Shay Given made a vital
contribution to Ireland's qualification to Euro 2016.
Getting injured against Germany
Reinstalled to the No.1 position in March previous, the Donegal man wasn't exactly building a fortress in his goal. While Ireland did have the best defensive record in their qualifying group, this came down to the efforts of the back four. It wasn't down to the Shay of old keeping the score down. Old Shay looked suspect in goal. Peszko for Poland and an O'Shea OG against Scotland were both goals that could have been avoided. Given seemed far too flat footed between the sticks and to me, looked a beaten man before a shot was taken. He was rarely troubled against Gibraltar and Georgia but that's to be expected.
The decline began even before we qualified for Euro 2012, He conceded soft goals at home against Armenia and Estonia in the playoffs. He was unfortunate to have gotten injured in the build-up to Euro 2012 and when watching the Croatia game back again, it was clear he wasn't 100% fit. Some argued his pride got in the way and that Keiran Westwood should have started ahead of him. I wouldn't entirely blame Given for that. I don't want to believe he put personal gain ahead of his country. Yet since then it's hard to ignore that there may be a bit of truth to that notion. He cut short his retirement from international football after the tournament to return in 2013. The reason, according to Given, was that he didn't want to look back on his career and feel he retired too soon. Giovanni Trapattoni, then manager, didn't entertain his return and stuck with David Forde, third choice keeper at Euro 2012. Forde acquitted himself very well. He was Ireland's best player in a defeat away to Germany in 2013 and repeated the same heroics a year later as Ireland snatched a draw late on against the World Champions.
For reasons unknown to me and maybe others, Martin O'Neill; who brought Given back into the squad, demoted Forde before the Poland game and started Given that evening. He retained his place right through to the return Germany fixture in October last year. He wasn't called upon to make any saves under intense German pressure. John O’Shea made a last ditch block from Muller before Mesut Ozil did score a goal. However, it was ruled out for offside. More alarmingly, it was another tame effort that had beaten Given in my opinion. With the game at 0-0 and while taking a goal kick, Given tweaked something in his right knee. After 10 minutes struggling with it, he couldn't go on. Not before Ozil again put hearts in Irish mouths narrowly missing the target with a first time shot. Given was rooted to the spot, unable to move with his injury. The common consensus in the stands, and the commentary box was that Forde was about to replace Given. It did seem like a no brainer. The Galway man had twice played against the Germans before and performed heroics. Although he was now out of favour at Millwall, he had never let Ireland down before and was a capable replacement.
O'Neill had other ideas.
The sight of Darren Randolph putting on his gloves surprised both George Hamilton and Jim Beglin in the commentary box. It left myself and probably other Irish fans in the stands bemused. One fan beside me, from Galway, was irate that his fellow Galway man in Forde was left on the bench. It was an unexpected move from O'Neill, one he probably didn't expect to make but one he had no doubt about. The players, and more importantly, Randolph himself, were not fazed. As he ran onto the pitch, he gave a reassuring wink and thumbs up to his team-mates. He knew the magnitude of this moment, the game, and the decision. This was something he was dreaiming of all his life. His last previous Ireland appearance came as a sub in a 2013 friendly against Spain, and the only other one against Oman a year previous. And when the crowd roared their appreciation upon his first touch, he was settled as Ireland's goalkeeper.
It’s been a strange road from Bray to becoming Ireland’s first choice goalkeeper at Euro 2016. He played underage football with Ardmore Rovers before joining Charlton Athletic in 2003. In his 7 years at the club, he would make 16 appearances, one for every year he was alive when he originally signed. There were a number of loan moves during this time but he couldn’t cement a first team place at any of these clubs. Whenever he returned to Charlton, relegated from the Premier League in 2007, he would be down the pecking order. It didn’t help his prospects that he refused to play an FA Cup game for Hereford United in 2008. The club were planning to bring in another goalkeeper, despite Randolph’s fine form across 17 games. It ended his time at Hereford, and although Charlton supported their goalkeeper, he still couldn’t make the breakthrough. Only towards the end of his time at Athletic in 2009-10 did he cement a starting position, through injury to future Ireland team-mate Rob Elliot. The club, now in League 1, reached the playoffs, only to lose to Swindon Town.
