No Fishy On A Dishy As Austrias Boat Comes In
Tuesday 26th March 2013. World Cup Qualifier
Republic of Ireland 2-2 Austria.
Eighteen years after the infamous “Harry Ramsden challenge”, when a fish filled Ireland lost to Austria on a 3-1 scoreline, Giovanni Trapattoni knew the scale of the task ahead as he deployed Conor Sammon in attack for Tuesdays World Cup Qualifier.
Austria got a glorious start when Marc Wilson and Ciaran Clarke failed to clear the ball, and when Clarke got into a tangle with Zlatko Junozovic, the Austrian came away with possession of the ball to set up Martin Harnik for an early goal.
Jonathan Walters got the home side level from the penalty spot after Shane Long was brought down in the box, and the Stoke striker made no mistake as he fired the ball into the corner of the net with great power.
Long nearly gave Ireland the lead with an audacious back heal that rebounded back off the post before Walters
sent a glancing header past Heinz Linder to score his second of the night just before the half time break.
With a tough battling second half, the Irish side thought they had done enough to secure all 3 points and 2nd place in the qualification table.The visitors, however, had other ideas as David Alaba fired a last minute equaliser past David Forde to earn a share of the spoils and ensure Ireland could not cash in on Harry Ramsdens offer of free fish n’ chips if they won the game.
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Zlatko Junozovic gets away from Ciaran Clarke to set up Austria’s opening goal
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Conor Sammon holds off a challenge from Julian Baumgartlinger
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