FIRST SHOTS IN A LONG BATTLE
Perfect start for Martin and Roy but the bigger tests will arrive thick and fast
ON THE occasion of the Republic of Ireland’s 150th game at Lansdowne Road, glimpses of a brighter future for the national team were reflected in the shimmering Aviva Stadium arc lights.
Every long journey starts with a small step and with 938 days before the opening ceremony of the Euro 2016 finals, the Martin O’Neill-Roy Keane axis will be confronted with far greater challenges than limp Latvia before ‘Le Rendezvous’ in France. Even so, this was the perfect aperitif.
The restorative powers of a winning start, dotted with positive points, was the ideal icebreaker for the new management team, and the Irish players who desperately needed to hear a new master’s voice after five years of Giovanni Trapattoni’s piercing wolf whistle.
If there was a new strategy on display too, 4-4-1-1 — a change from the 4-4-2 force-fed diet of Giovanni Trapattoni and Noel King’s 4-2-3-1 tweak — the refrain was familiar as Robbie Keane helped put the boot into the boys from the Baltic to plunder his 62nd international goal.
The Dubliner is now up to joint-15th in the all-time FIFA world lists, and lies fifth in Europe, behind Ferenc Puskas (84), Sandor Kocsis (75), Gerd Muller (68) and
There was a lively edge and a freshness to the performance
Miroslav Klose (68). At 33, Keane is no back number, and could yet have a significant bearing on Ireland’s advance on France, which begins in ten months.
For his opening act as manager, O’Neill could not have asked for more, as he landed running despite a rushed preparation which saw him work with the players for just three days.
There were one or two minor glitches, like sitting in the wrong seat before kickoff, and arriving 30 seconds late for the start of the second half, which may not have impressed his right-hand man, Keane, but O’Neill, on balance, got most things right.
There was a lively edge to the Ireland performance and a sense of freshness in the approach. The set pieces were imaginative, the ball was played to feet, not to the skies, and the build-ups were energetic.
Crucially, they pressed Latvia further up the park, forcing an error which led to the second goal.
Already, the self-belief, which Roy Keane talked about beforehand, is starting to course through Irish veins, if not quite at full flow.
Such was the eagerness to pile bodies into attacking positions that players, more than once, even got in the way of goal-bound efforts. John O’Shea, buoyant after his first goal in 11 years last month, was one of the culprits.
The wingers, Aiden McGeady and James McClean, both had their best bibs on for their old gaffer, as they tore into their markers, with stealth and strength, respectively. Rarely have they played better.
If the invigorated McGeady, who added the second goal with 20 minutes l eft, was stung by being labelled crabby by O’Neill in the build-up, it worked. Trapattoni never called McGeady crabby; in fact, he never called him. Full stop.
While McClean was given the ‘Man of the Match’ gong, a rare honour as he has spent most of his international career in the shadows, he also served a reminder why O’Neill thrust him into the Sunderland first team two years ago.
The win, while most welcome, should not suggest that Ireland are where they need to be for the Euro qualifiers as the Latvia penalty area resembled a coconut shy in the final minutes when Shane Long crowned a flowing move with the third.
As hands were shook and backs slapped, it was worth noting that Steve Staunton’s ill-fated reign as manager also began with a 3-0 home win. And if Andy Reid, one of six second-half subs, thought about digging out the guitar in Portmarnock for a sing-song, a glare from Roy Keane would have told him otherwise.
Nights like these, when the fans start ‘Doing A Poznan’ and the dreaded Mexican Wave gets a run, are fair enough, but friendly fire never won any battle.