Green glee in Lille as Ireland beats Italy to qualify

Italy's Leonardo Bonucci (right) and Republic of Ireland's Shane Long (second right) battle for the ball. Photo Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire

 ROME -- Italy went into Wednesday evening’s European Championship match in France against the Republic of Ireland feeling confident in the knowledge that they would be finishing on top of Group C, and yet a strong Irish supporter base and a late goal from Robbie Brady in the after a cross from Wes Hoolahan in the 85th minute put the shamrocks 1-0 ahead, giving them the opportunity to reach the knockout stages of the Euros for the first time.

 As a result Martin O’Neill’s team have secured a place in the next knockout stage, despite a strong defence from the Azzurris, and will face the hosts on Sunday, giving them a little time to recover from the celebratory mood that swept Lille after Wednesday’s result.

 With nothing to lose the Boys in Green were on the attack with an all-or-nothing approach, yet a few missed chances in the first half - James McClean not gaining the penalty when Federico Bernardeschi hit the ground inside the box comes to mind – left them at nil-all for half time.

 After eight changes made by Italian manager Antonio Conte in view of Monday’s match against Spain it was clear that the upcoming game was still very much in the Azzurri’s mind, which, along with a knackered pitch, gave Ireland their first opportunity to beat the Italian side since their victory at the 1994 World Cup, despite a slightly higher possession by the Azzurri on 54 percent.

 Speaking after the match Conte said, “[We played] against a side that look a lot of long shots, and there were a lot of powerful tackles.  The pitch definitely helped them more than us but they put a lot of grit into this game because it was life or death for them.”  He continued, “Congratulations to the Republic of Ireland because they really wanted to go through and they were rewarded, perhaps more than they deserved, but they were rewarded nonetheless.”

 This has become only Italy’s third defeat in 24 group stage games at the European Championships, whilst 40 fouls put this match up top for the highest number in any Euro 2016 game thus far.

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