Irish Daily Star - Inside Sport
‘CAOIMHIN’S ABILITY CLEAR FROM START’
SEAMUS McDonagh believed that Caoimhin Kelleher was Ireland’s best goalkeeper FOUR years ago.
Martin O’Neill’s goalkeeping coach was so impressed by Kelleher during two senior international training camps that he rang up John Achterberg to give him a verdict.
The then 19-year-old linked up with O’Neill’s squad in Newport in Wales in September 2018 after the Boys In Green’s 4-1 Nations League defeat in Cardiff.
Friendly
That two-day training stint in the company of Darren Randolph, Collin Doyle and Sean McDermott did not see the Cork man figure in that fixture with the Welsh or the subsequent 1-1 friendly draw with Poland in Wroclaw.
Two months later Kelleher was handed his first senior call-up for the Aviva friendly draw with Northern Ireland and the crunch home Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark that ended 1-1.
Kelleher and Doyle were on the bench for both matches with Randolph the long-time first choice between the posts.
“I told Seamus that he needed to look at this Irish goalkeeper because his speed reactions were unbelievable,” recalls Achterberg.
“Seamus phoned me and asked if Caoimhin could join the Ireland camp.
“I then spoke to Seamus after he went with Ireland for the first time.
“I also told Seamus that I believed Caoimhin could be the number one keeper with Ireland.
“Afterwards, Seamus phoned me again and said, ‘Yes, you’re right, with all you said’.
“Seamus actually said that he was the best goalie and that was when Darren Randolph was the number one.
“I’m not sure who was the number two and three. That was the first time he had gone to the camp.
“They were amazed what he could show. Roy Keane was there.
“Then the manager changed and when Randolph was injured, Gavin Bazunu played. That is the choice they made and they have stuck with it.”
Groin
Achterberg appreciates that Stephen Kenny has made his own call on selecting Bazunu as his number one keeper even if Kelleher might well have got the nod last March when Randolph was ruled out of Kenny’s first three games through a hip and groin injury.
Kelleher, Bazunu,
Mark Travers and Kieran O’Hara were all named in Kenny’s initial panel with Kelleher forced to withdraw three days prior to the opening World Cup qualifier in Serbia due to an abdominal injury.
“Yes, it’s up to the team manager to decide. That is his job when he watches training.
“Bazunu has done well in the games and obviously he was playing while Caoimhin hadn’t played that many games although the level that Caoimhin is playing at is a little bit higher than League One.
“But it’s up to the manager to decide. Caoimhin can only go there and wait for his chance which I’m pretty sure he will take.
“The games he played in he did really well. They know from watching training that he can be good.”