Brian Kerr and Damien Delaney criticise Ireland display.
Brian Kerr and Damien Delaney were less then impressed with Stephen Kenny, after Ireland’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of France on Monday night.
While Ireland’s opening Euro 2024 qualifier ended in a loss, the crowd at the Aviva Stadium witnessed an encouraging display from the home side, as they remained in the game right up until the dying seconds, against one of the best sides in the world.
France defeat Ireland in Dublin.
A wonderful Benjamin Pavard strike made the difference on the scoreboard, while Mike Maignan’s late save from a Nathan Collins header is one that will be spoken about for years to come.
Irish supporters have been stung by these so-called moral victories in the past, and Virgin Media punditry pairing Delaney and Kerr seem to have had enough, when it comes to patting Stephen Kenny’s side on the back after a negative result.
Brian Kerr.
“It was a bit better, but the end of the story is that we lost 1-0 again to France, that’s three times in a row when they’ve come to Dublin,” said Kerr, who was Ireland manager for the first of those three defeats back in 2005.
“No matter what spin Stephen puts on it, we got beaten in the match and had very little possession until the last few minutes. Their goalkeeper had one save to make, our goalkeeper made two good saves and was well-beaten on the goal.
“We’ve got to go on and win matches in the group.”
Brian Kerr on 🇮🇪 0-1 🇫🇷.
"A bit better but the end of the story is we lost 1-0.
"No matter what spin Stephen puts on it, we got beaten in the match and had very little possession until late on.
"We've got to go on now and win matches."#IRLFRA #COYBIG #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/TxcEQ7qSWd
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 27, 2023
Damien Delaney.
Delaney largely echoed Kerr’s sentiments, stating that he was hoping for something more from Ireland.
“I was a little bit excited when I woke up this morning,” said the ex-Ireland defender. “I thought we were going to get something different. I thought we were going to get us being a bit more adventurous, taking the game to the French.
“We had a go in the last five minutes but the amount of times I counted in the game where we won the ball back in good areas, and went back to Gavin Bazunu and then went long.”
Damien Delaney:
🗣 "Tonight isn't the night that Stephen Kenny will be judged.
🗣 "The team done brilliant, the players executed the game plan perfectly.
🗣 "I'm just a little bit disappointed because I thought we were going to have a go at the French here. #IRLFRA #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/W1MT7fl4Xy
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 27, 2023
Social media criticism.
The comments from both men drew plenty of criticism on social media from an Irish public which appears largely satisfied with how the team played, in a narrow defeat to the back-to-back World Cup finalists.
“Strange” and “weird” are just some ways in which the quotes are being described by Twitter users, and this isn’t the first time that Kerr has been vocal in his criticism of Kenny.
The same could be said of Delaney, but in fairness to the Corkman, he stated that Ireland’s progress under Kenny won’t be judged in matches against the top teams, but rather in games against the likes of Greece, who the team face in their next qualifier this coming June.
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