Ireland produced their finest performance of the Stephen Kenny era to date against Qatar at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night.
Callum Robinson nabbed his first hattrick at international level after scoring a brace against Azerbaijan at the weekend, ending a seven-year-long wait for an Irish international hattrick.
Robbie Keane was the last player to do so, scoring three in a 7-0 rout of Gibraltar in Faro under Martin O’Neill in the Euro 2016 Qualifiers.
Fans were delighted with the performance and took to social media to praise the team throughout the game.
I’ve said it all along. This Irish team under SK are playing some of the best football I’ve seen from an Irish team in yonks. We could have been passing all those years if we had had managers who trusted the players. #IRLQAT
— Con Murphy (@ConMurphySport) October 12, 2021
Co-commentator of the LOIArena Podcast, Con Murphy expressed his joy with the way the national side are playing under the former Ireland Under-21 manager.
He noted that it was “some of the best football [he’s] seen from an Irish team in yonks.”
Ireland were fluid in attack and passed their way around a Qatari side that will be the hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which the Republic of Ireland have failed to qualify for.
The Irish made 38 passes in the build-up to the third goal which sealed Callum Robinson’s name in the history of Irish football as he completed his hattrick.
Stephen Kenny in his post match interview.#IRLQAT #coybig #IREQAT pic.twitter.com/LpiqCZcbrw
— Gerry McK (@GMcK2012) October 12, 2021
Other fans made light of those that have doubted Stephen Kenny throughout his time as manager of the Republic of Ireland’s senior side.
‘@GMcK2012’ made use of a Father Ted meme to imagine how the manager may have been feeling after his side’s resounding victory.
Kenny has been publicly criticised by high-profile figures on the Irish soccer scene in the past for his lack of positive results.
However, some fans are still not impressed, despite the clear improvement upon the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
Ffs it's not France they beat. They beat an amateur pub team.
— Ollie Golden (@olivergolden610) October 13, 2021
Despite Qatar being ranked five places higher than the Republic of Ireland, some people still expect more.
Time will tell if we get that.
