Russians set to target Kilbane
Sources in Moscow say that manager Dick Advocaat has identified evergreen full-back Kilbane as a player to attack and is considering starting the speedy Vladimir Bystrov on the right in a bid to unsettle the Hull City man.
Zenit St Petersburg’s Bystrov – a 26-year-old regarded as one of the quickest players in European football – came off the bench as a substitute in Russia’s shock home loss to Slovakia, a result which means Advocaat is expected to stick with a 4-3-3 formation in a bid to redeem that defeat with victory in Dublin.
“From now on every match will be a decisive battle for us,” the manager said before flying out of Moscow with his squad. “We lost to Slovakia at home, now we have no other choice but to win in away matches. We should continue playing our style in the upcoming matches, controlling play and forcing our opponents to adjust to our style, not vice versa. That’s the key to success in the upcoming matches.”
They will have to do so, however, without the injured Roman Pavlyuchenko but Marco Tardelli doesn’t believe that the absence of the Spurs striker will make Ireland’s task any easier tomorrow night.
“Russia have many good players, many good strikers,” said Ireland’s assistant manager after training in Gannon Park yesterday. “If Pavlyuchenko is out it’s ok for us but it’s not ok for him. I am very sad for him. But they have other strong strikers and it doesn’t change our approach.”
