Ireland's Andrew Moran explains why Wembley horror show cannot be brushed under the carpet
Ireland were humiliated by England at Wembley after a second-half meltdown following a red card
Andrew Moran says Ireland can’t just brush their Wembley horror show under the carpet and then expect to qualify for major tournaments.
Instead, the rising star of the squad feels a warts and all review of what went wrong is required, otherwise there will be more nights like it.
Brighton ace Moran - thriving on loan at Stoke City this season - came off the bench when Ireland were 4-0 down against England on Sunday. It was a no-win situation for him, although Moran was positive in possession at a time when team-mates were down and out after their second-half implosion.
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Moran revealed how the Irish dressing room was a positive place at the break, after Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men had held the Three Lions scoreless. But Liam Scales’ dismissal early in the second-half sparked five minutes of mayhem as England scored three quickfire goals before piling on the misery with two more.
Ireland don’t play again until the two-legged Nations League playoff in March against a second-placed League C team, to see who competes in League B next time around. That draw takes place in Switzerland this Friday at midday, with Slovakia, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Armenia currently the teams in the mix, although some of those groups have yet to finish. But Moran, 21, feels Ireland cannot afford to simply dismiss their Wembley nightmare as if it never happened.
“No, I don't think we can just write it off,” said the young midfielder, who was winning just his second senior cap yet fronted up for the post mortem. “We need to be disappointed about it. We don't want to come here and just accept that we're going to lose. We have to look back at it and see what went wrong for the next time. We're going to play teams of this quality at World Cups and Euros, if we want to get there, so we need to learn to take points off teams like this.”
That’s a message that manager Heimir Hallgrimsson was drilling into his players after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Finland, which feels like a long time ago now. Moran continued: “That was a massive win in itself. It solidified us as third in the group and either way the England game wasn’t going to change that. We still have playoffs in March and we just need to focus on that now. We’re not the finished article yet. We’ve got a group of lads who will give everything.
“But we were all really disappointed with the result on Sunday. We were all really up for this game as you don't need much to get up for a game against England. (4-0 down) was a tough time to come on. You're trying to lift the boys as much as you can and try to provide a little spark if you can, just to get everyone's energy up. Ten men against a team of that quality is really difficult. It's easier said than done. But I still really enjoyed it as it's my second cap for my country and a really proud moment.”
Moran wants to kick on in 2025 and has set himself an early target of starting a game under Hallgrimsson - but knows he has to work for it.
“Ideally you want to start games, but I’m new to the group and I need to earn the trust of the manager and earn the trust of the lads around me,” added the recent U21 star. “If I get on the pitch, I need to make the most of it. The lads are sound and have helped me settle in really easily so it’s been easy.
“You’ve got to be doing well for your club, you’ve always got to be pushing because we’ve got quality in numbers. We’ve got a lot of depth. If you’re performing well, you’ll get in and, if not, there’ll be other lads that are performing so it’s a lot of competition which can only lead to everyone playing better. But like I said, we all need to watch the England game back and see what went wrong, try to learn from it and hopefully come back in March raring to go.”
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