Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark McCadden

Republic of Ireland v Norway player ratings as Boys in Green lose 2-1

Gavin Bazunu: He could do nothing to stop Leo Ostigard’s bullet header, won a personal battle with Ola Solbakken, but ultimately came out on the losing side. 6

Nathan Collins: Alarm bells were ringing when he was caught flat-footed for the run of Elyounoussi midway through the first-half. Produced an important block on the same player later in the half, but was poor for Norway’s second goal. 5

John Egan: It was Egan’s job to track the run of Ostigard for Norway’s opener and he was caught short. Should have equalised from a Robinson cross five minutes after the break. 6

Dara O’Shea: It was a quiet night for the man on the left-hand-side of Ireland’s three-man defence. 6

Matt Doherty: One of Ireland’s sharper players on a night when most looked a yard or so off the pace. Did his best to kick start attacks down the right. 7

Josh Cullen: Anchored midfield with a solid, if unspectacular display. Always looking for the ball from his defence, he found little in the way of options whenever he looked up-field. 6

Alan Browne: Looked to be Ireland’s most dangerous attacking player in an improved second-half performance all-round. Scored an excellent goal after going close on a couple of occasions. 7

Jayson Molumby: Produced an important challenge to stop Solbakken’s advance inside the area on the half-hour and showed glimpses of decent play going forward. 6

Callum O’Dowda: Looked lively on the left early on and sent over some promising crosses, before fading. Should have scored with a back-post header in the second-half. 7

Callum Robinson: His early shot, albeit well off target, was a false promise of what was to come in the first-half. Looked sharper after the introduction of Ogbene after struggling to link up with Obafemi. 6

Michael Obafemi: Struggled with his link-up play and found it difficult to make space in a crowded Norway defence, but showed flashes of ability, including some nice footwork early in the second-half to almost tee up Browne. 5

SUBS: Robbie Brady (for O’Dowda 75): Had little impact. 5

Chiedozie Ogbene (for Obafemi 75): Looked sharp, but struggled for service. 5

Jeff Hendrick (for Molumby 82): Not on long enough to rate.

Evan Ferguson (for Browne 88): Not on long enough to rate.

SUBS NOT USED: Caoimhin Kelleher, Mark Travers, Seamus Coleman, James McClean, Will Smallbone, Jamie McGrath, Mark Sykes, Liam Scales, Darragh Lenihan.

NORWAY: Orjan Nyland 6; Marcus Pedersen 6 (Julian Ryerson 65, 6), Stefan Strandberg 6, Leo Ostigard 6, Fredrik Bjorkan 5 (Birger Meling 65, 5); Ola Solbakken 7 (Kristoffer Zachariassen 63, 6), Martin Odegaard 7, Patrick Berg 7 (Stian Gregersen 90), Morten Thorsby 6 (Ola Brynhildsen 74, 6), Mohamed Elyounoussi 5; Jorgen Larsen 5 (Ohi Omoijuanfo 74, 5).

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.