GDANSK, Poland-
Summary
| Spain and the Republic of Ireland squared-off in Group C. |
Reigning World Champion Spain took on the Republic of
Ireland today in Gdansk, Poland, in a Group C match of the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup, with Spain winning 4-0.
The Irish were counting on a win in order to stay alive in the tournament, but fell short when the Spanish utterly dominated in possession,
passing, and shooting.
Spain started in a 4-3-3 formation, choosing to play the controversy-shrouded Fernando Torres, while the Irish played a 4-4-2 formation. The keepers for Spain and Ireland were Iker Casillas and Shay Given, respectively, with Casillas captaining for the Spanish and striker Robbie Keane leading their opponents.
The game started off with a bang as an early chance from David Silva was held off by the Irish defenders, who were unable to contain the loose ball and allowed a terrific goal from Torres in the fourth minute. ·
The Irish defenders’ main issue was their
inability to defend multiple Spanish forwards inside the penalty area. This was
the situation for Torres’ first goal: They held off Silva, but failed to
contain the ball. It happened again in the sixth minute, but Shay Given held on
for the save.
It was one of only a handful: Shay Given’s inability to hold onto the ball
after making a save may have been due to the wet conditions of the pitch, but
there was no way to tell if Iker Casillas suffered similarly, because he never
seemed to have to make a save.
Spain got the ball at the start of the second
half, and began by resuming their tactful passing display, with a pressing
defense from the Irish. Ireland’s first touch in the second half came
all the way in the forty-seventh minute, thanks to Spanish possession. Even
after the single touch, the Spanish received the ball on a throw, and the
passing display resumed.
David Silva opened the second half scoring the
49th minute after Given’s save of a good effort by Iniesta.
An Irish chance in the 64th minute
ended with a successful defense by the Spanish backs, and doubtlessly
disappointed their fans. The Irish attacks finally started to flow late, but
it was all for naught as a Torres breakaway in the 71st minute put
the game away for the Spanish. Cesc Fabergas came on as a substitute and rubbed salt in the wounds with a fourth and final goal in the 83rd minute.
***
The Spanish won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and
are currently the number one ranked team in the world.
The Irish beat Group C opponent Italy 2-0 in June of 2011,
and are looking for a repeat win here at Euro 2012. Their most recent win was a
1-0 victory in a friendly match against Bosnia-Herzegovnia on May 26th,
2012.
Group C is still up for grabs, with the current standings
shown below:
Croatia- 4pts
Spain- 4pts
Italy- 2pts
Ireland- 0pts
| Fernando Torres |
Heroes and Villains:
The Hero Award for this match goes to Spain's Fernando Torres, who opened up the scoring and ended up with a brace in the back of the net by night's end. Despite questions as to whether or not he should start, Torres played well and more than made up for Sunday's game against Italy, in which he under-performed.
The Villain Award for this match goes to the referee, who for most of the match seemed content to let Spain do their thing on the way to an easy victory. However, a strange occurrence in the 36th minute left me scratching my head.
| Andres Iniesta |
That's right, the Portuguese referee deliberately pushed an Irish player to the ground during play. I hope a controversy arises after this...
Special mention for Andres Iniesta, who played hard, had plenty of good touches, and even tried his hand at a shot or two. I was impressed by his work-horse, unselfish mentality that showed the best in Spanish Football.
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