Randolph was offered another contract at Charlton but decided to move to Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League. It was a gutsy move but one that offered first team football and a chance to continue his development. It was here I got to see more of him. He established himself as No.1 at the club and saw his team reach the Scottish Cup Final in his first season. He could do nothing to stop Celtic however, who won the game 3-0. His second season at saw him complete an ever-present season for the first time in his career and also be named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for 2011/12. He repeated this feat the following year as Motherwell became the next in line to challenge Celtic in Scottish Football, after Rangers’ liquidation. They didn’t offer much fight and their forays into Europe never went past the qualifying rounds. Despite this, his fine form up north did not go unnoticed as Birmingham swooped in to offer Randolph a contract after his Motherwell one expired. He was immediately installed as the clubs No.1 goalkeeper in the Championship while fellow Irishman Colin Doyle played Cup games. It was another step-up but Randolph acquitted himself well, only losing his place through suspension. He saw out his two year contract amid interest from the Premier League. This would materialise in a move to West Ham United in the summer of 2015.
While his club career has been eventful, his International career saw him earmarked early on as his potential Senior hopeful. He featured for Ireland right through from U15 level to U-21 before eventually receiving a full call-up to the Senior squad in 2011 against Macedonia in a Euro 2012 qualifier. It would be another year and a half before he made his full debut in a friendly against Oman in September 2012. This would be followed up by an appearance against Spain the following summer. His fine club form, in addition to the initial retirement of Shay Given saw Randolph feature often in squads from that point on. It was generally accepted that he was third/fourth choice goalkeeper for Ireland and that this wouldn’t change any time soon.
Upon joining West Ham, he made his debut in a Europa League qualifier against Lusitanos of Andorra in the Europa League qualifying rounds. In the next round against Astra Giurgiu he was less than convincing as the English club crashed out of the competition to their unfancied Romanian opponents. It was not a good start and cast a lot of doubts amongst the Hammers faithful. He redeemed himself to an extent when, after first choice keeper Adrian was sent off at the beginning of the season, he got an opportunity to start in goal. Although he shipped three goals against Bournemouth in a 4-3 victory, he did keep a clean sheet away to Liverpool at the end of August in a 3-0 win. It was West Hams first triumph at Anfield since 1963. Although Adrian returned as No.1 upon serving his three match ban, Randolph remained first choice in all cup competitions. He excelled himself in the FA Cup, the highlight being another clean sheet at Anfield as he went on a one man mission to deny Liverpool that night and in the replay which West Ham won 2-1 after extra-time. In the next round, he was clearly impeded by Bastian Schweinsteiger while trying to get across and block Anthony Martials equaliser late on. It forced a replay which United prevailed in. West Ham would get some measure of revenge in halting United’s efforts to finish in the top four in a 3-2 win which Randolph featured in. He would play the final three games of the season heading into the summer.
Against that early season backdrop, few still would have seen Randolph coming on at any stage against Germany. However, he took the opportunity and has not looked back. An assured performance was topped off by providing an inch perfect long ball for Shane Long to hammer home the decisive goal in a 1-0 win. While some argued Forde should have come on, no one can argue that he would not have played as good a pass Randolph did for that assist. Ireland held on for a historic victory, with the Bray man called upon to make two saves to maintain that advantage. He held onto the No.1 spot for the trip to Poland, the last group game where both countries had a chance of automatic qualification. There was little he could do to stop a rocket of a header from the in-form Robert Lewandowski that evening and every Irish player was caught out by Poland’s first goal. A corner was played outside the box to Grzegorz Krychowiak, who fired a volley that flew through a sea of bodies and a minor deflection to rest in the bottom corner. Ireland lost 2-1 on the night and now faced a playoff encounter against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Randolph remained in goal for both legs of the playoff. In the first leg, now made memorable by the thick fog that enveloped the pitch, he acquitted himself in the harsh conditions, saving a header in the first half and rushing out of his goal quickly to deny a breakthrough on goal. In the extreme conditions, he could count himself unlucky that Edin Dzeko managed to score a late goal that forced a 1-1 draw. In the return leg in Dublin, he was assured throughout. While Bosnia did struggle to create chances, the only time they managed to beat the goalkeeper was when they hit the crossbar in injury time. It was irrelevant however, as Ireland were winning 2-0 on the night to secure a 3-1 aggregate win. Randolph and the Republic of Ireland would be playing at Euro 2016.
