SPIES ON THE PRIZE
Crawford keeping cards close to his chest as he plots a path to the promised land
BY MARK MCCADDEN IRELAND’S Under-21s opted against practicing their penalties in Tel Aviv yesterday – for fear that the Israelis were spying on them.
The Boys in Green could be taken all the way to spot-kicks tonight in their bid to qualify for the European Championships after last Friday’s 1-1 draw in Tallaght Stadium.
However, boss Jim Crawford didn’t have his players brush up on their penalty taking technique in yesterday evening’s training session because they had already honed their skills while they were still in Dublin.
Crawford said: “We practised them all week, so the day before, you just don’t know who is watching.
“That’s not me being super paranoid but I know what goes on at this level and there’s every chance that there could be cameras on you, there could be ground staff that are watching.
“We have done all our work on them.
“We’ve got 25 players in this squad and everybody has practised penalties during the week so there is no stone unturned.”
Crawford has called on his players to make history and fire Ireland to a first ever European Championships at Under-21 level.
When asked for his last words before sending the players into battle tonight, he replied: “Go and create history.
“I only got a couple of caps at Under-21s and I have never forgotten standing for the national anthem, putting on the green jersey.
“To be the first group of Under-21s to qualify for a finals is something that would live with them for the rest of their lives.”
The Israelis have drafted in reinforcements from their senior squad in the wake of Ireland’s dominant display in the first leg.
Doron Leidner, who played at leftback in a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday, comes into the reckoning, as does midfielder Eden Kartsev and Celtic forward Liel Abada (inset), who also started against Albania.
But Crawford insists: “I don’t think it will change them too much tactically. It will strengthen them but they are the players we expected to come in for the first leg.
“So we know everything about Karzev and Leidner and Abada.
“It is a huge compliment to our performance on Friday that they had to go and get those lads in.
“It won’t faze me or the players. Yeah, it’s a challenge but it’s something we always expected. We’ll be ready.” Crawford is a fourtime Premier Division winner with Shelbourne and a former Newcastle United midfielder from the Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish days.
But when it comes to career highlights, he is just hours away from potentially achieving one that tops them all.
“Look, by far and away qualifying would be my greatest achievement as a coach, a manager and a player,” he said.
“But the players are the heroes here. They’re the ones who go out on the pitch, implement game plans and use their own individual brilliance and creativity to create chances and score goals.
“For myself it would be amazing and I’m sure it is the same for the other staff members.
“It would mean everything really, when you spend every day and every minute of a day thinking about it.
“We’ve worked around the clock to get to this point. Now it’s about getting to the next step.”