Substitute Mikey Johnston belatedly ignited the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign to spare manager Stephen Kenny further punishment at the hands of Gibraltar.
The Celtic winger, who spent last season on loan with Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes, scored his first senior international goal within seven minutes of his half-time introduction with his team-mates having left the pitch to a less than rapturous reception after being kept at bay by the side ranked 201st in the world.
Evan Ferguson helped himself to his second Ireland goal seven minutes later and substitute Adam Idah his first in stoppage time to cement at 3-0 victory on a night when anything other than a comfortable victory would have heaped further pressure on Kenny, who had found himself in the firing line once again in the wake of Friday night’s 2-1 Group B defeat in Greece.
A fifth win in 24 competitive matches, particularly given the nature of the opposition, is unlikely to silence his critics and qualification still looks distinctly unlikely unless they can beat either France or the Netherlands – or perhaps both – in September.
However, Johnston’s second-half cameo finally injected the pace and devilment his side had lacked before the break to bring a little light relief.
Kenny made five changes to the side which turned in such a laboured display in defeat in Greece, one of them enforced by Matt Doherty’s red card in Athens with James McClean, winning his 100th cap, Dara O’Shea, Jamie McGrath, Jason Knight and Michael Obafemi replacing the former Atletico Madrid full-back, Darragh Lenihan, Callum O’Dowda, Jayson Molumby and Idah.
His side might have been ahead within seconds of kick-off when Knight, starting at right wing-back, crossed for McGrath to shoot first time and keeper Dayle Coleing needed two attempts to gather the ball, and defender Kian Ronan sliced another teasing Knight delivery anxiously over his own crossbar with three minutes gone.
As expected, the visitors sat deep and invited Ireland to break them down with defenders Nathan Collins and O’Shea repeatedly finding themselves with time and space, but not the craft to slide the ball through the massed ranks of white shirts.
O’Shea curled a 17th-minute shot straight into Coleing’s midriff and Obafemi should have scored two minutes later, completely missing his kick as he attempted to convert Knight’s near-post cross.
As Kenny’s men warmed to their task, Ferguson thumped a drive at Coleing from the edge of the box and then glanced a 30th-minute header across goal from McClean’s cross with the keeper in no man’s land.
McClean headed wide from yet another Knight cross after the Derby midfielder had surged past defender Jayce Olivero five minutes later, and Josh Cullen whipped an attempt into Coleing’s waiting arms as half-time approached.
It took a fine save from the Gibraltar keeper to keep out McGrath’s rasping 44th-minute strike after Obafemi and Ferguson had used their strength to grind out an opportunity for him, but Ireland largely lacked both penetration and tempo and the half-time whistle was greeted by a smattering of boos.
Kenny made a significant change at the break when he withdrew central defender Collins and replaced him with Johnston and switched to a 4-3-3 formation, and it took the newcomer little time to make an impact.
It was he who made the breakthrough with 52 minutes gone when, after Will Smallbone’s free-kick, awarded for handball against Bernardo Lopes, had squirmed through the defensive wall, he tapped gleefully into the empty net to ease the tension among a crowd of 42,156 at the Aviva Stadium.
The mood took a further turn for the better seven minutes later when Ferguson met McClean’s cross with a firm downward header to effectively wrap up the points, and the centurion was provider once again at the death, setting up Idah to finally open his account with a simple header.
Mbappe position switch works wonders for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Kylian Mbappe's position in attack paid off in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Leganes.
Mbappe scored his seventh goal of the season to help Madrid to a comfortable victory in LaLiga on Sunday.
However, his position in Madrid's front line has been a topic of debate since he joined the Spanish champions, with Mbappe having often played out wide while at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading Los Blancos' attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti told reporters.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
Jude Bellingham netted Madrid's other goal as Ancelotti's team closed to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Madrid also have a game in hand on Hansi Flick's side.
Orlando City 1-0 Atlanta United: Enrique strike sets up Red Bulls clash
Atlanta United beat Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS playoffs, yet their postseason came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to Orlando City.
The Five Stripes went into Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal at Inter&Co Stadium full of confidence after ditching Lionel Messi and the rest of Miami's stars out of the playoffs last time out.
Yet it was Orlando who, for the first time in club history, booked their place in the Eastern Conference finals thanks to Ramiro Enrique's 39th-minute winner.
Enrique tucked in from close range after Atlanta failed to clear their lines from a corner.
That goal came after Orlando had started brightly, with Dagur Thorhallsson hitting the woodwork early on before Facundo Torres saw an effort cleared off the line.
Buoyed by a fine record against Orlando, who they had lost to just four times in 22 meetings ahead of this contest, Atlanta pressed for an equaliser after the break, but they could not find a way through a robust Lions defence.
Orlando will now host the New York Red Bulls in next week's Eastern Conference final, with a place in the MLS Cup final on the line.
Data Debrief: Stay away from the Lions' den
Fresh from the Orlando Pride's victory in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday, Orlando had plenty to live up to if they wanted to cap a great sporting weekend for the city.
And they did just that, with the backing of a vociferous crowd that helped them get over the line. Those fans will be called on again next week when the Red Bulls roll into town, but Orlando need not fear. They have lost only one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions (W9 D4 including two penalty shootout wins and one penalty shootout loss).
And while Atlanta huffed and puffed, they never really threatened to blow the door down, as Orlando limited them to just eight shots, with none of those hitting the target.
Indeed, Orlando had openings on the counter and could have put the match to bed with a bit more composure, as they finished with 1.3 expected goals to Atlanta's 0.4 xG.
Conte: Napoli need to focus on improvement, not Serie A lead
Napoli should pay little attention to their place at the top of Serie A, so says Antonio Conte, who has demanded improvement from his team.
Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal handed Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday.
That victory sent Napoli back to the summit of Serie A, with Conte's side one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio, while Juventus are only four points back in a six-team title race.
Napoli needed to get back to winning ways after a draw against Inter and a 3-0 loss to Atalanta before the international break, and Conte insists his team must sharpen up.
"Before the match, I told the lads not to look at the table, but to focus on ourselves and improving what we are working on," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
"I maintain that now too because we need to take a series of steps to raise the level.
"I was satisfied with the performance for a good 65 minutes today, we could’ve taken more of our chances and were up against a strong Roma who have great players.
"Roma were also making their debut under a new coach and therefore were very eager to prove themselves, but we still should've dealt with the final 15-20 minutes better, as we sat too deep and made it complicated for ourselves."
Roma, playing under new boss Claudio Ranieri, came close to equalising when Artem Dovbyk hit the woodwork with a header.
Ranieri came out of retirement to take charge of Roma following Ivan Juric's dismissal earlier in November, though the visitors had just six shots and accumulated only 0.6 expected goals (xG) at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"If we look back, we have some problems and that is why I was called. We were up against a team that is fighting to win the Scudetto," Ranieri told Sky Sport Italia.
"Having said all of that, I am happy with the performance from my players. We made some mistakes that we will talk about during the week, but the hunger, the determination to get back on track was there.
"We have a lot of work to do, but I feel positive.
"We know there is work to be done, we have to focus on reacting rather than sitting there feeling sorry for ourselves.
"The [players] need the right character to help themselves and then others. Naturally, when I arrived, the team was a little closed up, but I think we started to open up a bit by the second half."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
