Ireland vs. USA: Score, Report and Reaction from International Friendly
Robert Brady hit a second-half double as the Republic of Ireland defeated the United States 4-1 on Tuesday in an international friendly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Anthony Pilkington gave Ireland a seventh-minute lead before Mix Diskerud pulled the Americans level six minutes before half-time. Brady then struck 10 minutes into the second half to put his side ahead for good. In the final 10 minutes, James McClean hit Ireland's third before Brady sealed the victory with a fine free-kick.
Coming after a 1-0 loss at Scotland in European Championship qualification, Tuesday's win will give Ireland a confidence boost heading into 2015. Currently fourth in Group D, Martin O'Neill's side will resume qualifying next March at home to group leaders Poland.
Jurgen Klinsmann's senior USA side is currently not involved in a qualifying campaign but is set to take part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup next year. Klinsmann will not be satisfied with his team's performance but will likely use Tuesday's match to evaluate players ahead of that competition.
Ireland needed less than 10 minutes to open the scoring, taking advantage of poor passing in the American midfield to net the game's first goal. Pilkington started and finished the move, passing to David McGoldrick in the midfield before continuing his run straight into the USA box. McGoldrick returned an excellent pass through the defence, allowing Pilkington to lift his finish over the onrushing Bill Hamid.
USA tried to hit back quickly, Timmy Chandler curling a shot over the bar from outside the box in the 12th minute. Ten minutes later, Fabian Johnson hit the outside of the post with a low effort from distance.
Ireland nearly doubled their lead in the 27th minute following a defensive mixup between USA centre-backs Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler. Daryl Murphy pounced, poking a shot on goal, but Hamid made himself big to keep the ball out.
It turned out to be a crucial save. In the 39th minute, the Americans drew level.
Taking advantage of a David Meyler giveaway, Jozy Altidore curled a cross to the back post, where Chris Wondolowski headed down into the path of Diskerud. Rising into the air to give himself a better shooting angle, Diskerud stabbed in for the equaliser.
Following the goal, the Americans were the better side for the rest of the half. They nearly made their superiority count on the scoresheet, but Altidore hit the crossbar in the 43rd minute after being set up by an Alejandro Bedoya pullback.
The first chance of the second half fell to USA, Altidore trying a low shot from a tight angle on the right. Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given dived the wrong way but managed to save with his legs.
Ireland took the lead in the 55th minute following another giveaway in the USA defence. Johnson failed to clear from deep on the Americans' right flank, playing the ball directly to Brady. Brady passed to McGoldrick, who returned the ball with a clever touch into the box. Brady then beat Hamid with a cool finish to restore Ireland's advantage at 2-1.
USA went in search of an equaliser for a second time. Given saved from Bobby Wood in the 67th minute and again from Greg Garza nine minutes from time.
But Ireland were still creating danger as well. In the 82nd minute, Shane Long curled a shot off the far post, and within moments, the hosts had their third goal.
Holding the ball outside the USA box, McClean had plenty of time to pick out a shot from distance. With the defenders standing off, McClean sent a deflected effort past Hamid for the hosts' third of the match.
The Americans were well-beaten, but Ireland weren't finished. In the 86th minute, Brady curled a free-kick up and over the wall, beating Hamid easily for Ireland's fourth and final goal.
Reaction
Ireland coach Martin O'Neill (via BBC Sport):
"It was very nice to score some goals and play well, particularly in the second half. We had some fine individual performances and it was a useful exercise, although it is the competitive matches that really matter.
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USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann (via MLSsoccer.com):
"The main objective this year was the World Cup and we did a good job overall. After the World Cup this is the time now to bring the youngsters in, to bring a new wave in, and see what you can do. And you do it at the cost of some results.
I think the learning curve after the last two games is that they also have to learn emotionally how to digest a World Cup. And a lot of our players had big problems digesting those extreme emotions; they dropped 20, 30 or even 40 percent in performances in their club environment.
This is because they didn’t know how to deal with all these emotions and all that recognition and all the compliments that came after the World Cup. And in a certain way it’s human and understandable. In previous cycles, they didn’t play for half a year after a World Cup.
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