Own goal leaves Ireland with a point from Euro 2016 opener
Ireland were denied a first European Championship win since 1988 when Ciaran Clark’s own-goal 20 minutes from time gave Sweden a point in the Group E opener,
Wes Hoolahan had given Ireland a deserved lead at the Stade de France just three minutes after half-time but Zlatan Ibrahimovic produced one moment of brilliance on the left to deliver a cross into the six-yard box which Clark nodded past Darren Randolph.
Martin O’Neill’s game-plan to stymie the influence of Ibrahimovic by deploying Glenn Whelan to shadow the Swedish captain worked a treat in the first half as he was restricted to a couple of half-chances.
A free-kick from all of 30 yards didn’t make it past the Irish wall and when he found space five minutes before the break to connect with Victor Lindelof’s flick from a corner, the Manchester United target blazed his volley over the crossbar from eight yards
Instead, Ireland enjoyed most of the scoring chances. Robbie Brady’s threat from set-pieces was dealt with by the Swedes from his first pair of corners but the third, on 17 minutes, should have had them ahead as Clark’s flick-on fell to John O’Shea who failed to make contact with the goal gaping.
Jeff Hendrick fashioned a couple of few opportunities in an opening 45 minutes which Ireland dominated. Cutting in from the left on nine minutes, his low shot forced Andreas Isaksson to push the effort around his near post.
His next attempt on the half hour came even closer to breaking the deadlock as his curler from 20 yards beat Isaksson only to rebound off the crossbar.
The Irish needed to carry that tempo into the second half and that they did as the breakthrough soon arrived. When Seamus Coleman cut in from the right past Emil Forsberg, his cross fell kindly for the inrushing Hoolahan to bury his half-volley back across goal and beyond Isaksson.
Stung by that concession, Sweden finally came alive as an attacking force with Forsberg smashing wide after Randolph had managed to keep out a deflection from how own defender, Clark.
Ibrahimovic, by this stage, was getting more joy in the box and he was just a yard off-target with a volley from Martin Olsson’s left-wing cross.
Then came his most telling impact, collecting a back-heel by substitute John Guidetti on the left side of the box and showing his quick feet to skin O’Shea and whipping in the vicious cross which resulted in the equaliser.
Seven minutes from the time, the talisman nearly crowned his day with the winner, yet was unable to get a touch on another inviting delivery from Olsson.
Randolph; Coleman, Clark, O’Shea, Brady; Whelan, McCarthy (McGeady 84); Walters (McClean 63), Hoolahan, Hendrick (Keane 78); Long.
Isaksson; Lustig (Johansson 44), Granqvist, Lindelof, Olsson; Larsson, Lewicki (Ekdal 86), Källström, Forsberg ; Berg (Guidetti 59), Ibrahimovic.
Milorad Mazic (SRB).