Even despite these solid performances, questions remained about who should be Ireland’s No.1 goalkeeper. In competition with Randolph, were Rob Elliott, his former club mate now at Newcastle. He was having a fine season for the relegation strugglers and was getting regular first team football in the Premier League, something Randolph wasn’t. There was Keiran Westwood at Sheffield Wednesday, where he was eventually voted Championship goalkeeper of the 2015/16 season. Given and Forde were also still in the background and not being ruled out by O’Neill. The March friendlies saw Randolph keep a clean sheet in the first game against Switzerland before being called upon to replace Elliott in the second game against Slovakia. Elliott had suffered a freak cruciate ligament injury and would miss the Euros. It all but confirmed Darren’s position as No.1 for the Euro’s, even if some wondered about the squad numbers given for the tournament. Westwood was given the No.1 jersey and Given got the No.16 jersey. It turned out that he requested the No.23 jersey, as he had always worn it since he played for Ireland.
I wrote the majority of this piece before Euro 2016, and planned to finish it with a statement imploring that Darren Randolph and Darren Randolph alone should be our No.1 keeper. I need not have worried. Brays finest would start all 3 group games as Ireland qualified for the knockout stages for the first time in a European competition. Once again, to no surprise of those who backed him, he would acquit himself very well in the tournament. Only a Ciaran Clark own goal would get past him in the first game against Sweden which finished 1-1. The second game, against Belgium, was a disaster for Ireland. After a first half where Ireland rode their luck at times and Randolph was called upon to keep things intact, the team lost all defensive discipline in the second half and the Belgians duly ran riot. There was little he could do to stop Belgium scoring three times in the second half to put our qualifying hopes on a knife edge. Going into the last game against Italy, Ireland needed simply to win to qualify for the last 16. In a game, which the Irish would dominate against an already qualified Italian team, Randolph for the most part was relaxed. So relaxed at one stage he received the ball inside his own box and turned inside to elude the pressure of the oncoming Simone Zaza. It brought cheers from the huge Irish presence in the crowd. The Italians would manage to get the better of him late on when Lorenzo Insigne struck the post from distance but it would be Ireland who would have the last laugh. Robbie Brady scored a historic goal that would set up a last 16 clash against the hosts France in Lyon.
Playing the hosts was never going to be easy but the Irish team put in a heroic effort in the first half that saw them lead 1-0 at the break. Shane Long won a penalty inside the first minute which Brady hammered home. The French rallied and tested Randolph with numerous shots for the rest of the half. He clutched every single one of them in his chest. In the second half, the pressure rose and Paul Pogba launched a fierce shot that required a fully stretched Randolph to deny him. Eventually the dam gave way however when Antoine Griezmann’s header was too powerful for Randolph to keep out. Two minutes later, a defensive mix-up left Griezmann through in on goal and he made no mistake. Despite the sending off of Shane Duffy leaving Ireland down to 10 men, it would stay 2-1. France had their chances but between poor finishing and good goalkeeping, there would be no more goals. A heroic effort from every player was of no consolation to the Irish goalkeeper however, as he broke down in tears after the final whistle.
It was a tough defeat to take but Randolph should take solace in the fact he received all round praise for his performance against France and indeed for the tournament. If there was any doubt that he should be Ireland’s first choice goalkeeper then I need to hear these doubts. Never have I been so convinced of a player’s position on the starting eleven. Never have I seen a goalkeeper look so assured in goal and give the defence confidence. Irelands qualifying was built on a solid defensive discipline that can only continue to shine with the Bray man in goal. Yes, he needs to get regular football. Yes, Keiran Westwood and Rob Elliot when he returns from injury will offer solid competition but I am steadfast in my doubt that Darren Randolph should be Ireland’s No.1 goalkeeper for years to come. Something few of us would have ever believed twelve months ago.
My girlfriend told me after we lost to France, that she was beginning to have a slight crush on Darren Randolph and said we should invite him to dinner if we ever get the chance.
