Interim Republic of Eire boss John O’Shea backed Evan Ferguson to finish his purpose 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 purpose for both membership or nation to 21 video games relationship again to the tip of November.
Requested about Ferguson’s barren spell, O’Shea stated: “It’s a kind of issues. He’ll have one other spell 5, six years down the road of a few months and not using a purpose. It occurs with prime strikers.
“As quickly as he will get on the purpose path once more, he’ll be again on a run once more.”
Ferguson’s large 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 together 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 teen 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 might once more, acquired his confidence going and it’s a kind of issues. He was unfortunate with one – he acquired himself in an awesome place second half as nicely.”
O’Shea, taking cost of the primary of two friendlies with Switzerland to return 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 crew firstly to be troublesome 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 crew had been strong and threatened most by way of Ferguson’s physicality and Chiedozie Ogbene’s tempo, though with out discovering a well beyond keeper Sels.
Assume all of us felt like this in some unspecified time in the future at the moment
So near that successful purpose
