Following the Rep. of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia, a game played in severely limited visibility due to foggy conditions, the FAI have confirmed they are “looking into” acquiring fog machines for the return leg if “the weather doesn’t oblige”.
The fog affected Bosnia’s passing game, but surprisingly had little to no effect on Ireland’s long-ball tactic. Ciaran Clark told RTE: “It’s not like we usually know where we’re passing it to anyway, so not being able to see Daryl [Murphy] didn’t make much difference. Honestly, I thought it was Keane up front all along.”
Described by Ray Houghton as “the greatest goal you’ll never see”, Robbie Brady thought he had secured a priceless away win with his 81st minute strike. However, Edin Dzeko’s quick equaliser ensured there’ll be a tense return leg at the Aviva, where the FAI are encouraging fans attending Monday’s game to light flares or small bonfires in the stands to help the “Irish cause”.
Overall the foggy conditions were an overwhelming success, as most RTE viewers found the fog to be “more entertaining” than watching the Irish, according to the national broadcaster.
The Bosnian manager said the limited visibility helped Ireland more than his side. “It’s a lot easier to play without the ball, when you can’t even see it,” he said.
The Republic of Ireland are notoriously difficult to break down, and Martin O’Neill said the weather really helped his side. “This is probably the best Ireland have played for the past 20 years,” O’Neill said, “and as no one has any evidence to suggest otherwise, you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
Speaking about the opening goal, O’Neill admitted he forgot Brady was on the pitch, but was delighted to “see” it go in, saying, “it was a truly great goal, I think.”
Ireland’s poor passing on the night was blamed on a lack of visibility, however no explanation was offered for Ireland’s poor passing in the 10 previous Euro qualifying games.
