Interim Republic of Eire boss John O’Shea backed Evan Ferguson to finish his objective drought after seeing the Brighton teenager miss a penalty throughout Saturday’s 0-0 pleasant draw with Belgium.
The 19-year-old striker had a first-half spot-kick saved by Matz Sels on the Aviva Stadium to increase his run and not using a objective for both membership or nation to 21 video games courting again to the tip of November.
Requested about Ferguson’s barren spell, O’Shea stated: “It’s a type of issues. He’ll have one other spell 5, six years down the road of a few months and not using a objective. It occurs with high strikers.
“As quickly as he will get on the objective path once more, he’ll be again on a run once more.”
Ferguson’s massive second got here 24 minutes into the sport when fellow teenager Arthur Vermeeren was adjudged to have dealt with.
Nonetheless, Ferguson slipped as he approached the ball and Sels blocked his mishit try along with his legs.
O’Shea stated: “It was simply unlucky. Ev had a bit of slip simply earlier than he knocked it, so it will have put him off. However look, a teenager stepping up like that, it exhibits the braveness he has and he didn’t let it have an effect on him.
“He knocked into the centre-backs as quickly as he may once more, acquired his confidence going and it’s a type of issues. He was unfortunate with one – he acquired himself in an incredible place second half as nicely.”
O’Shea, taking cost of the primary of two friendlies with Switzerland to come back in Dublin on Tuesday night, blended the previous with the brand new as he recalled former team-mates Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady and handed a debut to Blackburn striker Sammie Szmodics.
Unsurprisingly, he reverted largely to kind, asking his group firstly to be tough to beat after three and a half years of promise, however not outcomes, beneath Stephen Kenny earlier than he misplaced his job in November.
As Eire had been all through a lot of his 118-cap worldwide profession, O’Shea’s group have been strong and threatened most by Ferguson’s physicality and Chiedozie Ogbene’s tempo, though with out discovering a well beyond keeper Sels.
Suppose all of us felt like this sooner or later right now
So near that successful objective
