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Roy Keane was not impressed by what he felt was an “awful” second-half performance from England under Lee Carsley against the Republic of Ireland, insisting that his nation were “there for the taking” in Dublin.
The visitors got their Nations League campaign off to a winning start under interim manager Carsley thanks to goals from the returning Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, both scoring against the nation they represented at youth level before half time.
It was an impressive display from England until that point, with Grealish’s goal coming from a slick passing move through midfield, but the play from both sides after the break was scrappy and Ireland were presented with a couple of half-chances to get back into the game.
It was a familiar pattern from England after taking the lead often seen during Gareth Southgate’s time in charge, but Carsley was not concerned by his side taking their foot off the pedal.
“I think you’ve got to give Ireland credit as well,” the interim manager said. “They are very resilient and they closed the gaps. We found it more difficult, but at 2-0 we were very comfortable.”
Former Republic of Ireland captain Keane was full of praise for England’s performance before half time but slammed how they came out after the break.
“Ireland were there for the taking,” he said on ITV. “England were dominant in the first half and we praised their decision-making, quality and movement.
“But I thought they were awful in the second half - they played within themselves, took too many touches, tried playing ‘Roy of the Rovers’ passes.
“As good as England were in the first half, I thought they were as bad in the second.”
Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze came off the bench late on and had chances to add to England’s lead, but Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes had to wait until the 75th minute to make their debuts.
England dominated possession throughout and will host Finland at Wembley on Tuesday after looking to make it two wins out of two in the Nations League second tier.
