Republic of Ireland 3-1 New Zealand: Maguire catches the eye in Dublin triumph

Republic of Ireland 3-1 New Zealand: Maguire catches the eye in Dublin triumph

Sean Maguire pulled the strings as the Republic of Ireland beat New Zealand 3-1 in their Dublin friendly.

The Preston North End forward scored the goal of the game and was the home team’s most lively performer, with Blackburn Rovers‘ Derrick Williams and Sheffield United‘s Callum Robinson also netting for Mick McCarthy’s side.

For all three scorers, the goals were their first at international level.

Youngster Callum McCowatt had given New Zealand a lead on the half-hour mark and he caught the eye more than Burnley‘s Chris Wood, before the All Whites ran out of steam.

Your @ThreeIreland Man of the Match…

Sean Maguire#IRLNZ #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/urtxvNNUpu

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) November 14, 2019

Thursday’s clash was a warm-up, ostensibly, for the Republic before a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark, but it was a fringe team selected by McCarthy.

The home side had the first clear chance but left-back Williams could only produce a shot-cum-clearance from 12 yards after Alan Browne’s cross.

New Zealand – appearing after a 525-day absence from the senior international stage – broke through when the hosts’ backline was picked apart and McCowatt slid home a fine cross from the left by Liberato Cacace.

It made for a promising start to the reign of new head coach Danny Hay, the former Leeds United and New Zealand defender who in August succeeded Fritz Schmid in the post.

However, Ireland ultimately overpowered their visitors. Williams surpassed his earlier wayward effort on the stroke of half-time, heading in Robbie Brady’s corner for an equaliser.

New Zealand captain Winston Reid was substituted at half-time, the West Ham defender having made his first senior appearance since March 2018 after a knee injury.

Ireland went in front after 52 minutes when Maguire cracked a 20-yard strike into the top-right corner, and he created a string of chances for others.

Robinson grabbed the Republic’s third in the 75th minute, meeting Lee O’Connor’s fine cross from the right with a stooping header from eight yards.

What does it mean?

Not even McCarthy was seriously looking for a statement performance to send out a warning to Denmark. The XI that faces the Danes will be pretty much unrecognisable, as McCarthy has already acknowledged. This game afforded the kids a chance, seeing who might become contenders for a tournament Ireland might not even reach. For New Zealand, a new dawn under Hay means dreams of reaching the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals. The more games they play, the better. Just what have they been doing for the last year and a half?

FULL-TIME | The win goes to Ireland but Danny Hay will take plenty of positives from his first game in charge

3-1 #IRLNZL #AllWhites #NovemberTour pic.twitter.com/rGwVokl606

— New Zealand Football (@NZ_Football) November 14, 2019

Maguire stakes a claim

On a chilly night in Dublin, Maguire was a livewire on the right side of Ireland’s front three. He may be the big beneficiary of this friendly, a player that could come in and make things happen for the Irish back at their home stadium on Monday.

Voting with their feet

The Irish public made it clear what they thought of this game. The stands were half empty, being generous, for what was a glorified training game. It will be a different story on Monday.

What’s next?

Beat Denmark next week and the Republic will be through to the Euro 2020 finals. New Zealand will not face another near 18-month wait for a fixture, with their next game coming up on Sunday against Lithuania.