John Egan came in for some surprise criticism, despite captaining Ireland to a 4-1 win against Andorra on Thursday evening.
The Blades star was back in action for Stephen Kenny’s men. And being one of the senior players in the XI, was given the captain’s armband for the Irish.
Ultimately, it proved a successful and relatively easy night for Ireland on the whole. Goals from Troy Parrott (2), Jason Knight, and Daryl Horgan were enough to see off the European minnows.
However, those four goals came after Andorra had taken a surprise lead just after half-time. And Egan, despite being untroubled for most of the night, came in for criticism from some of the Irish media.
What Ireland media said about John Egan against Andorra
Egan is set to become a big player for the Irish under Kenny. We covered recently how he has high hopes this year, despite no Euros.
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But despite us Blades knowing what Egan is all about, the defender wasn’t immune to criticism from the Irish press. In fact, far from it, as the United ace took the brunt of it in some player ratings.
“Took the captain’s armband on his return and was largely untroubled. As the senior centre-half he must shoulder the blame for the goal – who on earth was marking Vales? Rating: 5,” The Irish Times wrote.
And while Egan scored a slightly better rating of 6 with the Irish Independent, he was still picked out as being at fault.
“Kenny is glad to have him back but much of the game happened ahead of the skipper for the evening. He was also central to the debate following the shock Andorran strike,” they wrote.
It seems that Egan and Ireland have a long way to go. A series of terrible results has clearly left the press and fans upset.
However, we know the Blades skipper will relish that. He’s at his best when his back is against the wall. If Ireland want someone to lead them back to some sort of glory, then Egan is their man.