Glad to prove point, Adam Idah shush celebration aimed at online trolls
SILENCE IS GOLDEN: Adam Idah's shush celebration for his winner against Bulgaria was aimed at online trolls. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Ireland’s matchwinner Adam Idah admits he had a point to prove to Heimir Hallgrímsson after being benched for the first leg against Bulgaria.
Although he was first-choice striker under Stephen Kenny, Idah has slipped behind Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson in his successor’s reckoning.
The Celtic striker showed his worth in Thursday’s second leg at Lansdowne Road by springing from the bench to volley in the winner to complete a 2-1 win – 4-2 on aggregate.
His shush celebration was directed at online trolls but there was also a reminder to the Ireland management of his scoring abilities.
“We had a laugh and a joke,” the Corkman said about his interactions with the manager.
“Obviously he had his reasons why I didn’t play in the last game. I was frustrated, I didn’t really agree with it, but that’s football.
"We are men at the end of the day and we had a laugh and a joke after the game. I think that's all I needed to do, to go on the pitch and show what I could do, and thankfully I did that. Hopefully he can see what I’m about now.
“I’m an attacker, I want to come onto the pitch and help the team. Look, don’t get me wrong, the boys that have been playing have been doing brilliant. But I’ve got to work for myself as well. I’ve been having a great season.
“It was disappointing not coming on the other night, so I had that conversation with him and it happens in football all the time. It was nothing bad, it was just me asking what I needed to do and he told me, and thankfully he gave me some minutes today and I was able to show myself.”
He added: “I saw a lot of stuff online, so it was just telling people to shut-up, really. Obviously I was frustrated with the first game, but I came on today and did what I’ve been doing all season, so it was just to the people who were doubting me.”
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Idah also hit out the alleged racism incident which marred the Ireland U17 win over Poland on Saturday. He can empathise, having been subjected to abuse in the past.
“It’s ridiculous in this day and age that there are racist comments going about, it’s shocking, especially in football when there is so much awareness around it.
“Hopefully Uefa can put it right. I’ve had it before, where I put the complaint in and nothing came from it.
“We do need to do things, put our foot down. Look, I’m not going to lie, it’s probably going to happen a lot more, it’s going to be hard to stop but once we get the awareness out, we need more people to understand what it’s about, but once we get the word about more, it can make a big difference.”