I wouldn’t hesitate to invite himself myself to be honest.
Getting injured against Germany
Reinstalled to the No.1 position in March previous, the Donegal man wasn't exactly building a fortress in his goal. While Ireland did have the best defensive record in their qualifying group, this came down to the efforts of the back four. It wasn't down to the Shay of old keeping the score down. Old Shay looked suspect in goal. Peszko for Poland and an O'Shea OG against Scotland were both goals that could have been avoided. Given seemed far too flat footed between the sticks and to me, looked a beaten man before a shot was taken. He was rarely troubled against Gibraltar and Georgia but that's to be expected.
The decline began even before we qualified for Euro 2012, He conceded soft goals at home against Armenia and Estonia in the playoffs. He was unfortunate to have gotten injured in the build-up to Euro 2012 and when watching the Croatia game back again, it was clear he wasn't 100% fit. Some argued his pride got in the way and that Keiran Westwood should have started ahead of him. I wouldn't entirely blame Given for that. I don't want to believe he put personal gain ahead of his country. Yet since then it's hard to ignore that there may be a bit of truth to that notion. He cut short his retirement from international football after the tournament to return in 2013. The reason, according to Given, was that he didn't want to look back on his career and feel he retired too soon. Giovanni Trapattoni, then manager, didn't entertain his return and stuck with David Forde, third choice keeper at Euro 2012. Forde acquitted himself very well. He was Ireland's best player in a defeat away to Germany in 2013 and repeated the same heroics a year later as Ireland snatched a draw late on against the World Champions.
For reasons unknown to me and maybe others, Martin O'Neill; who brought Given back into the squad, demoted Forde before the Poland game and started Given that evening. He retained his place right through to the return Germany fixture in October last year. He wasn't called upon to make any saves under intense German pressure. John O’Shea made a last ditch block from Muller before Mesut Ozil did score a goal. However, it was ruled out for offside. More alarmingly, it was another tame effort that had beaten Given in my opinion. With the game at 0-0 and while taking a goal kick, Given tweaked something in his right knee. After 10 minutes struggling with it, he couldn't go on. Not before Ozil again put hearts in Irish mouths narrowly missing the target with a first time shot. Given was rooted to the spot, unable to move with his injury. The common consensus in the stands, and the commentary box was that Forde was about to replace Given. It did seem like a no brainer. The Galway man had twice played against the Germans before and performed heroics. Although he was now out of favour at Millwall, he had never let Ireland down before and was a capable replacement.
O'Neill had other ideas.
The sight of Darren Randolph putting on his gloves surprised both George Hamilton and Jim Beglin in the commentary box. It left myself and probably other Irish fans in the stands bemused. One fan beside me, from Galway, was irate that his fellow Galway man in Forde was left on the bench. It was an unexpected move from O'Neill, one he probably didn't expect to make but one he had no doubt about. The players, and more importantly, Randolph himself, were not fazed. As he ran onto the pitch, he gave a reassuring wink and thumbs up to his team-mates. He knew the magnitude of this moment, the game, and the decision. This was something he was dreaiming of all his life. His last previous Ireland appearance came as a sub in a 2013 friendly against Spain, and the only other one against Oman a year previous. And when the crowd roared their appreciation upon his first touch, he was settled as Ireland's goalkeeper.
It’s been a strange road from Bray to becoming Ireland’s first choice goalkeeper at Euro 2016. He played underage football with Ardmore Rovers before joining Charlton Athletic in 2003. In his 7 years at the club, he would make 16 appearances, one for every year he was alive when he originally signed. There were a number of loan moves during this time but he couldn’t cement a first team place at any of these clubs. Whenever he returned to Charlton, relegated from the Premier League in 2007, he would be down the pecking order. It didn’t help his prospects that he refused to play an FA Cup game for Hereford United in 2008. The club were planning to bring in another goalkeeper, despite Randolph’s fine form across 17 games. It ended his time at Hereford, and although Charlton supported their goalkeeper, he still couldn’t make the breakthrough. Only towards the end of his time at Athletic in 2009-10 did he cement a starting position, through injury to future Ireland team-mate Rob Elliot. The club, now in League 1, reached the playoffs, only to lose to Swindon Town.
