EURO 2016 - Poland 1-0 N Ireland

Poland 1-0 N Ireland

Arkadiusz Milik 51

Michael O’Neill stared into the middle distance as Kyle Lafferty covered his face in his green shirt, Jonny Evans sank to his haunches and despair was writ large on the Northern Ireland players. They had come to make history in their country’s first appearance at a European Championship but Poland beat them to it, recording their first victory in the competition after two fruitless campaigns. The anguished reaction was legitimate but so was the defeat.

Poland were dominant throughout against a Northern Ireland side that set out to stifle, absorb and counter the threat of Robert Lewandowski and co but could not pull off the job cleanly. Arkadiusz Milik’s strike early in the second half, ironically after the Northern Ireland manager had opted for a more positive approach, settled a game that illustrated the strengths of those in green but also their limitations. Wojciech Szczesny was barely troubled in the Poland goal until clattering into his own player in stoppage time.

O’Neill’s side did well to survive the opening five minutes without conceding, never mind a first half in which a resolute rearguard action, excellent goalkeeping, good fortune and poor Polish finishing conspired to preserve Northern Ireland’s impressive defensive record. Since qualifying for their first European Championship in October they had conceded only one goal in five matches, and that was a penalty. The remarkable rise of this team has been based on defensive discipline and organisation but they stretched it to the limit against Poland. At times, the Northern Ireland performance resembled a fitting tribute to Muhammad Ali, attempting to revive rope-a-dope tactics in the week ‘The Greatest’ was laid to rest.

Adam Nawalka’s players swarmed over the men in green from the outset. Poland were quicker to the ball and crossed from both flanks under minimal pressure as the opening game in Group C immediately resembled a game of defence versus attack. In the opening five minutes alone they won a dangerous free-kick when Gareth McAuley left an early impression on Milik; a corner, had three shots blocked by Northern Ireland defenders and missed a clear opening when Milik failed to connect with a ball that deflected into his path off Chris Baird. By contrast, Northern Ireland supporters cheered the award of a throw to their team in the final third.

The game was played amid a vibrant, passionate and hugely welcome atmosphere and, despite the risky strategy, Northern Ireland’s game plan worked until the interval. Michael McGovern, the Hamilton Academical goalkeeper, did not have a save to make until the 29th minute when the lively Milik let fly from 25 yards. Moments later the Ajax forward, Robert Lewandowski’s strike partner, was guilty of a glaring miss having collected Lukasz Piszczek’s ball from the byline and evaded two challenges only to slice high and wide from close range.

Steven Davis put in a tireless shift as the link between eight defensive players and Kyle Lafferty, as well as paying close attention to the influential Grzegorz Krychowiak, but there was little opportunity for others to venture forward on the counterattack. Lafferty was a lone and lonely centre-forward.

Poland did appear to be running out of ideas in those moments before half-time when, no matter how often they switched play or changed corner-takers, the head, thigh or knee of the commanding Evans and McAuley would invariably intervene. Their frustrations mounted when Milik crossed into the penalty area and Lafferty escaped with a handball. The ball eventually dropped to Bartosz Kapustka who appeared destined to open the scoring with a superb volley towards the top corner but McGovern bettered his efforts to tip over.

The pressure on the Northern Ireland defence, if not perhaps their goal, was unrelenting and encouraged O’Neill to tweak his approach for the second half. Stuart Dallas replaced Paddy McNair at half-time with a view to giving the team an outlet but within six minutes of the restart the Northern Ireland manager may have wished he had persisted with his ultra-conservative approach.

Poland once again started ferociously but this time seized on the first opportunity that fell their way. Jakub Blaszczykowski, a persistent menace on the right, instigated the breakthrough with a determined run and measured pass inside to Milik. The striker had learned his lessons and released his shot instantly, giving two defenders no chance to block the ball as it arrowed inside McGovern’s left hand corner.

Northern Ireland had to open up despite the inevitability of presenting Poland with chances to double their lead, a task Blaszczykowski, Milik and Krychowiak were unable to deliver from second-half breaks. McAuley and McLaughlin both had moments to scare the Polish defence but the best opening fell to their best player, Davis, four minutes from time when Oliver Norwood’s clever free-kick found the captain peeling away from his marker. Davis was free inside the area as the ball arrived down his right. There was only Szczesny to beat. But the midfielder failed to connect and a glorious opportunity had gone.

Guardian