Eamon Dunphy column: Robbie Brady renaissance can be the spur Ireland need to drive on
Robbie Brady came through the Manchester United academy, and it was always obvious why they'd snapped him up. Technically, he was at a level unmatched by few Irish players in recent times
To many, it was the sports moment of 2016. Robbie Brady's winner against Italy in Lille is up there in the pantheon now with the memorable goals scored at major tournaments by Ray Houghton, Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane.
And the immediate aftermath was immortalised by a Belgian photographer, Laurent Dubrule. After heading to the Italian net, Brady raced to the crowd where he hugged and kissed his partner, Kerrie Harris - celebrating with her, his brother, Gareth and some friends.
Sports moment of the year, meet the sports photograph of the year. Dubrule said later that he was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
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Back then, we thought of Brady as lucky too, and Irish football as lucky to have found a talent like him.
But Brady and Ireland had precious little to cheer about since that dramatic night in Lille. That explains the outpouring of emotion from Brady and his teammates after he scored a late winner against Finland on Thursday night.
Brady came through the Manchester United academy, and it was always obvious why they'd snapped him up. Technically, he was at a level unmatched by few Irish players in recent times.
The Dubliner went on from United to show he could cut it in the Premier League with Norwich City, Hull City and Burnley, but a spate of injuries took their toll on his career.
When John O'Shea came in as interim manager, he brought Brady back from the wildnerness. He has played in all seven of Ireland's games this year.
In the previous three years, he'd only won six caps. Brady didn't play at all for Ireland in 2023. Many felt his international career was over but he was in decent form for Preston and O'Shea always rated him since he watched his progress coming through the ranks at United.
Heimir Hallgrimsson has a first win as Ireland manager, thanks to Brady. His Indian summer is welcome, and O'Shea deserves credit for recognising that he still has plenty to offer.
After a dismal first half in Helsinki, Ireland were booed off the field by some Irish fans. Nearly all of the Irish players had their heads down as they headed for the tunnel.
There was one exception. Brady looked furious at the booing. In the second half, Ireland were a team transformed and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Brady took that fury into the dressing-room and did some plain speaking.
Finland were there for the taking - I'd say that was pointed out by one or two. Maybe Brady, maybe O'Shea, who knows? What we do know is that Ireland got the win that they deserved.
Ireland won by playing to their strengths and playing with traditional Irish fire and intent. You need the bit of madness, if you want to call it that.
They will go to Athens now high on some badly needed confidence, but Greece won't be lacking in that regard, either, after a memorable win at Wembley.
Lee Carsley is someone many of us wanted as Ireland manager but this was a woeful night and result for him.
It was 18 years this week since Ireland crashed 5-2 to Cyprus, one of the worst results in our international history. Why were Ireland so awful that night in Nicosia? It was down to the team picked by Steve Staunton.
In midfield, Staunton went for Aiden McGeady, Stephen Ireland, Kevin Kilbane and Damien Duff, with Clinton Morrison and Robbie Keane up front.
So, from midfield up, he went with six attack-minded players. The team was completely unbalanced. Cyprus couldn't believe their luck and made hay.
Carsley did a Staunton against Greece. England won their opening two qualifiers on his watch without Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer.
All three were available this time, so what did Carsley do? He tried to put them all in the same team, playing Bellingham as a false nine.
The result was chaos. Greece could actually have won by three or four goals, as they cut England open again and again in a midfield where Declan Rice was the only player with any inclination to defend.
Carsley is a talented coach and all the talk was of him being brought in as interim manager to try out different things.
But balance always matters, and I'm surprised that he went with such a badly lop-sided team. He's feeling the heat now and the England job can be a hugely stressful one. Maybe he was being honest when he said he was looking forward to going back to the Under-21s.
The lesson for Hallgrimsson is to pick a team, not a collection of individuals. Maybe he thought Dara O'Shea was too good to leave out in Helsinki but he is a centre-back and was all at sea at right-back.
Nathan Collins has been praised for some performances for Brentford but he has been from poor to average with Ireland for quite a while. He gets away with some mistakes but you'll always eventually get caught out. That happened in the first half on Thursday night.
It was a mistake to make Collins captain as it makes him harder to drop. I think the defence would be better balanced, though, with O'Shea in the middle instead of Collins, and Festy Ebosele starting at right-full.
I really like what Ebosele brings to the mix. With Seamus Coleman injury prone and not getting any younger, Ireland have to groom a replacement for him. Ebosele looks like he's worth trusting.
There was a huge amount of emotion around Greece's win over England due to the tragic passing of George Baldock on Wednesday. Many of the Greece players - his former teammates - said they didn't sleep a wink on Wednesday night.
Maybe that emotion played a part in their stirring performance at Wembley, but what kind of state will they be in on Sunday night?
Adrenaline can only take you so far and Ireland have to remind them straightaway that they're in a battle. Because of previous results, Greece will feel they have Ireland's number, so the visitors have to do the basics right from the start. Play with a high tempo, press aggressively, put in the tackles. A draw - and four points from this international window - would be a great return. Fingers crossed.
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