Latest news with #MaxOLeary
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Keepers Toth and O'Leary make international debuts
Blackburn Rovers' Balazs Toth and fellow goalkeeper Max O'Leary of Bristol City both made their international debuts between the posts on played the first 58 minutes for Hungary during their 2-1 victory over Azerbaijan before being replaced by Al-Fateh's Peter Szappanos.O'Leary kept a clean sheet for Republic of Ireland during his first appearance for his country in a goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion midfielder Isaac Price scored the winner for Northern Ireland with a curled effort from just outside the box in their 1-0 victory over Iceland.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Heimir Hallgrimsson seeks answers after disappointing draw
Heimir Hallgrimsson was left with more questions than answers after watching his Republic of Ireland side scrap out a 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg. The visitors twice hit the woodwork at the Stade de Luxembourg but needed two saves from keeper Max O'Leary, making his senior international debut six years after first being called up, to emerge with something to show for their efforts. Advertisement It will be a very different team which the Icelander sends out for the opening qualifier against Hungary in Dublin in September, but it will also need to be a very different performance if Ireland are to launch their campaign with the kind of result they will need to stand a chance of making it to the finals. Asked what he would take from the game, head coach Hallgrimsson, who presided over a far more impressive 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday night, said: 'Firstly, you always use these games to get answers to questions. We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this tonight. 'The take from this is obviously when we go in September when the serious games start, we play a higher-ranked team first at home and then a lower-ranked team (Armenia) away just like we did now. We need to learn from this performance before September. 'We can take a lot of things. Mostly it's psychological or mental or whatever for the preparation. I know this is end-of-season so now everyone is in their off-season probably thinking, 'I don't want to get injured' or whatever they are thinking. Advertisement 'But there's no excuse for a bad performance. Even if we would have scored in the end, I think still the performance was not good enough.' But for O'Leary, who saved from Danel Sinani before the break and substitute Vincent Thill after it, Ireland could have been looking at a repeat of their embarrassment when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier in March 2021. Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor hit the post and the bar respectively for the visitors, but they were pushed all the way by a side ranked 91st in the world by FIFA and Hallgrimsson was full of praise for the Bristol City keeper. He said: 'We have known that all these years, probably. I have worked with him for a year and he's always shown up, he's always done well in training, he's always supported the keeper that has been number one – which is Caoimhin [Kelleher] since I came and Gavin [Bazunu] before I came. Advertisement 'He's just a fantastic team player, but he's also a good goalkeeper and now the fans got to see him.' Sport Ireland grateful to new keeper Max O'Leary after L... Read More Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz was pleased with what he saw from his team as they gear up for September's opening qualifier against Northern Ireland in the Grand Duchy. Holtz said: 'I'm very happy with the performance of my team. We managed to give big problems to Ireland. Ireland has a fantastic football team which plays with high speed and intensity and we managed to find solutions. 'This was a really good test for the upcoming match we play in September against Northern Ireland.' Advertisement
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Wednesday's briefing: England booed off while Man City sign Cherki
England were booed off after a surprise 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at the City Ground. The Republic of Ireland were grateful for goalkeeper Max O'Leary in a goalless draw at Luxembourg, while 10-man Northern Ireland claimed a 1-0 win over Iceland. Manchester City had another busy day in the transfer window while Tottenham are inching closer to an agreement with Brentford in their bid to appoint Thomas Frank as head coach. Thomas Tuchel's honeymoon period as England manager is over as boos greeted Tuesday's shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal. Three days after being jeered following a poor World Cup qualification win against minnows Andorra, the latest alarming display raised further questions a year out from their bid for glory in North America. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England's first defeat to an African nation following captain Harry Kane's early opener. Kane told ITV: 'Again, not really good enough. We're not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.' Max efforts rescue Republic Max O'Leary marked his long-awaited senior international debut with two vital saves to spare the Republic of Ireland's blushes in Luxembourg. The 28-year-old Bristol City keeper, who was first called up six years ago, denied Danel Sinani and substitute Vincent Thill either side of half-time to ensure Ireland emerged with a 0-0 friendly draw. 'You always use these games to get answers to questions,' Republic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said. 'We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this.' Price makes Iceland pay Isaac Price made the difference at both ends of the pitch as 10-man Northern Ireland clung on for a 1-0 friendly win over Iceland in their final match before the World Cup qualifying campaign. Price lit up a drab first half to put Michael O'Neill's side ahead, but then had to head off his own line as it turned into a defensive scrap after Brodie Spencer was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity. 'I don't think there's too many players come in and play international football and adapt to it as quickly as Isaac has,' O'Neill said. 'He has that ability just to do something a little bit different, a little bit special.' City get Cherki deal Manchester City have completed the signing of France midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon for an initial fee of 36million euros (£30.5m). The 21-year-old, who has signed a contract with City until 2030, moves after an impressive season with Lyon in which he scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists in 40 appearances. 'This is a dream for me,' said Cherki after becoming City's second signing of the day following goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. 'I have worked so hard for this all my life. 'I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future.' Tottenham face more Frank talks with Bees Tottenham are moving closer to reaching an agreement with Brentford over compensation to make Frank their new head coach but talks are entering a third day, the PA news agency understands. After positive initial talks over the weekend, Tottenham made an official approach to their Premier League rivals on Monday. Discussions continued into Tuesday and centred on Frank's contract at Brentford, which runs until the summer of 2027 and contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million. What's on today? The European Under-21 Championship gets under way with hosts Slovakia taking on runners-up from two years ago Spain in Bratislava. Defending champions England start their campaign on Thursday. Attention will also be focused on the outcome of Spurs' talks with Frank, after the early window for player movement closed on Tuesday.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Heimir Hallgrimsson seeks answers after disappointing draw
