SECONDS FROM DISASTER

Ireland boss Hall says latter performances in double header have been poor and the trend must stop

- BY MARK MCCADDEN

IT'S FOOTBALL's version of difficult second album syndrome.

All too often Ireland fail to strike up a tune in the second of a two-game doubleheader.

We saw it last month in Yerevan. Heimir's boys left the Aviva to chants of 'we want more' after their stirring second-half display against Hungary, and then fell flat against Armenia in a crushing 2-1 defeat.

In June the 1-1 friendly draw against Senegal was played to a toe-tapping beat, but against Luxembourg a few days later there was no rhythm to the Irish performance.

The October and November windows last year both opened with rousing wins against Finland, but in trips to Greece and England respectively Ireland followed up with convincing defeats. Hot on the heels of a morale-boosting 2-1 friendly win over Hungary under John O'Shea in June of 2024 was a comprehensive 3-0 defeat away to Portugal.

A few months earlier and O'Shea presided over a promising performance against Belgium (0-0) and then, a few days later, a deflating display against Switzerland (0-1).

It's a worrying trend that, with this group of players, can be traced right back to March 2021 when a young Stephen Kenny side put Serbia to the sword in Belgrade, losing narrowly, only to fall to a limp defeat at an empty Aviva Stadium against Luxembourg.

Sure, there have been exceptions. Last March, in the Nations League promotion-relegation playoffs, a 2-1 win in Plovdiv was followed up by a repeat scoreline in Dublin.