Randolph was offered another contract at Charlton but decided to move to Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League. It was a gutsy move but one that offered first team football and a chance to continue his development. It was here I got to see more of him. He established himself as No.1 at the club and saw his team reach the Scottish Cup Final in his first season. He could do nothing to stop Celtic however, who won the game 3-0. His second season at saw him complete an ever-present season for the first time in his career and also be named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for 2011/12. He repeated this feat the following year as Motherwell became the next in line to challenge Celtic in Scottish Football, after Rangers’ liquidation. They didn’t offer much fight and their forays into Europe never went past the qualifying rounds. Despite this, his fine form up north did not go unnoticed as Birmingham swooped in to offer Randolph a contract after his Motherwell one expired. He was immediately installed as the clubs No.1 goalkeeper in the Championship while fellow Irishman Colin Doyle played Cup games. It was another step-up but Randolph acquitted himself well, only losing his place through suspension. He saw out his two year contract amid interest from the Premier League. This would materialise in a move to West Ham United in the summer of 2015.
While his club career has been eventful, his International career saw him earmarked early on as his potential Senior hopeful. He featured for Ireland right through from U15 level to U-21 before eventually receiving a full call-up to the Senior squad in 2011 against Macedonia in a Euro 2012 qualifier. It would be another year and a half before he made his full debut in a friendly against Oman in September 2012. This would be followed up by an appearance against Spain the following summer. His fine club form, in addition to the initial retirement of Shay Given saw Randolph feature often in squads from that point on. It was generally accepted that he was third/fourth choice goalkeeper for Ireland and that this wouldn’t change any time soon.
Upon joining West Ham, he made his debut in a Europa League qualifier against Lusitanos of Andorra in the Europa League qualifying rounds. In the next round against Astra Giurgiu he was less than convincing as the English club crashed out of the competition to their unfancied Romanian opponents. It was not a good start and cast a lot of doubts amongst the Hammers faithful. He redeemed himself to an extent when, after first choice keeper Adrian was sent off at the beginning of the season, he got an opportunity to start in goal. Although he shipped three goals against Bournemouth in a 4-3 victory, he did keep a clean sheet away to Liverpool at the end of August in a 3-0 win. It was West Hams first triumph at Anfield since 1963. Although Adrian returned as No.1 upon serving his three match ban, Randolph remained first choice in all cup competitions. He excelled himself in the FA Cup, the highlight being another clean sheet at Anfield as he went on a one man mission to deny Liverpool that night and in the replay which West Ham won 2-1 after extra-time. In the next round, he was clearly impeded by Bastian Schweinsteiger while trying to get across and block Anthony Martials equaliser late on. It forced a replay which United prevailed in. West Ham would get some measure of revenge in halting United’s efforts to finish in the top four in a 3-2 win which Randolph featured in. He would play the final three games of the season heading into the summer.
Against that early season backdrop, few still would have seen Randolph coming on at any stage against Germany. However, he took the opportunity and has not looked back. An assured performance was topped off by providing an inch perfect long ball for Shane Long to hammer home the decisive goal in a 1-0 win. While some argued Forde should have come on, no one can argue that he would not have played as good a pass Randolph did for that assist. Ireland held on for a historic victory, with the Bray man called upon to make two saves to maintain that advantage. He held onto the No.1 spot for the trip to Poland, the last group game where both countries had a chance of automatic qualification. There was little he could do to stop a rocket of a header from the in-form Robert Lewandowski that evening and every Irish player was caught out by Poland’s first goal. A corner was played outside the box to Grzegorz Krychowiak, who fired a volley that flew through a sea of bodies and a minor deflection to rest in the bottom corner. Ireland lost 2-1 on the night and now faced a playoff encounter against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Randolph remained in goal for both legs of the playoff. In the first leg, now made memorable by the thick fog that enveloped the pitch, he acquitted himself in the harsh conditions, saving a header in the first half and rushing out of his goal quickly to deny a breakthrough on goal. In the extreme conditions, he could count himself unlucky that Edin Dzeko managed to score a late goal that forced a 1-1 draw. In the return leg in Dublin, he was assured throughout. While Bosnia did struggle to create chances, the only time they managed to beat the goalkeeper was when they hit the crossbar in injury time. It was irrelevant however, as Ireland were winning 2-0 on the night to secure a 3-1 aggregate win. Randolph and the Republic of Ireland would be playing at Euro 2016.
