Republic of Ireland v Austria: Fast start required to enable a home win

 

With an excellent point secured in Stockholm on Friday night the Republic's chances of reaching the play-offs have taken a boost, but they must beat Austria says  Daniel McDonnell...

 

Rep of Ireland v Austria

Tuesday 19:45, live on Sky Sports 2

 

After a confident display in Sweden on Friday to earn a deserved draw, Ireland face a different kind of pressure going into Tuesday's visit of Austria at the Aviva  Stadium. They went to Stockholm knowing they could not afford to lose. This time around, it is a game they have to win.

 

Solid performances on the road were the bulwark of Ireland's march to Euro 2012. Giovanni Trapattoni remains undefeated in a competitive qualifier on his travels.

 

The home record is unimpressive, however. Armenia, Georgia, Macedonia, Cyprus and Andorra are the five teams that his Irish side have registered a home victory against  in a competitive match at the renovated Lansdowne Road. It is hardly a stellar list.

 

Armenia are comfortably the best of those, a new nation with an emerging squad of young players. Austria are a famous football nation having reached seven World Cup  finals dating back to 1934 but, in some respects, they have a similar profile to the Armenians; they are placing their faith in youth and are likely to be a stronger  team in the next campaign regardless of how they get on in the World Cup 2014 race.

 

After a forced process of change since Euro 2012, you could probably say the same for Ireland as well given how they shaped up on Friday, and the loss of Robbie Keane  to injury has taken out the most experienced member of that side.

 

But the performance against Sweden has increased expectation that a play-off spot is attainable and therefore there is pressure to deliver against the Austrians.

 

The hope is that Ireland can demonstrate a fresh positive approach at home, inspired by the new dimension offered by full backs Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson, the  growing maturity of central midfielder James McCarthy and an extended run in the team for striker Shane Long.

 

Trapattoni's decision to select Conor Sammon as Long's partner has raised eyebrows; the skills of Wes Hoolahan would be preferred or even a recall for Kevin Doyle.  However, it is clear that he believes Sammon's physicality can pose a threat to a talented Austrian side.

 

They will be looking to Bayern Munich's David Alaba for inspiration. The 20-year-old is left back for his club, but central midfield for his country. Meanwhile,  enigmatic Werder Bremen star Marko Arnautovic is another player to look out for; he is brilliant on a good day, terrible on a bad one.

 

Sometimes, the Aviva Stadium is too welcoming for visiting sides and Ireland will need to play at a high tempo and prevent a capable Austrian team from getting into  their stride and dominating possession.

 

The signs from Stockholm were promising and the key to success for Ireland is making a good start pay; they generally burst out of the blocks well under Trapattoni  before sometimes retreating into a shell. Indeed, they led at half time in four out of the five home successes mentioned above, a statistic that extends to the  majority of the wins secured away from home.

 

The trading odds of 2.16 about a home win aren't the most attractive so take Ireland/Ireland Half Time/Full Time at 3.75 and the small play on the  2.84 about an Irish half time-lead as a saver seeing as they tend to lose the initiative.

 

But this Irish team do have good options on the bench and the circumstances of the game can suit Wes Hoolahan's introduction. In the friendly dismissal of Poland, his  introduction helped Ireland keep the ball with a 1-0 lead and he eventually added a second.

 

While Austria's attacking options - young gun Philippe Hosiner is vying with veteran Marc Janko - mean they are capable of scoring, take Trapattoni's men to secure the  victory with their popular winning Correct Score of 2-1 which is trading at 10.5.

 

Take a speculative punt on a First Goal in 11-20 Minutes, while Ireland's approach on Friday yielded corner kick opportunities and the more direct approach with Sammon  involved make the natives the call in the Corners Match Bet.

 

Recommended Bets

Back Ireland HT/Ireland FT @ 3.75

Back Ireland in Half Time market @ 2.84

Back 2-1 Correct Score @ 10.5

Back First Goal 11-20 Minutes @ 5.0 or better

Back Ireland in Corners Match Bet @ 1.7 or better

 

Bet HERE

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