Euro 2016: Winners and Losers from Sunday's Qualification Games
Another day, another round of 2016 European Championship qualifying fixtures, as a hectic round of international matches continues to enthrall and entertain.
A total of eight qualifying matches (across three groups) took place on Sunday, with plenty of surprises—including a first competitive goal for minnows Gibraltar in their away visit to Hampden Park.
Elsewhere, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were in action, while Cristiano Ronaldo hoped to help Portugal get their qualifying campaign back on track as they hosted surprise Group I strugglers Serbia.
Click on for some winners and losers from Sunday's competitive matches.
Winner: Kyle Lafferty (and Northern Ireland)
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Following in the footsteps of Wales' impressive performance in similar circumstances a day earlier, Northern Ireland gave their growing qualification hopes a huge boost with an impressive 2-1 victory over Finland on Sunday afternoon.
In a game affected by high winds for large spells, Michael O'Neill's side attacked with directness and invention but often seemed to lack a cutting edge in front of goal. Fortunately, they had Kyle Lafferty on hand.
The nomadic striker scored twice—one a beautiful volley, the second a poacher's header—to wrap up the crucial three points.
Lafferty has had a difficult time of it recently, hounded out at Palermo for his off-field activities and then failing to make an impact at Norwich, but this performance underlined his evident natural talent.
As O'Neill said after the game, per the BBC:
"Kyle scored two fantastic goals from two quality crosses into the area and we could have had another if Chris Baird's header had not been ruled out for offside. ...
Kyle has put a difficult year behind him and he's a big part of the squad. He's playing with bags of confidence and with a smile on his face.
"
Northern Ireland have benefited accordingly. Still a point behind Romania at the top of the Group F standings, they nevertheless look better-placed than anyone could have anticipated heading into the second half of the campaign.
Losers: Germany
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Germany's unremarkable, unimpressive post-World Cup run continued on Sunday, as they beat Georgia by a rather mediocre 2-0 scoreline.
It's worth stressing that results matter more than performances at this point in time and that Germany are now (relatively) comfortably on course to make it to next summer's tournament in France as they added another three points to their collection.
But this was nevertheless another case of the performance hardly sending shockwaves around Europe, and much of the aura that Germany created with their dynamic displays (and ultimate triumph) in Brazil last summer is slowly being eroded. Two goals in quick succession from Marco Reus and Thomas Muller sealed the win, as Georgia's defence only briefly slipped up.
Bedding in a number of new players and still looking for stars to take on the mantle of some recently retired leaders, Germany clearly have a lot of improving still to do over the remainder of the campaign.
“A look at the table before the game was enough to see the urgency of the situation,” coach Joachim Low told reporters, per The Irish Times. “We played a dynamic game, we then controlled it in the second half but did not have the same drive towards goal. We again missed some good chances. We had good combinations but failed to score a third or fourth goal.”
Winners: Portugal
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Portugal picked up a hugely important victory over Serbia on Sunday evening, as Fabio Coentrao grabbed the winner in a 2-1 victory.
The result is awful news for Serbia, who started the qualification campaign with a three-point deduction and can scarcely afford many more defeats if they hope to recover. Portugal came into the game with a squad that bordered on the veteran side—something that does not bode too well long term—but the decision paid off, as experience told in the home side's eventual victory.
Nemanja Matic's brilliant bicycle kick cancelled out Ricardo Carvalho's opener, but Coentrao popped up two minutes later to decide a game in which Joao Moutinho pulled the strings.
The result leaves Portugal top of Group I with nine points from their opening four games, while Serbia remain stranded on one point. They need a miracle already.
Winner: Shane Long (and Republic of Ireland)
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Shane Long got to play the role of hero as the Republic of Ireland escaped with a vitally important 1-1 draw against Poland at the Aviva Stadium.
Facing a one-goal deficit as the game ticked into added time, Long was in the right place at the right time to finally turn home from a corner and give Martin O'Neill's side a much-needed share of the points. Instead of being six points off the top spot in Group D and three points adrift of even Scotland, they are only three behind leaders Poland—and two behind Scotland and Germany.
That is certainly a situation they can still work with, and the goal could prove important for Long in a personal respect, too. The veteran Robbie Keane toiled for much of the game but offered very little to his side beyond the poacher's eye in front of goal, whereas Long looked more lively and dangerous as soon as he arrived from the substitutes' bench.
Keane has been a loyal and often prolific servant to his country over the years, but at 34 years of age, perhaps his time as a guaranteed starter has come to an end.
Afterwards, Long told Sky Sports:
"We would have been very disappointed not to come away with at least a draw from that. I thought we caused all sorts of problems in the second half.
That could prove a massive point for us come the end of the campaign. It looks like it could be between us and Scotland for that second place in the group. Keeping them within touching distance is a big thing for us. But we need to be winning our home games.
"
Quotes taken from Sky Sports' live broadcast of the match.
Loser: Hovhannes Hambardzumyan (Armenia)
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Hovhannes Hambardzumyan's late dismissal was decisive as Albania came from behind to beat Armenia, 2-1, maintaining their surprise push for an automatic qualification spot in Group I.
Armenia were leading with 20 minutes remaining, but Hambardzumyan's red card turned the tide, as Mergim Mavraj and Shkelzen Gashi both scored to pick up three points and maintain the pressure on the bigger sides in the group (Denmark, Portugal and Serbia) to try to keep pace.
Winners: Gibraltar (But Also Steven Fletcher)
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They ended up losing 6-1 to Scotland, but Gibraltar at least got to celebrate their first international goal in a competitive game.
Lee Casciaro got the goal, briefly making the scoreline 1-1 at Hampden Park before the hosts, thanks primarily to Steven Fletcher, belatedly ran away with things.
Nevertheless, a first goal on the scoresheet is a small but significant victory for the minnows. It was Fletcher who walked away with the match ball, however, becoming the first Scotland player since 1969 to score three goals in a game.
