Marko Arnautovic is amongst the goals as Austria scramble past Malta. Martin O’Neill makes wholesale changes as the Republic of Ireland lose at home to Belarus in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016 gets underway next week.
Austria 2 Malta 1
Austria failed to impress against a Malta side that were soundly thrashed 6-0 by the Czech Republic at the weekend.
Marcel Koller’s side toiled to a 2-1 home win, mustering just three shots on target over the 90 minutes.
Regulars Marko Arnautovic, Martin Harnik and Zlatko Junuzovic all started in the attacking midfield three slots, with the former maintaining his fine domestic form by grabbing the opener. Given that Arnautovic and Harnik (both priced at 7.0) are classified as forwards in the Uefa game, though, it leaves Junuzovic as the only midfielder on offer in the final third. Available for 6.5, the Werder Bremen man created four chances from the central support role behind Marc Janko and earned an assist.
Schalke’s Alessandro Schopf was handed his first start by Koller – stationed in the double-pivot, he netted his nation’s second goal but is unlikely to be no more than back-up for David Alaba. The Bayern man hardly covered himself in glory, though, after climbing off the bench to register an own goal.
At the back, Martin Hinteregger has now started each of the last three friendlies at centre-half under Koller. Coming in at 4.5, he looks to have emerged as a budget enabler, though with a single clean sheet in seven, Koller’s side have been far from convincing defensively.
Austria XI: Lindner (Ozcan 46); Klein, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Suttner; Baumgartlinger (Ilsanker 46), Schopf (Alaba 63); Harnik (Hinterseer 64), Junuzovic, Arnautovic (Sabitzer 46); Janko (Okotie 72)
Republic of Ireland 1 Belarus 2
A much-changed Republic of Ireland fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Belarus last night.
Martin O’Neill made 11 alterations from the side that drew with Holland on Friday evening as he ran the rule over a number of fringe players prior to naming Ireland’s 23-man squad for the Euros.
The hosts only improved after O’Neill sent on the likes of Shane Long and Wes Hoolahan midway through the second period, with the Southampton man supplying an assist for Stephen Ward’s consolation. Priced at 6.5 in Uefa, Long looks a nailed-on option for the Irish up top, given that Robbie Keane is still nursing a calf injury sustained during training at the weekend.
Elsewhere, Villa’s Ciaran Clark (5.0) – with three efforts inside the box – offered the most threat from the home side, though remains a somewhat risky pick at the back. O’Neill’s decision to start Shay Given also indicates that Darren Randolph will be his first-choice keeper for the tournament – priced at 4.5, the West Ham man had started five of the six matches prior to last night. With a couple of shut-outs in seven, though, he may have to rely on save points if O’Neill’s side fail to improve their resilience against Italy, Belgium and Sweden in the group stages.
Republic of Ireland XI: Given (Forde 69); Christie, Keogh, Clark, Ward; Gibson (Hoolahan 68), Meyler (O’Kane 75); McGeady (O’Dowda 75), Hendrick, McClean (McGoldrick 79); Murphy (Long 68).
