What The Papers Say - 1 April

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton. RTE focuses on Seamus Coleman after the 37-year-old starred for his country last night against North Macedonia. The right-back earned his 79th cap – starting from the outset – at the Aviva Stadium before being substituted to a standing ovation just after the hour mark. Everton teammates Jake O’Brien and Mark Travers both came off the bench in the second half. On Coleman, the outlet writes: “The 37-year-old played 96 minutes in Prague last Thursday and he issued another reminder of his abilities on Tuesday with a near-perfect performance at wing-back. “Coleman dominated the right side, as he got forward and retreated when needed as Ireland switched from a 3-4-2-1 to a 5-2-2-1 out of possession. “The full-back was excellent, in everything that he did, to the point where he almost set up the opening goal at the start of the second half by working with Finn Azaz to release Troy Parrott. The striker hit the post and Coleman was replaced by James Abankwah shortly after, after giving it his all once again.” Plaudits for the defender’s performance continued, with The Irish Times. A report reads: “Showed his leadership by urging his team to raise the tempo in the first half. An accomplished performance if it is to be his last one in an Irish shirt in Dublin.” The Irish Examiner added: “Cutting an emotional figure before the game, Seamus Coleman was coolness personified once the contest kicked off. He showed some moments of real class on the ball in the opening half, cutting out a couple of dangerous visitor attacks. A strong display at the back for the 60 minutes he was on the pitch.” The Irish Mirror also rated his display in high regard and said: “A leader’s performance as per usual. He played like there was a World Cup place at stake and spent much of his time on the pitch in the North Macedonian half.”