Irish media react as Everton ace Jake O'Brien 'caught out badly' vs Kosovo
Everton defender Jake O'Brien did not enjoy the Republic of Ireland's 1-0 loss to Kosovo.
The 25-year-old has found game time hard to come by at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this season, but that has not changed his international fortunes.
O'Brien was the subject of exit rumours before the transfer market closed, with David Moyes not needing him in a makeshift right-back role anymore.
The Toffees ace played the full 90 minutes in the UEFA Nations League B group contest at Fadil Vokrri Stadium on Thursday.
He returned to a traditional centre-back position with his national team, but he could not prevent the poor result.
The Irish media have reacted to his showing, and it was largely negative.
How did the Irish media react to Jake O'Brien's performance vs Kosovo?
It is safe to say that O'Brien did not impress in his return to starting action for his country, as most outlets were in agreement on his showing.
Irish outlet Balls.ie gave O'Brien a rating of five out of 10, saying: “Jake O'Brien looked a bit nervy during the opening period, with the Everton man having played very little football this season. That showed as he struggled to deal with a couple of fairly routine balls down his side of the pitch.”
RTE handed the Blues ace a four, saying: “This isn't going to be a night that O'Brien will want to remember. He did make one vital clearance, but besides that he lost the ball several times in key positions to gift Kosovo the opportunity to score. The first came on 27 minutes when he was dispossessed and he struggled to run back and help assist with the counter and the same issue happened in the second half when he was dispossessed along the touchline.
They added: "His long throw was deployed several times but to little effect.”
The Irish Mirror gave him a five, saying: “Caught out badly in the first-half and he looked like someone who has been struggling for game-time at club level.”
Finally, Extra.ie was a bit more generous, with a six rating, saying: “Didn’t look like a man that’s playing a lot of football at the moment, Ireland’s defence as a whole was under a lot of pressure.”
The media have made their judgements, but are they fair based on the stats?
What do the stats say about O'Brien's showing?
O'Brien took 50 touches in the contest, and completed 100 per cent of his 32 passing attempts, according to FotMob.
He completed five passes into the final third, and completed all three long balls that he attempted.
Defensively, he made seven contributions, with all of them being clearances, while also having two recoveries.
In terms of duels, he won one of four on the ground and two of four in the air, for success rates of 25 and 50 per cent in those areas.
With that data, it is a surprise that he was given such a low rating by most outlets.
Moyes will see that and surely think that he can still do a job when called upon, but the player will want a starting role that he is not going to get.
Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski are in too good form to be dropped from the starting side, so O'Brien will have to accept his fate, or push for an exit harder when the market reopens in January.