ITALIAN JOB DONE
O’Neill breathes a sigh of relief after a much needed display
THE ITALIAN Job is over but the Celtic job refuses to go away for Roy Keane and Ireland.
On a rousing night by the River Thames, the Irish blood and thunder was a welcome sideshow to the distraction hanging over Martin O’Neill’s management in relation to Keane’s future.
With the FAI as silent as lambs, even though their assistant manager has been openly tapped up, the end game has arrived for clarity on Keane.
With Celtic rapping on the assistant manager’s door, O’Neill cannot afford any diversions when he leaves for the States on Wednesday for the games against Costa Rica and Portugal.
He needs to be allowed get on with the job he was hired to do, and use these fixtures as building blocks for the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
It’s not just O’Neill who has been preoccupied. His players spent most of the past few days checking Twitter feeds and the Sky Sports ticker for news of Keane. The impasse can’t be allowed fester any longer. In their prime as central midfielders, Keane and O’Neill were coached to stay close to teammates, to be ready to get a pass and to give one.
As they emerged for combat last night, the body language suggested the two men may no longer be covering each other’s backs. They walked several yards apart with O’Neill alongside Seamus McDonagh, with Keane to his left, chatting with Damien Delaney.
For those sifting for cracks in the relationship, the placing of Steve Walford between O’Neill and Keane in the technical area for the second time in six days was a possible indication of a stress line.
Not that O’Neill sat down much. He patrolled pitch-side relentlessly, a bundle of nervous energy while behind him in the Riverside Stand, Roy Hodgson and Gary Neville were suited up on World Cup watch – England play Italy in Manaus on June 14.
Marco Tardelli was also present, recalling a time when he was a regular at games like these. On the night Carl Froch and George Groves topped the sporting bill in London, the Irish players were in no mood to act as punch bags.
Arguably, no one buzzed brighter than Wes Hoolahan. On the ground where he was thrown on for a 90- second cameo by Giovanni Trapattoni, the impish midfielder gave a master class in control, vision and passing. That he has just 11 caps is a travesty. Others impressed too, Shane Long, Anthony Pilkington, Aiden McGeady, while captain John O’Shea, on is 96th appearance was rock-like. With the World Cup finals around the corner, Cesare Prandelli’s team were playing for places in his final 23 ahead of Monday’s FIFA deadline.
One of them, Riccardo Montolivo, will miss the tournament after fracturing his tibia inside 16 minutes. Moments earlier, the 29-yearold AC Milan midfielder collapsed after a challenge by Alex Pearce, which looked accidental.
Pearce’s commitment evidence the Irish were up for the fight after a shaky start when they leaned on David Forde to repel the blue wave.
With O’Neill urging his team on, tackles flew as David Meyler, who made his debut here, and the ever-wiling Long put it about. More than once the Italians pleaded at referee Mike Oliver but to no avail. It wasn’t just the physical intensity which nagged the Italians, it was the fluidity to the Irish play, especially when Aiden McGeady and Pilkington switched wings.
For a blistering first-half spell, the Irish pummelled the four-time world champions and Salvatore Sirigu’s goal led a charmed existence.
It was an uplifting spell of excellence, as good as anything under O’Neill, ignited by Pilkington who hit the target with a stinging free-kick.
After Meyler let rip with a left-footer which scared Sirigu, Pilkington twisted defenders left and right only to have his shot blocked.
Moments later, he almost got on the end of a whipped in cross from Stephen Ward, before the pick of the chances fell to Long following McGeady’s dribble and chip. With the net gaping, Long steered his header back into the path of the scrambling Sirigu – he should have scored. The Irish passion play continued after the break. Long twice saw the white of Sirigu’s eyes before Pilkington fizzed a rasper across goal.
Despite a flurry of substitutions, a rattling game refused to peter out and it was the Irish who finished stronger.
With 11 minutes left, McGeady crossed for Stephen Quinn to smack a left-footer off the underside of the bar. From the rebound, Quinn fed McGeady who was denied by Sirigu. By the end the Italians were almost hanging on and the Irish fans, outnumbered in the 22,879 attendance, were voicing ‘Keano’.
As he left the pitch, Keane walked alongside O’Neill briefly, before one wave in appreciation at the fans, and shook hands with a few Irish players.
It remains to be seen if he is boarding the plane to New York on Wednesday. Few would bet on it.