It is rather rare to see three Town players starting for their national team. However, this is exactly what happened when the Republic of Ireland faced England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at the weekend, as 50,000 fans watched this fascinating spectacle.
It was a curious confrontation for several reasons. Both new managers were making their debut and in the case of England’s Lee Carley, his loyalties were torn because he played for the Irish team on 40 occasions before he went into coaching. This might explain why he did not sing the British national anthem, although he argues that he never sang the Irish national anthem either because he cannot sing and would prefer to concentrate on the match ahead. He was not the only one disassociated with the Three Lions flag. When Declan Rice scored England’s first, he chose not to celebrate, as he had played in three friendlies for the Irish before he changed allegiances. Jack Grealish, who scored the visitors second put his fingers in his ears as the home crowd jeered. He had also represented the Irish at youth level so, this might explain it.
As for our Ipswich trio, they played their part from the start and Ireland and Ipswich winger Chiadozie Ogbene who heralds from Nigeria, was their country’s stand-out performer. His pace was electric and gave the England defence a torrid time. It could have been a lot worse if his distribution had been better. Sammie Szmodics had arguably the best chances of the game and in the first half tested Jordan Pickford with a rasping drive, and he fluffed his lines in the second half with an even better chance.
I am afraid the other Town player Dara O’Shea did not cover himself in glory, and it might explain why he is yet to feature for Ipswich in a Premier League match. I have not been convinced by his defensive capabilities so far, but it is early days in a long Premier League season. Having played for the Irish 26 times he must have some attributes that eventually catch the eye. He played 35 games in the Prem last season with Burnley and scored four times, so he obviously knows where the net is too!
