Nations League: Republic of Ireland must learn from 'absolute madness' of win over Armenia - Stephen Kenny
- Published
Kenny celebrated Michael Obafemi's strike ecstatically - but the Dubliner cut a worried figure after Armenia fought back to level
"Michael Obafemi's goal was brilliant, we had numerous chances, a lot of good play and then we just had a few minutes of absolute madness, so there are good learnings for us in that."
Stephen Kenny is right. There was much to admire about the Republic of Ireland's performance in Tuesday night's Nations League win over Armenia.
Following on from his goal against Scotland on Saturday, captain John Egan - once again deputising for Seamus Coleman - scored again.
Then there was Obafemi emulating his crowd-pleaser from June's win over Scotland, scoring from distance to ensure he once more had a say on the result.
There was also an effective display from Robbie Brady who, in his first Republic start in 18 months, collected an assist and an injury-time winner from the penalty spot.
But Brady's intervention from 12 yards came after the Republic had nearly thrown it all away. Seemingly cruising towards a 2-0 win, they succumbed to an out-of-the-blue Armenian comeback, with Artak Dashyan and Eduard Spertsyan netting in quick succession to haul the erstwhile toothless visitors back into the game.
"Absolute madness" indeed.
It could have been even worse for the Republic, too, had Khoren Bayramyan's effort from the edge of the box at 2-2 flown into Gavin Bazunu's net and not narrowly wide.
In the end, the Republic came through a stiff examination of their character with Armenia instead the side leaving Lansdowne Road exasperated.
Armenia showed ill-discipline, too, ending the game with nine men after Dashyan and Hovhannes Hambartsumyan were dismissed for over-zealously protesting the referee's VAR-assisted decision to penalise Dashyan for handball.
And while Kenny insisted he wasn't concerned by his side's second-half mini-collapse, the Dubliner admitted that his players must improve when it comes to protecting a lead.
"It doesn't worry me at all," said Kenny, who oversaw his fourth competitive win as boss in 21 attempts.
"We were 2-0 up and went chasing the third goal when we didn't need to. We had centre-backs overlapping and we were 2-0 up in a game we needed to win.
"We lost a bit of structure - you must maintain the structure of your back three and some protection of that as well when you are winning 2-0.
"We weren't losing 2-0. We went chasing a third goal and got punished, and we came back and got the winner.
"Overall it is a really good performance with a few minutes of madness, and it's something we can learn from in terms of taking responsibility of not being exposed when you are winning like that."
The Republic of Ireland would have been relegated to League C had they lost, but Armenia drop down instead while Kenny's side will remain in Pot Three in next month's Euro 2024 qualifying draw.
Brady's injury-time penalty settled the game in the Republic's favour after an incident-packed second half
And while Armenia stunned the Republic with a 1-0 win in Yerevan in June, they failed to lay a glove on the hosts for much of Tuesday's contest, allowing their hosts to build early momentum with Obafemi and Egan both missing headed chances in the opening quarter of an hour.
However, just three minutes later, Egan powered the home side into the lead, heading Brady's corner past Armenia goalkeeper David Yurchenko.
And when Obafemi added a brilliant second, spinning away from his marker before sending a low shot into the corner, it seemed as though the Republic were heading for a straightforward win.
But Armenia had other ideas, and with the 92nd-ranked side in the world having caused a great deal of uncertainty in the Irish ranks prior to Brady's penalty, Kenny admits the Republic must tighten up at the back as they begin to plan for the start of the Euro qualifiers in March.
"In the last two home games, we've scored three twice here. We have to get better at keeping clean sheets," he said.
"It's not the creativity that concerns me. To be successful, that is an important dynamic in the team we have to improve."
Brady makes his mark after 'difficult period'
Kenny has been commended for integrating the Republic's next generation into the senior set-up, but it was heartening to see seasoned campaigner Brady wheeling away in celebration at the end of his first start since March 2021.
Brady, who made his debut in 2012 and holds a special place in Republic supporters' hearts due to his Euro 2016 heroics against Italy, has been dogged by injuries in recent years but promising early-season form with new club Preston earned him a recall - and he seized his opportunity.
"It felt good," the 30-year-old told RTE.
"It's been a difficult period for me on and off the pitch. I've had a lot of thinking time and to find myself back in a green jersey, I was ecstatic.
"I enjoyed it and we got the win in the end."
With the Nations League in the books, the Republic can now look to the future, with November friendlies against Norway and Malta to come before next year's European qualifiers.
And while Kenny's side fell well short of achieving their aim of topping their Nations League group, they have shown glimpses of progress over the campaign - with the 3-0 win over Scotland unquestionably the highlight.
However, with the Euros qualifying campaign likely to ramp up the pressure on the former Dundalk boss following last year's disappointing World Cup bid, Kenny will be aware of the improvements his side must make if they are to qualify for their first tournament under his watch.
And those improvements include steering well clear of any further periods of "absolute madness".