Soccer:The Republic of Ireland has been drawn against Estonia in the play-offs for next year's European Championships, with the second leg taking place at the Aviva Stadium. The away leg in Tallinn will take place on Friday November 11th, with the second taking place at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday November 15th.
Estonia were the lowest ranked side in the draw after coming second in Group C, a group that involved Northern Ireland. Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands team were also in the group and recorded a 2-0 victory over the Estonians in their home tie, while losing 1-2 in Tallinn.
Estonia has never reached the finals of a major tournament, and this is Tarmo Ruutli’s side’s first play-off appearance.
Tickets will be at a premium at the compact A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, with the official capacity given as 9,692, although that can be extended to 10,300. FAI chief executive John Delaney announced this evening that the association will receive an allocation of 1,400 tickets for the away leg.
Delaney also confirmed that Kevin Doyle, sent off against Armenia, will be available for the return leg at the Aviva stadium having received just a one-match ban.
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni expressed his delight at the fact that the first leg will be away from home, but stressed the importance of not underestimating the challenge Estonia will bring.
“It is extremely positive for Ireland that we will play the first leg away. We should not underestimate our opposition, or any team, including Estonia, to have made it through to the play-off, they must have quality and mental fortitude,” said Trapattoni.
“Our build up to this stage of the competition has shown us the importance of organisation, attention to detail, and self-belief. That will be vitally important to us as we prepare for these games in November.”
Ireland and Estonia have met twice before, in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup under Mick McCarthy‘s management. They won both games 2-0, with defender Richard Dunne, a scorer against Armenia, on target in each match.
There were tougher-looking assignments in the pot of unseeded teams they could have been put up against, with Turkey hosting Croatia, the Czech Republic taking on Montenegro and Bosnia going up against Portugal.
Portugal and Bosnia were both losers in winner-takes-all showdowns on Tuesday, with Portugal losing to Denmark and with it surrendering top spot in Group H, while Bosnia drew 1-1 with France when a win would have seen them pip Laurent Blanc‘s men to the automatic spot in Group B.
The Czechs took second in Group I, winning a two-way tussle with Scotland to finish behind reigning champions Spain.
Play-off draw
Estonia v Republic of Ireland; Turkey v Croatia; Czech Republic v Montenegro; Bosnia and Herzegovina v Portugal. First named team home on Friday November 11th or Saturday November 12th. Second legs on Tuesday November 15th. Ireland's away leg has been confirmed for Friday, November 11th.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
October 11th, 2000: Republic of Ireland 2 Estonia 0
Under the management of Mick McCarthy, Ireland were aiming to secure qualification for the 2002 World Cup.
A starting line-up of Alan Kelly, Stephen Carr, Gary Breen, Ian Harte, Richard Dunne, Jason McAteer, Kevin Kilbane, Mark Kinsella, Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Niall Quinn emerged with a 2-0 win.
Midfielder Kinsella opened the scoring midway through the first half, with Dunne adding a second after the break.
June 6th, 2001: Estonia 0 Republic of Ireland 2
A side sporting five changes from the first fixture — Shay Given, Gary Kelly, Steve Staunton, Matt Holland and Damien Duff — emerged with an identical result.
Dunne was again on target, opening the scoring with nine minutes gone, with Holland adding a second before the break.
Lowdown on Estonia
World ranking: 58
Uefa ranking:37
Manager: Tarmo Ruutli.After a 23-year playing career with four Estonian clubs, Ruutli, now 57, moved in to management with another local side before his first brief spell in charge of the national team. He returned as manager in 2008.
Last meetings with the Republic of Ireland:Mick McCarthy's side beat Estonia 2-0 home and away in the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign.
How they fared in Group C:Estonia finished 10 points behind group winners Italy and a point clear of Serbia, whose 1-0 defeat in Slovenia on Tuesday ended their hopes of taking the runners-up spot. They won just two of their five home games, the first against Brian Kerr's Faroe Islands when they needed two injury-time goals to rescue them after they fell behind. They picked up three wins on their travels, the most impressive their 3-1 defeat of Serbia in Belgrade. They also got the better of Slovenia in Ljubljana (2-1) and Northern Ireland in Belfast (2-1) in their final group game, a result that lifted them in to second, but they had a day to forget in the Faroe Islands where they lost 2-0.
What they said: Aivar Pohlak (Estonian FA president) –"The most important thing now is to control our emotions, but it's a tough thing to do. If someone had told me after the Faroe Islands game we would finish second, I'd have thought they were out of their minds. We have already over achieved. Now we have to maintain this standard to compete in the play-offs." .
One to watch: Konstantin Vassiljev.The midfielder only came on as a substitute for the last 25 minutes of the game in Belfast last week, but his two goals sealed the win. Plays for Russian Premier League side Amkar Perm and was Estonia's top scorer in the campaign with five goals in nine games.
