INTERNATIONAL SOCCER REPUBLIC OF IRELAND v AUSTRALIA:SEÁN ST LEDGER will get the chance to cement his status as a member of Giovanni Trapattoni's starting 11 tomorrow night at Thomond Park with the Preston defender set to start again alongside Richard Dunne at the heart of the Republic of Ireland defence.
The 24-year-old made his debut against Nigeria in London on May 29th before starting again a week later in the World Cup qualifier in Sofia. Now, with Steve Finnan and Paul McShane unavailable, he is set to retain his place and with assistant manager Liam Brady confirming that the Irish management team are likely to treat tomorrow’s game as a dry run for Cyprus on September 5th, another strong performance could leave St Ledger’s rivals struggling for a way to get back into the team.
“I think the manager will possibly start with the team that’s going to confront Cyprus, at least at the outset, that’s the way he’s been talking,” said Brady yesterday. “That means a chance for St Ledger with Richard at the centre of defence again, and John (O’Shea) at the right. We might share the game between the three midfield players, Darron Gibson, Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews.
“And Kevin Doyle will play,” he confirmed. “Mick McCarthy was kind to let him come when there were doubts about him; I thought during the week he wasn’t coming when Mick had said he was unlikely. But he played 20 minutes on Saturday and Mick wants him to play 45 here. Possibly looking at the start of the Premiership season, he’ll want Kevin to start so he wants him to play 45. We’re delighted that’s the case; it will be him and Robbie (Keane) for sure that will start the game.”
Asked what had persuaded Trapattoni to place his faith in St Ledger, Brady pointed primarily to attributes related to the player’s maturity and intelligence. “His composure, his reading of the game,” he said. “He’s not a giant by any means but he reads the game very well. He’s got good leadership qualities; he’s demonstrated that at Preston over the last couple of seasons and when the manager has gone to see him play for Preston, or watched him play on television, he’s given the manager the impression that international football wouldn’t be a problem for him.
“I think against Bulgaria and Nigeria – although Nigeria wasn’t a World Cup qualifier – he demonstrated that he had those qualities which the manager was looking for.”
Doyle’s involvement, meanwhile, would be a boost for all concerned with the striker looking to build his fitness for Saturday’s Premier League kick-off and Trapattoni aiming to aid his recovery ahead of the competitive games to come. Brady echoes the importance that the manager attaches to having the Wexfordman playing at his best and feels that Doyle has been reinvigorated by his return to the Premier League after what was a tough second half to his season at Reading.
“Kevin looks very good in training,” says the former Irish skipper, “and he has been lifted by his move to Wolves, back to the Premier League which will only do him good in terms of what we want from him.
“We felt at the end of the season he was very tired, in the Championship it’s 46 games and Kevin’s not the kind of player to miss many matches. We thought he was very tired in the end, as was Stephen Hunt. We took him off in Italy and around that time he looked very tired, possibly because of the injuries he had had and amount of games he played.”
Elsewhere, the regulars are all fit with Kevin Kilbane among those to arrive in yesterday having fulfilled club commitments at the weekend. Left back has been something of a problem area for Ireland over the last few years with Kilbane almost inheriting it by default while most of the other occupants of the role have, like Finnan, simply been switched from the other flank.
With the continuing search for cover for Kibane – and a long-term replacement – Eddie Nolan is set to get another opportunity to try out for the role tomorrow.
The 21-year-old’s performance in London against Nigeria was scarcely flawless with the Preston defender caught out on at least one occasion when he failed to realise that the man he was marking had run in behind him but overall he did well on his debut and this is not his most natural role either.
In any case, Kilbane showed in Sofia that sometimes all the experience in the world is not enough to prevent a player committing a costly error as a result of a momentary lapse in concentration.
“Kevin was a little, not a little, a lot upset with the mistake he made in Bulgaria but these things happen. By and large you know what you get with Kevin and we trust him. Eddie Nolan, though, is another who didn’t do himself any harm against Nigeria.”
Brady, meanwhile, confirmed that Trapattoni will be sizing up some of the players now eligible to declare for Ireland since changes to Fifa’s rules over the coming weeks and confirmed that they will be paying particularly close attention to the progress of one who has long since declared for the Republic, under-21 international James McCarthy in his first season at Wigan.
“We’ll have to see how he goes, if he’s able to handle the Premiership,” he said.
“He’s a very good young player, and I think Giovanni has shown if someone demonstrates they can do it, he’s not afraid to put them in.”
The expectation, meanwhile, was that Steven Reid was to play in a training game behind closed doors for Blackburn yesterday as the midfielder makes his latest return from long-term injury.
World Cup
Group Eight
PWDLFAPts
Italy 64209314
Rep of Ireland 73408513
Bulgaria 6150648
Cyprus 6123695
Montenegro 6042584
Georgia 7034493
REMAINING FIXTURES
September 5th:Bulgaria v Montenegro; Cyprus v Republic of Ireland; Georgia v Italy. September 9th:Montenegro v Cyprus; Italy v Bulgaria. October 10th:Montenegro v Georgia; Cyprus v Bulgaria; Republic of Ireland v Italy. October 14th:Bulgaria v Georgia; Republic of Ireland v Montenegro; Italy v Cyprus.
