2001: A RETRACE ODYSSEY
Kenny wants same outcome 22 years on IRELAND
STEPHEN KENNY was a face in the crowd 22 years ago when Ireland beat the Netherlands on their way to the 2002 World Cup.
A young manager at Longford Town, months away from a pivotal move to Bohemians, he cheered Jason McAteer’s unforgettable winner along with the rest of the 35,000 fans at Lansdowne Road on that famous day.
Just like every other footballmad Irishman and woman, he chewed his nails and squirmed anxiously as Louis van Gaal threw on striker after striker in a desperate but futile attempt to claw back a goal.
And he greeted the final whistle with the same relief and jubilation that lifted roofs off houses and pubs across the land.
“Yeah,” said Kenny, “I was a supporter in the crowd at that game.
“It was an unbelievable performance alright and a great win, and a famous win, of course. That team was a really top-class Irish team.
“But from our point of view, that’s what we need to do. We are going to have to go up levels.
“The Irish crowd, it is a sellout again and it will be electric.
“Holland have obviously a lot of good players who won’t be fazed by that, they have a lot of quality.
Believe
“We’ve got to raise our game and the home crowd can help us do that in our home environment.
“We have got to believe that we can put in the performance that can get the result we need.”
But the reality, as Kenny acknowledged, is that the 10 men that clung on to their narrow lead on that amazing afternoon, were top-class.
Of the 14 players that were used, including Gary Kelly who was red-carded with half-anhour still to play, all but one were playing in the Premier League at the time.
Kenny doesn’t have that luxury. Only four of the 11 that started against an all-star France side on Thursday are with Premier League clubs — Nathan Collins, John Egan, Josh
Cullen and Chiedozie Ogbene.
Matt Doherty’s addition to the starting-11 tomorrow will bump that number up, but he has hardly had a look-in at Wolves this season, while Ogbene has been a fringe player at Luton.
Compare Kenny’s options to the ones that Mick McCarthy had 22 years ago and the size of the task facing the Boys in Green is clear.
Here are the 14 players that played in September 2001 and their circumstances at the time: SHAY GIVEN (Newcastle): Having lost his place to Steve Harper during the 2000/01 season, Given put in a transfer request, only to withdraw it when he got his place back thanks to an injury to Harper. He helped Newcastle to fourth place in 01/02.
RICHARD DUNNE (Manchester City): The only non-Premier League player of the 14, he was relegated with City in May ‘01, but bounced straight back up the following summer. IAN HARTE (Leeds United): Harte had helped Leeds to semi-finals of UEFA Cup and Champions League in back-to-back seasons ahead of the visit of the Dutch in September 2001.
GARY KELLY (Leeds United): A teammate of Harte’s, Kelly played 12 games during Leeds’ run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2001.
STEVE STAUNTON (Aston Villa): Staunton moved from Liverpool to Villa, after a short loan spell at Crystal Palace, during the 2000/01 season. DAMIEN DUFF (Blackburn): Duff came into the Dutch game on a high, having won promotion to the Premier League the season before. MATT HOLLAND (Ipswich): Captained the Tractor Boys to a shock fifth-place finish in 2000/01 — and to a spot in the UEFA Cup — and was ever-present in the league in 2000/01 and 01/02.
ROY KEANE (Manchester United): Just months before the visit of the Dutch, Keane won his sixth Premier League title and was named in the PFA Team of the Year.
KEVIN KILBANE (Sunderland): While he struggled to win over the Sunderland fans, 2001/02 was Kilbane’s third season in the Premier League.
JASON McATEER (Blackburn): Along with Duff, the former Liverpool man and goal hero against the Netherlands had helped Blackburn win promotion back to t he Premier League the previous May. ROBBIE KEANE (Leeds United): Moved from Inter Milan to Leeds during 2000/01, on loan and then permanently in May for €14m, and scored some nine goals in 18 appearances that season.
SUBSTITUTES STEVE FINNAN (Fulham): Won the First Division and promotion to the Premier League in May 2001, playing in all but one league game.
NIALL QUINN (Sunderland): A cult hero with the Black Cats, 01/02 was his second-last season as a player.
ANDY O’BRIEN (Newcastle): Moved from Bradford to Newcastle during 00/01 and played 44 games for the Magpies during 01/02.
The team of ‘01, packed with Premier League experience, hung on with 10 men in the face of wave after wave of Dutch attacks to record their famous win.
And they didn’t have an energy-sapping game in stifling heat against the best team in the world just three days beforehand, as Kenny’s young side did on Thursday night.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, cruised to a comfortable win against Greece that same night.
“It was a very resounding win for them,” acknowledged Kenny, “so we will need a really resounding performance on Sunday.
“We’ll need to recover quick and dust ourselves down.”
Message
It’ll take more than a dusting down, a spell in the swimming pool and a massage or two if history is to repeat itself tomorrow.
Because this is nothing like the 2001 meeting, when a young rookie Longford Town manager watched on from the old Lansdowne Road.
Kenny spoke of an “unbelievable performance” in 2001.
He will need that, and then some, if this current Irish team can somehow pull off a result against the Netherlands that will reignite their Euro 2024 campaign.