david_smith
Martin O’Neill has slammed Neil Taylor and Gareth Bale’s respective tackles during Ireland’s fiery 0-0 draw with Wales on Friday night.
Taylor was shown a straight red in the 68th minute for a reckless challenge on Seamus Coleman, which resulted in the Irish captain suffering a double leg break.
A minute earlier, John O’Shea was lucky to escape serious injury (though he required stitches after the game) following a desperate knee-high lunge from Gareth Bale in the Irish penalty area.
Wales manager Chris Coleman was eager to stress that Neil Taylor “is not that type of player”, and also downplayed Bale’s dangerous challenge.
However, O’Neill has labelled both tackles as “very poor” while providing an update on Coleman’s recovery.
“He’s just coming to terms with it, he’s still pretty down,†the Irish boss said.
“It’s just a matter of coming to terms with the fact he is not going to be playing again for a long period of time. That is difficult, but he is slowly getting his head round what has happened.
“I’ve not communicated directly with Everton, but the medical staff have. All I can say about the tackles [by Taylor and Bale] is that they were poor, very poor indeed.
“It has overshadowed everything. Even the result on Friday evening was secondary. It’s a bad blow for the player, it’s a bad blow for Everton and us. And he was missed even in the last couple of days around the place.”
Both Taylor and Bale will miss Wales’ next World Cup qualifying match, a crucial clash against Serbia.
Coleman will be sorely missed by club and country in the coming months, and Robbie Brady will captain his country against Iceland tomorrow.
