Italy make it hot in ‘warm-up’

Tony Leen

They did it all the same, and in relative comfort.

Better, of course, to lose in August to Italy, than in September to France, but in terms of warning signs, where would you like to start? Remembering that the Serie A season does not begin until August 28th, it was somewhat disconcerting to watch the Italians unstitch and unhinge Ireland's befuddled defence in the opening half-hour.

Richard Dunne, so desperate to stake a claim for one of the centre half slots, did not re-appear for the second half and it would be a benign interpretation of the substitution that he was being rested. One can argue that Dunne, still finding his feet after almost breaking one of them in a freak pre-season accident, would have benefited from 90 minutes. He would have, but, as any stage producer will testify, nobody likes the after-taste of a bad dress rehearsal.

The second half centre back alliance of Cunningham and O'Brien could be a portent of things to come on September 7th.

Unlike many friendlies, this had a recognisable shape until the end. For that, we must credit Brian Kerr's competitive instinct. Any changes he made were with a view to rescuing a draw.

Ian Harte did his chances of a left back slot no harm, but his lack of pace against the fleet French, would be a concern. And John O'Shea certainly produced an enhanced performance when he was released to midfield by Matt Holland's enforced withdrawal

Ireland finished on the up, with Stephen Elliot augmenting the attacking presence of Clinton Morrison for the final seventeen minutes. They almost conjured an injury time equaliser, but the Portuguese referee spotted Clinton's handy touch.

The tactical notion of 4-3-3 the starting formation last night may be beguiling in some circumstances, but none of them relate to a competitive fixture for Ireland against the French. Which begs the question: should the Republic have been fine-tuning what they do best i.e. four midfielders supporting two strikers in last night's "warm-up?"

Not that the Italians were bothered. Released from the suffocating pressure that a competitive occasion inflicts on them, they used the dancing feet of Del Piero and Gilardino to pick holes in Ireland's first half rearguard. The chief beneficiary was Christian Vieiri.

The Azzurri's 32-year-old gunslinger was shipped out of Internazionale this summer, but still deemed worthy of a contract by their cross-town rivals, AC. If his attitude remains on the radar, it could be the best piece of summer business in Serie A.

He had already missed one chance when De Rossi slipped him through after ten minutes. Given did well to save but the reprieve was brief. Gilardino's effort from the resultant corner was cleared, only to Pirlo, who returned it with interest.

There were 28 minutes gone when the pass of the match from right back Zaccardo took out Dunne, but Vieiri's sublime touch landed on the crossbar.

Never mind, two minutes later, Gilardino reckoned to have the quickest feet in Italian football, some accolade snaffled a second after a Del Piero pass took out the heart of Ireland's defence.

Just when a capacity 44,000 crowd thought it was getting embarrassing, it did for the Italian right back, Zaccardo who fresh-aired an attempted clearance. Andy Reid's daisy-cutter found the net and crucially, reconfigured the shape of the match, and the crowd's attitude to it.

The Italians replaced Vieiri's two sidekicks at half time, but replacement, Iaquinta, kept Ireland's defence honest. Notwithstanding that threat, Ireland were now finding their feet, the inspiration coming, as ever, from another man with magical feet, Damien Duff. Brian Kerr has shown his ability to bend influential ears by attracting Lippi and Italy to Dublin. He should do likewise with Jose Mourinho. Without our wing wonder, Ireland's attacking arsenal is greatly reduced.