By "going through" you were referring to a 1st place finish with a guaranteed qualification, which went to Serbia, with a win and 21 pts, as opposed to the playoff route that Republic of Ireland are now in? Looking at the the final D group table, Austria, who also won and finished 4th on 15 pts were never going to overhaul either Wales or ROI for a playoff spot in the event of a 1-1 draw that would have left Wales on 18 pts and ROI on 17 pts. Team ...............P GD Pts 1 Serbia 10 10 21 2 R. of Ireland 10 6 19 3 Wales 10 7 17 4 Austria 10 2 15
If it had been a draw...Wales would not have gone through as one of the top runners up places...which is why I was suggesting that the best result for the two teams was for Wales not to score. I was trying to be sporting...
That stupid last minute booking for Meyler when he fouled Hennessy miles out of his area means he'll miss the 1st leg of the Play Off, he'll be a big miss in the middle of the park......
Some might be thinking 'karma' but I don't think they'll be jumping around and screaming irrationally as the Welsh team did. A Welsh team that most play and are paid very well playing for English teams.
Commiserations Beth. What we lack in obvious quality we make up for in effort. Wales were the better team but without Bale lacked any real penetration. I have always said that effort will go a long way to beating skill. To bring it closer to home, Holloway deserves huge credit for creating a team that our fans can actually relate to.
Also huge congrats to Iceland who have qualified for their first ever world cup finals, now that is a side punching way above their weight...... Heading there for a few days next summer......could be one hell of a party.....
We lacked quality too Nuts. But your desire and effort actually was better than ours. Well done ..victory was deserved. Now go on and qualify for both of us... And you are right about Holloway...he is creating a similar team with limited quality, just like tonight. I watched the U23 team today win vs Coventry. ...it was a very pleasant match to watch...
Yes, he will definitely be missed - played a great game today. McLean was perhaps lucky to stay on as the ref turned a blind eye to a potential 2nd bookable offence.
Thanks, I didn't delve that deep into the actual rankings of the runners up places - yes, very sporting of you as a draw would spoilt it for both teams.
That's good, because it was entirely aimed at the Welsh players, not the fans, who were magnificent last night.
At least we don't have to watch the embarrassing Welsh copy the Icelandic Thunderclap like they did at the last Euros and try to steal the thunder any more, of which obviously there is none, when Bale is out. On a brighter note, at least none of our boys have got injured during this campaign. Washington looked alright for NI though he couldn't score. But lets see what happens with the Socceroos as Mass is in the team for their playoffs.
