TheRepublic of Irelandneed to beat Denmark to secure automatic qualification for the Euro 2020 finals after Switzerland got themselves right back into the race in Geneva.
Haris Seferovic’s early effort and a Shane Duffy own goal when he turned Edimilson Fernandes’s shot into the net in stoppage time secured a Swiss win on a night when Seamus Coleman was sent off for two bookable offences.
Had it not been for Darren Randolph, who saved Ricardo Rodriguez’s second-half penalty after denying Seferovic a second with a smart save, and the post which kept out a Fabian Schär header,Switzerlandmight have won much more comfortably. Ireland rarely looked like claiming the victory that would have booked their place at next summer’s finals.
“Well, we were beaten by the better team, considerably the better team actually, ”said Mick McCarthy, the Ireland manager, who added he would have taken the scenario of having to defeat Denmark to reach the finals before kick-off. “In the first half we didn’t play particularly well. Whatever system we play it does not excuse our wayward passing and the stuff that we did. ”
Even a first start for the teenager Aaron Connolly did not provide the spark required as McCarthy tinkered with his system and personnel in a vain battle to gain a foothold. The pitch, which had passed an inspection two hours before kick-off after torrential rain throughout the day, proved sticky and the Swiss made the better start, with Granit Xhaka forcing an early save from Randolphafter taking aim from distance.
Ireland’s efforts to work their way into the game often stalled as they wasted possession and they were made to pay when Seferovic latched on to a half-clearance, took a touch and then fired home across Randolph and inside the far post.
Ireland were penned deep inside their own half and seemingly incapable of picking out a teammate on the rare occasions they did have the ball. They finally started to make a limited impression but almost conceded again eight minutes before the break. Schär, who scored his side’s goal in last month’s 1-1 draw in Dublin, curled a long-range, left-foot shot just wide, with Randolph struggling to make his ground.
It took the Republic, who had switched to a 4-1-4-1 system from their initial 3-5-2 in a bid to stem the flow, 41 minutes to put Yann Sommer under any pressure, although he was relieved to see Duffy’s powerful header nestle into his midriff.
McCarthy replaced the striker James Collins with the midfielder Callum O’Dowda and switched to 4-3-3, but it took a fine reaction save by Randolph to keep out Seferovic’s flicked header from Rodriguez’s inswinging 52 nd-minute free-kick.
John Egan drilled a long- range shot wide but Randolph needed the help of his far post to keep out Schär’s (nd-minute header.)
Coleman was sent off after 76 minutes when he blocked Breel Embolo’s shot with an arm inside the area and was shown a second yellow card having already been booked following a first-half pushing match with Xhaka.
Randolph got down superbly to turn Rodriguez’s spot-kick on to a post and it was cleared but there was nothing Duffy could do to keep out substitute Fernandes’s goal-bound effort with the final kick of the game.
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