“What’s the alternative? Defend deep and try and see it out?” asked the Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after an unsuccessful campaign to qualify for the European Championships in Germany next year finished at the at the Johan Cruijff ArenA
“They will break you down anyway. If we had sat deep, I don’t think that would have worked.
“These are the best players Ireland have now,” said Kenny. “The reason we have not beaten a top tier nation like Holland away is because it’s bloody hard.
“We didn’t take one step back, not one step back. Yes, they played through us. Gavin Bazunu kept us in the game.”
Defeat to the Netherlands by a single goal in Amsterdam adds another brave, honest performance to the list that includes losses to Portugal, France, Serbia and the Dutch in Dublin since 2021. But Ireland finish Group B with six points, and just two wins against Gibraltar, having lost twice to the all-conquering French, Greece and now Ronald Koeman’s Oranje.
Kenny’s competitive record of just six wins and 16 defeats indicates a change of manager later this month when FAI director of football Marc Canham presents a review of the past 12 months to the board.
“I really don’t know,” said Kenny of his future. “I don’t control that. It’s quite possible. I don’t know. But all I can say is I see the effort tonight and high level of skill, bravery.
“It wasn’t enough and Holland were better than us. We tried to create chances by pressing higher. They caused us problems tonight when they played through our press. But the players were courageous in and out of possession and they fought until the end.
“I salute my players as they wanted the ball in all areas and put their bodies on the line,” the 52-year-old continued. “The players were very brave. We made mistakes in possession and nearly got punished.”
Bazunu had another exceptional night as the Southampton goalkeeper made four outstanding saves to keep the score down in front a boisterous Dutch crowd.
“One mistake is all it takes,” said Bazunu of Wout Weghorst’s winning goal.
The 21-year-old Dubliner revealed that the players were fighting for their manager’s job.
“Yeah, I think that was obvious, you saw the way we played, we were so aggressive, so confident in the way we played. The energy was brilliant, we just didn’t create enough chances.”
Matt Doherty, the Ireland captain on the night, was hopeful that the FAI will not remove a manager who has given 26 players their competitive debut in a three-year period of regeneration for Irish football
“I don’t know anything about that,” said Doherty. “I hope it’s not the case. This group needs to be coached well and that’s exactly the things we have been getting for a long time now. I hope he stays on after the game.
“I have always backed him and he always backs me. I would love to see him and all the staff [stay on]. If people really saw what it’s like on the training pitch, the changing room and how they care about their players, the attention to detail, I think they would be hard pressed to find someone to match that.”
Admirably, Kenny turned the players support into praise for his assistant coaches John O’Shea, Keith Andrews and Dean Kiely.
“I don’t think it’s just for me, it’s for the whole environment and level of professionalism with all the staff, not just a person. We have rebuilt a team over the last couple of years because it was needed. The alternatives were players who moved down the divisions. There is a massive deficit in Irish football.”
