Spain (4', 70' Torres, 49' Silva, 83' Fabregas) 4-0 Ireland
What a match tonight in Gdansk! The Hibernian head home from Poland and
Ukraine after their defeat and are officially out of the tournament following
an embarrassing encounter with La Roja
at the PGE Arena. And still, Irish
supporters sang proudly in spite of the 4-0 deficit. Class act, Ireland, class act.
Fernando Torres opened up the scoring at the 4'
minute mark, proving to naysayers and disbelievers that he still has it. Let us not forget that it was because of El Niño that Spain won the 2008
Euro. The Chelsea man took advantage of
some uncertain defending from Richard Dunne, his lethal strike going past Shay
Given and into the back of net.
In a post-match interview, Torres stated, "We
wanted to win, to make a better impression than we did against
Italy." And they certainly did
leave spectators wanting more.
His goal marked the start of La Roja's assault on the Irish.
Vicente del Bosque's men seemed to be a permanent fixture outside the
Hibermian box for the majority of the first 45, Given forced to make save after
save after save. I have to give it to
Given, though. The Aston Villa
goalkeeper did well to deny Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Gerard Piqué their
chances of goal from outside the area.
After the break, Spain made mincemeat of Ireland's
defense. Manchester City man David Silva
doubled La Roja's lead at the 49',
taking advantage of Ireland's sloppy defending.
Silva coolly tapped one in for Spain from inside the area and through
the legs of Richard Dunne into the corner.
My description hardly does the goal justice. Watch for yourself in the clip below.
Halfway through the second half, Ireland began to
look more of a threat, enjoying a brief spell of chances, but it just not was
enough against their Iberian opponents.
As they pushed forward, Spain looked dangerous on the counterattack,
which ultimately led to Torres's second of the evening, La Roja's third. El Niño ran on to Silva's pass,
following a poor touch from Aiden McGeady, and held off Dunne, curling the ball
past Given at the 70' into the right corner.
Was this the '08 Euro on my television set? Because this was the Fernando Torres that
struck fear in every goalkeepers hearts, not the one that people seem so fond
to dismiss these days...
There would be no hattrick for El Niño this time, as he was subbed out moments after his second
goal. Barcelona midfielder Cesc
Fabregas, who many wondered why started on bench, was brought on as his sub and
was quick to prove to del Bosque and the world as to why he should be played
more.
The Barça man scored at the 82' minute mark,
unleashing a lethal strike off the corner.
Fabregas received Silva's corner at the near side and sent the shot off
the inside of the far post. Disbelief
and disappointment could be seen on the faces of Given and his defensive back
line, while Spain joyously celebrated their fourth goal.
Ireland will play its final match against Italy,
which needs a victory to advance to the quarterfinals. Spain, on the other hand, can advance with a
draw against Croatia on Monday. But we
all know that Spain isn't looking for a draw.
The men of La Roja are looking
for a win. It is as del Bosque said...
"To go out looking for a draw would be very dangerous."
Until then, ¡Vamos,
España!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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