Heimir Hallgrimsson was left with more questions than answers after watching his Republic of Ireland side scrap out a 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg. The visitors twice hit the woodwork at the Stade de Luxembourg but needed two saves from keeper Max O'Leary, making his senior international debut six years after first being called up, to emerge with something to show for their efforts. It will be a very different team which the Icelander sends out for the opening qualifier against Hungary in Dublin in September, but it will also need to be a very different performance if Ireland are to launch their campaign with the kind of result they will need to stand a chance of making it to the finals. Asked what he would take from the game, head coach Hallgrimsson, who presided over a far more impressive 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday night, said: 'Firstly, you always use these games to get answers to questions. We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this tonight. 'The take from this is obviously when we go in September when the serious games start, we play a higher-ranked team first at home and then a lower-ranked team (Armenia) away just like we did now. We need to learn from this performance before September. 'We can take a lot of things. Mostly it's psychological or mental or whatever for the preparation. I know this is end-of-season so now everyone is in their off-season probably thinking, 'I don't want to get injured' or whatever they are thinking. 'But there's no excuse for a bad performance. Even if we would have scored in the end, I think still the performance was not good enough.' But for O'Leary, who saved from Danel Sinani before the break and substitute Vincent Thill after it, Ireland could have been looking at a repeat of their embarrassment when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier in March 2021. Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor hit the post and the bar respectively for the visitors, but they were pushed all the way by a side ranked 91st in the world by FIFA and Hallgrimsson was full of praise for the Bristol City keeper. He said: 'We have known that all these years, probably. I have worked with him for a year and he's always shown up, he's always done well in training, he's always supported the keeper that has been number one – which is Caoimhin [Kelleher] since I came and Gavin [Bazunu] before I came. 'He's just a fantastic team player, but he's also a good goalkeeper and now the fans got to see him.' Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz was pleased with what he saw from his team as they gear up for September's opening qualifier against Northern Ireland in the Grand Duchy. Holtz said: 'I'm very happy with the performance of my team. We managed to give big problems to Ireland. Ireland has a fantastic football team which plays with high speed and intensity and we managed to find solutions. 'This was a really good test for the upcoming match we play in September against Northern Ireland.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland 0 Luxembourg 0: How the Irish players rated
16: Max O'Leary (Bristol City) Needed a second chance to get hold of a cross in the 13th minute but just before the half-hour mark O'Leary made an impressive diving save high to his left to deny a goal-bound Sinani shot. Used his feet to block a near-post effort in the second half. A solid international debut. Rating: 7 5: Jake O'Brien (Everton) Suffered a bang to his head late on in what was an otherwise largely uneventful game for O'Brien. He tried to get up the field when Ireland were in possession but so much about this encounter felt like an end of season affair. Rating: 6 22: Nathan Collins (Brentford) Captained Ireland on the night and despite some scrappy defending by the team at times, they finished with a clean sheet. Collins went close to scoring with a first-half header but his effort hit the woodwork. Rating: 6 4: Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town) Showed good positioning and decision-making when heading Smallbone's free back across the face of the goal for Ireland's best goalscoring chance in the first half – only for Collins to be denied by the woodwork. Rating: 6 READ MORE 11: Robbie Brady (Preston North End) He was forced off injured after just 20 minutes, a disappointing end to what was a positive season for Brady in green. Brady pulled a free short from a decent crossing position early on. Rating: 4 17: Kasey McAteer (Leicester City) Showed good endeavour early in the second half to get on the end of a goalscoring opportunity but his left-footed shot bounced wide of the right post. Was full of workrate and ambition throughout, though his finishing wasn't on point. Rating: 6 8: Jason Knight (Bristol City) He got back well to put his body in the way and make an important block on a close-range shot from Jans in the opening stages of the second half, the Luxembourg captain's shot hitting Knight and ricocheting out for a corner. Worked hard all night to try energise Ireland. Rating: 6 Ireland's Killian Phillips and Jason Knight. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 24: Killian Phillips (St Mirren, on loan from Crystal Palace) It has been a very encouraging few days for Phillips, who built on his first Ireland appearance in the draw with Senegal by earning his maiden start in this game. But like most of his team-mates, struggled to make an impact in a low-tempo contest. Rating: 5 6: Will Smallbone (Southampton) The Southampton midfielder whipped in a lovely weighted pass from a free late in the first half and it created Ireland's best scoring chance in the opening period, O'Shea nodding the ball back across the face of the goal where Collins headed against the woodwork. Rating: 6 9: Evan Ferguson (West Ham United, on loan from Brighton) He struggled to carry any real attacking threat in what was a lacklustre fixture. The Meath man was booked for a foul on Carlson, which prevented a Luxembourg breakaway midway through the second half. Ferguson was taken off with 15 minutes to go. Rating: 5 7: Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar) The Dubliner had something of a running battle with Korac and won two frees early on after the Luxembourg defender was forced to drag him down. Battled well and produced a lovely dinked finish for a goal that was correctly ruled offside in the 66th minute. Rating: 7 Subs: Ryan Manning (Southampton); Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town); Festy Ebosele (Istanbul Basaksehir); Adam Idah (Celtic); Matt Doherty (Wolves); John Patrick (Stade De Reims) Manning was busy and made a very positive impact after his introduction. Ebosele and Taylor combined to create a good goalscoring chance soon after they came off the bench. Taylor also smacked the crossbar with a rasping shot late on. Doherty made an important late interception. Rating: 7 Manager: Heimir Hallgrímsson On what was his 58th birthday, Hallgrímsson was at least able to celebrate Ireland getting through this international window unbeaten. This match will not last long in the memory but over the course of the two games he did at least get to have a look at some new players in green. Rating: 6
