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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 2-1 ARMENIA: DOYLE DISMISSAL DOESN'T STOP PLAY-OFF QUALIFICATION
By Paul O'Hehir
MirrorFootball.co.uk
Oct 11 2011
Ireland shrugged off the dismissal of striker Kevin Doyle to reach
the Euro 2012 play-offs last night.
Their job was made easier when Spanish referee Eduardo Iturralde
Gonzalez wrongly sent off Armenia keeper Roman Berezovsky after 26
minutes for handling a Simon Cox shot outside the box.
TV replays showed the ball hit Berezovsky on the chest - and that
Ireland striker Cox probably used his hand to control Glenn Whelan's
through pass.
The visitors' plight deepened a minute before the break when defender
Valeri Aleksanyan turned Damien Duff's cross into his own net. When
Aston Villa's Richard Dunne bundled home a second on the hour -
his first international goal in two years - from a cross by Aiden
McGeady that was flapped at by replacement goalkeeper Arsen Petrosyan,
the game looked to be over.
But Henrikh Mkhitaryan's strike two minutes later ended Ireland's
run of eight clean sheets and sparked a fightback.
The final whistle at the Aviva stadium was greeted with as much relief
as joy, but the victory was not enough for the Irish to top Group B
because Russia beat Andorra 6-0.
Doyle was harshly sent off nine minutes from time for a second yellow
- but the Wolves man would have missed the first leg of the play-offs
as a result of his first booking anyway.
West Brom striker Cox hailed the team as "heroes". He said: "It's an
unbelievable night for Irish football. We needed to get six points out
of six, and we got them and gave ourselves the best possible chance.
"It's the luck of the draw now and we'll take whatever comes.
"We came out with the best mentality that we could find and played
like heroes. We got the right result."
Two years ago, the Republic's World Cup qualifying dreams were ended
by a handball decision - or rather a non-decision - as France scraped
past them.
Cox said: "We'll go full steam ahead into the game and we probably
won't even think about France or any other play-off defeat that
we've had."
Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni was delighted his side battled past
a team he rated the best in the group.
"Armenia have scored many more goals than us," said Trapattoni. "In
every position they have a strong team, their midfield is very quick
and fast, their attack is very dangerous. So I'm happy,"
Cox said of Berezovsky's red card: "I thought it wasn't a handball,
but we'll take it. We're just a little unfortunate we got one as well."
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Republic-of-Ireland-2-1-Armenia-Euro-2012-qualifier-match-report-Kevin-Doyle-dismissal-doesn-t-stop-play-off-qualification-article810712.html
By Paul O'Hehir
MirrorFootball.co.uk
Oct 11 2011
Ireland shrugged off the dismissal of striker Kevin Doyle to reach
the Euro 2012 play-offs last night.
Their job was made easier when Spanish referee Eduardo Iturralde
Gonzalez wrongly sent off Armenia keeper Roman Berezovsky after 26
minutes for handling a Simon Cox shot outside the box.
TV replays showed the ball hit Berezovsky on the chest - and that
Ireland striker Cox probably used his hand to control Glenn Whelan's
through pass.
The visitors' plight deepened a minute before the break when defender
Valeri Aleksanyan turned Damien Duff's cross into his own net. When
Aston Villa's Richard Dunne bundled home a second on the hour -
his first international goal in two years - from a cross by Aiden
McGeady that was flapped at by replacement goalkeeper Arsen Petrosyan,
the game looked to be over.
But Henrikh Mkhitaryan's strike two minutes later ended Ireland's
run of eight clean sheets and sparked a fightback.
The final whistle at the Aviva stadium was greeted with as much relief
as joy, but the victory was not enough for the Irish to top Group B
because Russia beat Andorra 6-0.
Doyle was harshly sent off nine minutes from time for a second yellow
- but the Wolves man would have missed the first leg of the play-offs
as a result of his first booking anyway.
West Brom striker Cox hailed the team as "heroes". He said: "It's an
unbelievable night for Irish football. We needed to get six points out
of six, and we got them and gave ourselves the best possible chance.
"It's the luck of the draw now and we'll take whatever comes.
"We came out with the best mentality that we could find and played
like heroes. We got the right result."
Two years ago, the Republic's World Cup qualifying dreams were ended
by a handball decision - or rather a non-decision - as France scraped
past them.
Cox said: "We'll go full steam ahead into the game and we probably
won't even think about France or any other play-off defeat that
we've had."
Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni was delighted his side battled past
a team he rated the best in the group.
"Armenia have scored many more goals than us," said Trapattoni. "In
every position they have a strong team, their midfield is very quick
and fast, their attack is very dangerous. So I'm happy,"
Cox said of Berezovsky's red card: "I thought it wasn't a handball,
but we'll take it. We're just a little unfortunate we got one as well."
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Republic-of-Ireland-2-1-Armenia-Euro-2012-qualifier-match-report-Kevin-Doyle-dismissal-doesn-t-stop-play-off-qualification-article810712.html