, Kalajdzic dropped off again, finding space at least partly because Collins was put in check by Gregoritsch. Again, the move resulted in a shot for Baumgartner, which he skewed wide.
There was a bitter irony for Ireland in the fact Kalajdzic benefited from aerial chaos in the game’s decisive moments, as he bundled the ball over the line after Ireland allowed a back-post header to skid across the six-yard box.
It was an ugly goal, of a type that Ireland concede too often. Though Heimir Hallgrímsson says effectiveness on set pieces is one of his six principles of play, Ireland have been undone defensively too often, most gallingly for the Czech Republic’s equaliser in the World Cup playoff earlier this year. When Hallgrímsson speaks of a growth mindset, it should zero in on opposition corners.
Kalajdzic has endured an extraordinarily turbulent injury record, rupturing his ACL on three separate occasions. This was a sweet moment of redemption for him, and Ireland needed somebody of his awkward effectiveness when they fruitlessly laid siege with a series of corners late in the game.