Even despite these solid performances, questions remained about who should be Ireland’s No.1 goalkeeper. In competition with Randolph, were Rob Elliott, his former club mate now at Newcastle. He was having a fine season for the relegation strugglers and was getting regular first team football in the Premier League, something Randolph wasn’t. There was Keiran Westwood at Sheffield Wednesday, where he was eventually voted Championship goalkeeper of the 2015/16 season. Given and Forde were also still in the background and not being ruled out by O’Neill. The March friendlies saw Randolph keep a clean sheet in the first game against Switzerland before being called upon to replace Elliott in the second game against Slovakia. Elliott had suffered a freak cruciate ligament injury and would miss the Euros. It all but confirmed Darren’s position as No.1 for the Euro’s, even if some wondered about the squad numbers given for the tournament. Westwood was given the No.1 jersey and Given got the No.16 jersey. It turned out that he requested the No.23 jersey, as he had always worn it since he played for Ireland.
I wrote the majority of this piece before Euro 2016, and planned to finish it with a statement imploring that Darren Randolph and Darren Randolph alone should be our No.1 keeper. I need not have worried. Brays finest would start all 3 group games as Ireland qualified for the knockout stages for the first time in a European competition. Once again, to no surprise of those who backed him, he would acquit himself very well in the tournament. Only a Ciaran Clark own goal would get past him in the first game against Sweden which finished 1-1. The second game, against Belgium, was a disaster for Ireland. After a first half where Ireland rode their luck at times and Randolph was called upon to keep things intact, the team lost all defensive discipline in the second half and the Belgians duly ran riot. There was little he could do to stop Belgium scoring three times in the second half to put our qualifying hopes on a knife edge. Going into the last game against Italy, Ireland needed simply to win to qualify for the last 16. In a game, which the Irish would dominate against an already qualified Italian team, Randolph for the most part was relaxed. So relaxed at one stage he received the ball inside his own box and turned inside to elude the pressure of the oncoming Simone Zaza. It brought cheers from the huge Irish presence in the crowd. The Italians would manage to get the better of him late on when Lorenzo Insigne struck the post from distance but it would be Ireland who would have the last laugh. Robbie Brady scored a historic goal that would set up a last 16 clash against the hosts France in Lyon.
Playing the hosts was never going to be easy but the Irish team put in a heroic effort in the first half that saw them lead 1-0 at the break. Shane Long won a penalty inside the first minute which Brady hammered home. The French rallied and tested Randolph with numerous shots for the rest of the half. He clutched every single one of them in his chest. In the second half, the pressure rose and Paul Pogba launched a fierce shot that required a fully stretched Randolph to deny him. Eventually the dam gave way however when Antoine Griezmann’s header was too powerful for Randolph to keep out. Two minutes later, a defensive mix-up left Griezmann through in on goal and he made no mistake. Despite the sending off of Shane Duffy leaving Ireland down to 10 men, it would stay 2-1. France had their chances but between poor finishing and good goalkeeping, there would be no more goals. A heroic effort from every player was of no consolation to the Irish goalkeeper however, as he broke down in tears after the final whistle.
It was a tough defeat to take but Randolph should take solace in the fact he received all round praise for his performance against France and indeed for the tournament. If there was any doubt that he should be Ireland’s first choice goalkeeper then I need to hear these doubts. Never have I been so convinced of a player’s position on the starting eleven. Never have I seen a goalkeeper look so assured in goal and give the defence confidence. Irelands qualifying was built on a solid defensive discipline that can only continue to shine with the Bray man in goal. Yes, he needs to get regular football. Yes, Keiran Westwood and Rob Elliot when he returns from injury will offer solid competition but I am steadfast in my doubt that Darren Randolph should be Ireland’s No.1 goalkeeper for years to come. Something few of us would have ever believed twelve months ago.
My girlfriend told me after we lost to France, that she was beginning to have a slight crush on Darren Randolph and said we should invite him to dinner if we ever get the chance.
I wouldn’t hesitate to invite himself myself to be honest.
